Me and two of my buddies did this trip two summers ago but I'm just getting around to posting the trip report. Our plan was to basically hike from the west side of the park back to our car on the east side. We rented a car and stayed at St. Mary's campground on night one.
On our first day of actual back country camping, we took the shuttle from St. Mary's to Apgar which I believe is as far as the shuttle will take you. We then caught a ride into Polebridge where we saw our first bear along the side of the road.
We started hiking at the head of Bowman lake which gave a beautiful view of the whole lake and the peaks in the background.
Day 2 we woke up early and started our uphill hike up Brown Pass. We were pretty tired after making it to the top but the reward was spectacular after being able to look back on the hike we had just done along Bowman Lake.
After stopping for a quick lunch at Brown Pass, we continued to Hole in the wall which is where we would spend the night. I have to say this is one of the most breathtaking campsites any of us had ever stayed at. Wildflowers everywhere and mountain streams right along the campsites.
Day 3 we decided to do a quick day hike to Boulder Pass because we heard the views were amazing. We were not disappointed. The view looking down on our campsite at Hole in the Wall was great.
The wildflowers in Glacier was plentiful and beautiful.
Once we made it to the Boulder Pass, we turned around, headed back to Hole in the Wall and packed up camp. We then headed out to Hawksbill where we spent the night. The next morning we passed Lake Francis just a few miles past Hawksbill and wished we would have gone on a little further and spent the night at Lake Francis.
On day 4, we hiked to Lake Francis and hung out for a while there for a granola bar before continuing to the Goat Haunt. We made it to the Goat Haunt just as a brutal storm came in. Although we weren't huge fans of the Goat Haunt (there is a ferry dock there so it is very crowded with people) it was nice to have a stone shelter over our heads during the storm. Especially since the next morning we saw a ton of downed trees.
Day 5 we woke up and the weather had cleared so we kept hiking until we got to our campsite at Stony Indian Pass. This was our 2nd favorite campsite as we spent hours just sitting and watching mountain goats run along the ridges above. It was amazing how agile and nimble they were on the treacherous terrain.
On Day 6 we woke up and began to climb Stony Indian Pass.
After making it to the top of Stony Indian Pass and hiking down the other side, we passed Glenn Lake and Cosley Lake before reaching our campsite at Lake Elizabeth. We spent the whole evening fishing and caught several nice sized fish before retiring to look at the stars.
The next morning we woke up and hiked up to the Ptarmigan tunnel. We passed a ranger along the way who said a storm was coming in and by the time we reached the tunnel, we had all of our layers of clothes on as well as rain gear as it had started to snow!
We hiked down the other side of the Ptarmagin Tunnel through the rain and snow and then decided to check out Iceberg Lake. We were glad we did because we saw a giant bull moose along the way and Iceberg Lake was definitely worth the trip.
We spent the night at the Many Glacier campground before getting up for our last day in the park. The day began with a brutal climb of Swiftcurrent pass. The view from the top gave great views of the lakes we had passed in the morning (I believe the first one was Lake Fishercap).
After getting to the top of Swiftcurrent pass, we hiked down the other side where we caught the shuttle at Logan Pass. While waiting for the shuttle, we recapped our trip. Our only disappointment was that we didn't see a bear in the park. Literally right as we said that, a young bear walked right across the road! We were so close that all the other people around the shuttle got near it and were taking pictures. We knew that a young bear could be next to an angry Mom bear, so we had our bear spray ready, kept our distance, and jumped on the shuttle as soon as it got there.
We took the shuttle back to where we had left the car at St. Mary and then drove back to Great Falls where we each ate a giant steak and grabbed a beer at the Sip and Dip. If you're ever in Great Falls, check out the Sip and Dip which is one of the most unique bars I have ever been to. Overall it was a great trip and we were sad to leave!
