Glacier National Park

While Alex was at FSY and Cade was in Hawaii, Dan I and took a camping trip to Glacier National Park! Dan visited Banff and Glacier in 2023 on a solo motorcycle trip and was so impressed by their beauty that he wanted to return. Since I'm not up for riding on the back of a bike for 600 or more miles, we both journeyed our own way to Glacier and met up for the adventure of exploring together.

Here's a few pics from Dan's ride up to Glacier- he loves taking the scenic route and seeing all there is to see.

Dan met Sue, a worker at Glacier, last time he was there. She remembered him!

Checking out the campsite

Laura's here!

Our campsite is THE MOST gorgeous campsite I've ever stayed at. Sure, it may not have running water or electricity, but it had a clean vault toilet and a view to die for. This is Cut Back Campground on the East Side of Glacier, and I highly recommend it.

There were cows everywhere!

Dan's hammock set up

And my tent!

We had our Mountain House freeze dried breakfasts with a view of the mountains (and we moved there so the sun could warm us up too!)

Day ONE at Glacier! We spent the day on the Motorcycle dressed and ready for whatever adventure might come our way. We entered the park from the East and made our way West on the Going to the Sun Road, and while we made some little stops along the way, we mostly wanted to make some distance and get to the Lake Macdonald area and go against traffic. The scenery is breathtaking. Such vast, craggy mountains with deep and severe drops that create visually stunning backdrops. Stupendous was my word for the day. 

Bumblebees and Butterflies were very present at Glacier!

Made it to Lake Macdonald! Check out my video montage at the end for a look at our adventure here

I'd love to comeback and do some horseback riding through the park!

This area was called Red Rock. Not the reddest we've ever seen, but still gorgeous

We tried to take a little nap at this overlook- we were getting worn out!

Snow!

Lots of Mountain Goats to see and observe 

Towards the end of our day in the park we made our way to Logan Pass and hiked the Hidden Lake trail up to the overlook. And when I say up, I mean up. The whole way! I took my time and wasn't always sure if I was going to finish the trail, but look what was waiting for us at the top! Last time Dan was here he continued on the trail down to the lake and then you have to go back up to the overlook and back down to the trailhead. I wasn't up for that much intensity and it was already nearly dinner time so we headed back to our campsite buzzing from an awesome day ONE!

Day TWO! It wasn't nearly as cold overnight or the next morning, but it sure was windy! I guess being in the valley of large mountains for your campsite might mean some interesting weather patterns! Since we had ridden through and explored a large part of the main part of Glacier Nat'l park, we headed to a second area of the park called Two Medicine. Since this area had very little road to it, we took the car this time and set out with the idea of hiking around two medicine lake. When we parked and chatted with the workers we discovered that the trail wasn't open all the way around the lake, but that they did offer a boat ride back if you hike to one side of the lake. With our plan in full swing we headed off on our hike for the day! 

The trail to the top of the lake was about 3.5 miles, and we also took a few detours off the trail and back onto the trail towards some views and water falls, totaling about 6 miles. Here's the first waterfall we found was Aster falls. We took a moment to take our socks and shoes off and switch to sandals to get our feet wet and cool off a bit!

There were moments on this hike that you would just want to stop and soak up the scenery. It was pretty awe-inspiring. Made all the elevation gain worth it :)

We got to cross a 'foot bridge'! Only one person allowed at a time :) 

Near the end of the trail we couldn't even use our poles the path was so overgrown. Can you see Dan in all that vegetation? This is us descending down the mountainside towards the lake.

We made it to the top of the lake! While we waited for the boat to arrive we ate our PB and Honey sandwiches and then took a dip in Two Medicine Lake! Dan actually dove off the dock into the water and nearly lost his breath it was so cold. I just put my feet in and that was enough for me :)

Boat ride 

So the captain of our boat said if we were done hiking for the day we should still make sure to stop at Running Eagle Falls before we left the Two Medicine area. We are SO glad we did, because not only was the waterfall the most unique waterfall, but the water was much warmer for swimming! Check out the water just pouring out of the middle of the cliff. And if the water is running high there will be a second waterfall coming from the shelf above that opening. It was rushing fast and loud.

And then we noticed a family that seemed like this was their second home. They were running up and down the trails and then diving off the rocks into the water.

So we got closer... and...

Dove in! Even me too! It was still cold, but not nearly as cold as Two Medicine Lake or Lake Macdonald! 

And we couldn't get over the color of the rocks. What a memorable stop on our trip!

The captain also recommended we go to East Glacier and check out the Glacier Park Lodge for its historical value, and for dinner. Since his waterfall recommendation was so spot on, we did just that with the rest of our evening. 

This lodge is HUGE. It sits directly across from the Amtrak station and back in the day this was the place to be along your travels in Montana. 

And there was a piano in the lobby with a binder full of sheet music, so Dan convinced me to play a few. Someone tipped me $5!

After a very nice, non- freeze dried dinner, we headed back to the campground for s'mores and some stargazing. We had to wait until nearly 11pm to get a good view of that big Montana Sky. 

That was our short AND sweet trip to Glacier National Park. I drove home all in one shot the next day and Dan took two days on his bike to make it home, so here's a few closing pictures from his ride home. Don't forget to check the video montage at the end!

Moose!