Surrounded by Nature in Glacier National Park
Summer break away from the heat - Letters from a Wanderer No 21
Glacier-filled high mountains surround us as we walk in the evergreen forest of several types of pine and spruce, intertwined with the occasional black cottonwood.
Indian Paintbrush adds a bright orange-red color to the fresh green of the forest floor.
The delicate mountain harebell with its soft purple color is barely noticeable close to the ground, but even more special for its exquisite beauty. I can almost see a tiny fairy living in it. We call it harangvirág in Hungarian, I tell my daughter.
A stream of crystal-clear water rushes past, its water streaming down from the waterfall we stopped at upstream. Along its shore the bright yellow blanketflower demands attention.
Even the rocks at the bottom of the creek showcase a plethora of colors, in hues of rust, yellow, green, and turquoise.
Farther along the trail we find wild berries, huckleberry and thimbleberry bushes filled with bright-colored ripe fruit. As tiny as they are, as we taste them, the sweet yet tangy flavors burst like fireworks, bringing forth visions of the fresh mountain berries of my childhood in Transylvania and berry-picking moments with my children in the forests of Mt Adams.
Chipmunks rush past, tiny squirrels jump and run up the trees near us. In a clearing, round little ground squirrels chirp in their high-pitched voices as they peek out from their holes and stare at us, trying to assess the danger we may pose to them.
We were in Glacier National Park, walking along several trails in Two Medicine, the smaller area on the east side of the park.
Hello dear readers, and welcome to another issue of Letters from a Wanderer!
Since I was recently wandering through Glacier National Park and its surroundings with my family, you’ll hear about the area in the next few issues. Hope you’ll enjoy them.
As always, thank you for being here!
Our latest trip to Glacier Park and Waterton, its Canadian sister, offered some of the best moments of our summer.
Our journey involved plane travel, and lots of driving through three states and two countries. But no matter where we were along the journey, nature surrounded us. And it was all much different from our own surrounding in the desert Southwest.
Of course, Glacier National Park was the highlight - and the focus - on the trip. Fortunately, we were there for a week when smoke from the nearby wildfires subsided, and the weather was perfect. We saw plenty of sunshine, but also dark clouds and rain, all offering a different perspective of the same landscape.
We entered the park from the east side every time since we couldn’t get a pass for the west entrance, no matter how many times we tried over the week. In the end, we found we preferred it that way. The park was less crowded on that side, a pleasant way to start the day of exploring the park.
Over a week, we spotted a black bear and a coyote, several mountain goats, and lots of squirrels and chipmunks, besides birds, including colorful woodpeckers and majestic raptors.
Full days spent in the park over a week offered an unforgettable experience in nature - even with all the tourists in the busier areas. Besides, we always found a few quiet places where we could be alone, far from other visitors.
Two Medicine
A small area of the park cut off from the main part, Two Medicine was one of the quietest places we explored in Glacier. Even the full campground along Two Medicine Lake was quiet. Although all the campsites were taken or reserved, we had no trouble finding a spot to park for a picnic. Walking along the lake in the mountain's shadow we only met a few people. And, as if everyone wanted to preserve the peaceful atmosphere, no one was making any loud noises.
We watched a family of ducks; the ducklings following their mama in a line, swim in the lake, heading towards its center. Later, we spotted them on the other shore. A camper was relaxing in a hammock, his guitar set against the tree.
Mountain goats were wandering into the empty campgrounds, stopping to lick the charcoal remnants of long-extinguished campfires. Ground squirrels walked nearby underfoot, probably looking for lost food crumbs.
St Mary Lake
The first several stops in the main park, coming from the east, are all on the shores of St. Mary Lake. You might think the 9.9 miles long lake with a surface area of 3923 acres, reaching 300 feet in depth, is the largest lake in the park. It isn’t, though it is a close second to Lake McDonald on the opposite (west) end of the park.
However, we liked St Mary Lake better because it is much quieter, with fewer visitors along its shores. We spent time along its shores, walking along the trail following its shore.
As pleasant and peaceful as it was, we still left the lake’s shore and set off on the Going-to-the-Sun Road across the park. We had a better understanding of the size of the lake and the tiny Wild Goose Island rising above its surface from the viewpoints high above it.
Along the Going-to-the-Sun Road
The main road that crosses the park, the Going-to-the-Sun Road, has plenty of viewpoints and trailheads to stop and enjoy the park. However, the road itself is always busy, but that doesn’t detract from its beauty.
Over the week, we stopped at each viewpoint and trailhead, several times at our favorite ones, and the experience was always different. We saw the same landscape change with the weather.
The landscape changed on sunny, cloudy, and rainy days, with shadows accentuating different mountain features and torrential rainstorm bringing a significant drop in temperature and fewer people. The stormy day was my favorite. Fewer visitors stopping at each site made it a more pleasant experience, but I especially enjoyed the refreshing cold weather and the vibrant colors of the wet grass and wildflowers.
Hiking in Glacier National Park
The park has over 700 miles of trails, so there is one for everyone. Of course, some are busier than others, and generally the more famous, easy access and lest strenuous trails get the most hikers. However, you can always find a quiet area to enjoy nature even along the busiest trails.
By far the most crowded one we’ve seen was the Trail of the Cedars on the west side. Even with three parking lots, we could barely find a spot to park the car so we can at least get on the trail. We skipped it several times because we just couldn’t stop close enough, but still managed to hike it eventually - twice. This easy trail took us through a forest of old-growth Western Red Cedars, intertwined with Western Hemlock and Black Cottonwood, offering lessons in tree recognition through several interpretive signs.
And, although we thought too many people on a trail might take away from the experience, we always had a few moments along the trail when we were almost alone. We even noticed a deer along the trail, close enough for everyone to see, but still most people rushed by without a glance. We stopped for a while, watching her graze.
As much as I love ancient forests, some of my favorite hikes were along St Mary Lake, where we only met park rangers along the path. The trail still led through a forest near the lake. We stopped often, to enjoy the views of the lake.
Another popular trail led we took led to a waterfall along the Going-to-the-Sun Road. We took the longer route, only later found out that we could’ve accessed the falls from a closer trailhead. However, the view of the lake below was worth the longer hike - even if we had to walk through a burned forest with the sun beating down on us for a while.
But probably my favorite trail, an easy hike in Two Medicine, led to another waterfall, Running Eagle Falls, named for a woman warrior of the Amskapi-Pikuni tribe, who lived here long before the European contact.
The trail took us through wild berry patches, evergreen forest, along the shore of a fast-moving crystal-clear stream.
More about the trip and the trails next time…
Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful day and if you are on the road, happy travels!
All the best,
Emese
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We went to Glacier NP in early July and it's one of my favorite places I've visited! I'll have some upcoming newsletters about it soon 😍
Glacier is one of my favorite places. Thank you for posting your beautiful pictures and great narrative.