New to Glacier national

See my GNP post on page 1 of my recent posts (just click on my name, which will bring up my posts). As for a permit, don't try camping without one. They reserve about half of the permits to be issued 24 hours before you hit the trail. Just get in line early in the morning (sometimes, they'll be nice and issue one at 5 pm the day before). If you get to a campsite without a permit, you might find that all the tent sites are taken. I wouldn't try stealth camping in GNP (the exception being in the wild Nyack-Coal Creek area)–the bears know where you are supposed to be, and if you're sleeping elsewhere there could be problems. Have fun up there–it's a fine place.

I'm pretty sure that you can get permits for camping at non-designated campsites, but you have to carry a bear can if you want to do this.

I ran into at least two people that were doing this last year. And they were not in the Nyack-Coal Creek are.

There's no reason to get too hysterical about the bears. Just take proper precautions and you'll be fine. It's not a matter of them knowing where you're supposed to be. That's a foolish notion. If anything, the animals in the park have been habituated to check the designated sites for food scraps and trash.

Dave

Dawson/Pitamakin is probably my favorite hike in the park. If you can't get a permit for campsites along that route you can always camp in the Two Medicine CG and do it as a long dayhike.