GLACIER NATIONAL PARK!

The idea of a trip to Glacier National Park has been on our radar for the last few years.  Friends have referred it to us, telling us we would absolutely love it.  Finally, this August, Gerry and I went.  The Park surpassed our high expectations!  It was wonderful.

We booked a motel right inside the West Glacier entrance at the Apgar Village Lodge.   The rooms were small and rustic, no TV, no A/C, dim lighting.  We had a corner room that overlooked Lake McDonald creek, with a pleasant view from the back window.  It suited our purposes for our 4 night stay.

We have the corner room.  Picnic table came in handy for making our lunch each day.

Our plan was to do a variety of day-hikes.  We wanted to see as much as possible during our 5 days.  Mission accomplished!  Plenty of wildlife viewing as well as fields of beautiful wildflowers. 

Our first afternoon upon arrival, (somewhat jet-lagged from our 3:45 am wake-up time in L.A. that morning to catch our flight) we took a short hike to Howe Lake.

Lovely Lake Howe.  We had the 3 1/2 mile trail to ourselves.

We only saw one other person, as we walked back from the lake to the trail head.  This cute red squirrel got our attention.

How nice of him to pose for us on his descent down the tree trunk.

I didn't realize how large Glacier National Park actually is.  To get to some of the premier hiking trails in the interior of the Park requires a lengthy drive or shuttle ride.  We decided to be environmentally responsible and took the free shuttle on Friday, along the famous Going to the Sun Road, to our trail-head at Rising Sun.  Our plan was to hike to Otokomi Lake.  We saw only a handful of hikers on this 10.8 mile trek.

Wildflowers come back strong, despite the fire that ravaged this area a few years ago

A gorgeous background for Gerry

Eventually we leave the burnt area and walk on.  It becomes obvious to me why Montana is often referred to as "The Big Sky" state.

We're approaching the lake.

We made it to Lake Otokomi, a beautiful spot for a lunch-break.

We took off our shoes, and dipped our feet in the lake.

Despite the 90 minute shuttle ride both ways, we're thrilled we did this hike.  When we got back to the Apgar motel at 7:15 pm, Gerry took a refreshing dip in the Lake McDonald creek.

We heard that the Highline Loop Trail is a "Must Do" for hikers in Glacier.  We were forewarned that it would be crowded, but well worth it.  On Saturday we took the shuttle to Logan Pass.  Before embarking on the Highline Loop Trail, we walked behind the Visitor Center on the trail that leads to Hidden Lake.  Our goal was to walk less than 3 miles, with the hopes of seeing the goats that have been spotted in the area.

Mountain goats on snow bank, a little over a mile from the visitor center.

We're excited to see this Big Horn!

We returned to the Visitor Center to fill up our water-bottles, and get ready to cross the street to begin the famous Highline Loop Trail.  An elderly lady insisted we let her take our picture, with our camera.  "You can never have too many pictures of the both of you together" she told us.

Immediately prior to the Highline Loop hike

The Highline Loop is actually a misnomer.  It is in fact a one-way hike of 11.7 miles.  The "loop" refers to the bend in the road on the west side of the park where the hike ends.  The Highline follows along the Continental Divide,  with outstanding views and wildflowers.

Walking with some trepidation at the start of the Highline

I can't get enough of these vistas!

A colorful meadow

We saw our share of wildlife on this hike, too.

A fine specimen of deer

Isn't this marmot a cutie?

When we got back to our Apgar motel at 7: 15 pm once again, I decided to join Gerry for a brief swim in the creek.  Brrrr!  It was a bit chilly, but good to ice down the tired legs!

The other hike on our "To Do" list was Iceberg Lake.  I heard about this hike from my friend Julie who shared her pictures from her hike to Iceberg when she did it in 2009.  We drove to the Many Glaciers area (close to a 2 hour drive) and did a 13.6 mile hike which included both Ptarmigan Lake and Iceberg Lake.  Glacier Natl Park was in the midst of a heat wave.  Temps were in the mid-80s as we hiked along, with very little shade.  This was my favorite day of the trip, and also the most exciting...

Gerry takes a rest at Ptarmigan Lake.  We visited here first and it was very secluded.

Approaching our second lake, Iceberg Lake

A fine spot to unwrap and eat my sandwich.

We wish we could have stayed here longer, but knew we had 4.8 miles left of hiking ahead of us, plus the 2-hour drive back to our motel, so we left within an hour of our arrival.  We made good time on the hike back, until the final two miles when we were delayed.

Gerry spotted the Grizzly, 100 yards ahead of him

I quickly scampered up on rocks to my left, while Gerry approached Ms. Grizzly with a camera in his right hand and the can of bear spray in his left.  A few minutes later we spotted mama bear's two cubs.  Lucky for us, the trio vacated the trail area ten minutes later and we were on our way.  I was hyped from the adrenaline rush!

Our final day in Glacier we hiked to Lake Avalanche.  It was a lush hike, full of western red cedars in a cool canyon area.  Another beautiful hike.

Avalanche Lake Hike, following the stream through the Cedars

Glacier was grand!  We spent a day in Whitefish, MT before we flew back home to L.A.  We hiked in the morning in Whitefish along the Danny On Memorial trail, which is near the ski area.  Another hike with wildflowers, (but no bears.)

We crammed in a lot of adventure on this vacation, but there is still much more to explore in Glacier.  I have the feeling we'll return.  It's good for my body and soul.  The National Parks are truly a treasure!