Glacier National Park

Sept 1 - Sept 8, 2012

In 2006, Melanie and I made our first visit to Glacier and Waterton National Parks. Unfortunately, that first visit was only for one week, and the two parks are so large that we missed a lot of the highlights. We definitely wanted to return, and over the Labor Day holiday in 2012 we found the opportunity for a second week long visit.

My goal for this trip was to do some of the longer premier hikes that we missed the first time. Each of these hikes is over 10 miles long, with significant elevation gain, but they all promised great rewards - namely, fantastic views! Fortunately the weather cooperated and we had the opportunity to complete each hike. The links will take you to the photographs I took on each hike. Enjoy the pictures, hopefully they will inspire you to make your own visit to Glacier and Waterton and try these hikes on your own.

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday: August 31

pick up Hertz rental car after work
Saturday: September 1

Drive 672 miles from Seattle to Many Glacier (12 hours)

Check in at Swiftcurrent Inn
Sunday: September 2

Ride shuttle from Many Glacier to Logan Pass

Hike 7.5 miles on Highline trail to Granite Park Chalet

Hike 1.2 miles to/from Grinnell Glacier Overlook

Hike 7.6 miles over Swiftcurrent Pass back to Many Glacier
Monday: September 3

Leave car at Sunrift Gorge on Going to Sun road

Take Hiker Shuttle to Siyeh Bend

Hike Siyeh Pass Trail (10.5 mile, 2200 ft elevation) back to Sunrift Gorge
Tuesday: September 4

Hike 11 miles (1600 ft elevation) to Grinnell Glacier
Wednesday: September 5

Hike 13 miles (1400 ft elevation) to Cracker Lake

Drive 38 miles to Waterton

Standard Queen room at Crandell Mountain Lodge

Thursday: September 6

Hike Red Rock Canyon, .6 miles roundtrip

Hike Blakiston Falls, 1.2 miles roundtrip

Lunch at Maskinonge Lake

Cameron Lake Shore Trail

Hike Bear's Hump, 1.7 miles, 550 ft elevation
Friday: September 7

Take Cameron Express hiker shuttle to trailhead

Hike 11.8 miles on Carthew-Alderson Trail(1450 ft elevation) back to Waterton

Drive along Red Rock Canyon Road looking for evening bears
Saturday: September 8

Drive 640 miles from Waterton to Seattle

These are the resources we used for planning our vacation. The map is especially useful for identifying landmarks and planning hikes

All the graphic images are my own, but the textured background is taken from a site, EOS development, that offers non-profit users free use of their graphics. Click below to visit their site.

Eos Development