Glacier National Park Backpacking

[John Rodo]

Hi all,
I’m currently planning a glacier national park trip with a couple of friends in late august. The trip will include 14 full (non-travel) days, and I will be traveling via my car. My hope is to backpack several parts of the park with some day hikes in between– what I’m struggling with is logistics.

Hikes I hope to do:
1. Kintla lake to Goat haunt
2. Chief mountain customs to Goat Haunt
– Or some combination of the two above hikes (Great Northern Traverse?) I’m having trouble with how to get from one trailhead (kintla lake) to the other (chief mountain customs) following the hike. As far as doing them as two distinct hikes, looking at options that include parking my car in waterton, shuttling down to chief mountain customs, then looping back up through goat haunt via the ferry. Has anybody tackled the logistics?

3. Cut bank to medicine grizzly/triple divide pass to pitamikan pass to two medicine ranger station.
Has anybody done something along these lines? Is there shuttle transport available between cut bank and two medicine ranger station through any outfitters? Hoping to make the most out of a 2-3 day backpack in two medicine.
Aside from these first couple groupings (Northern/Belly River area and Two Medicine) and a few select day hikes (Crypt lake, Garden wall, etc.) I’m looking for one more 2-3 day backpack that would be in unique part of the park and would not involve much backtracking if any. Suggestions? Emphasis on solitude/scenic aspects/good backcountry campgrounds.
As far as car accessible campgrounds for the non-backpacking days, any sure bets?

[David Chenault]

Logistics in Glacier can be quite the nuisance. The free NPS shuttle on GTTSR is reliable, but transferring at Logan makes it time consuming. In years past Glacier Park, Inc ran a pay shuttle along the east side. This was mainly to get carless guests from one hotel to the other, but was often used by backpackers. Most of those properties switched to a new concessionaire in 2014, so it's unclear if that service will continue uninterrupted. The North Fork is even more difficult. A number of raft companies run shuttles up that way, but they don't go into the park, typically (i.e. the Kintla TH), and they are not cheap.

There isn't an easy way to crack the Kintla-Goat Haunt nut, short of bribing someone to drive around for you. You are correct to want to do this, very worthwhile.

The drive between Waterton and the Chief Mtn TH is short, so that hike is easily done. Be sure to bring your passport to get into Canada.

Cut Bank to Two Med is a good hike. The aforementioned pay shuttle used to serve that route.

Lastly, late August is (ahem) rather crowded in the park. Be prepared. I'd recommend applying in advance for permits for the Kintla trip, and for the Chief-Goat Haunt trip if you want to stay at Stoney Indian (which you do).

[Adam G]

I've hitched up from West Glacier to Kintla Lake. I first caught a ride up to Polebridge and then convinced a couple of kayakers to drive up to Kintla. Getting to Polebridge should be easy, as it's a popular spot at the Merc. Getting a ride up the rutted North Fork Road is not so easy. I would advise ending in Kintla Lake instead. It will be very easy to hitch back to civilization, as that campground was actually quite popular with people coming and going all the time. Once you make to West Glacier, you can catch the shuttle/hitch back to St. Mary.

For a quite 2-3 day hike, I'd do the Dawson-Pitamikin loop or Gunsight Pass to Lake MacDonald. They're popular but beautiful.

[MFR]

"For a quite 2-3 day hike, I'd do the Dawson-Pitamikin loop or Gunsight Pass to Lake MacDonald. They're popular but beautiful."

Those are typically done as dayhikes–unless your looking at 5-10 miles per day.

[John Rodo]

How about a kintla-bowman horseshoe? How does that compare to kintla goat haunt in terms of backcountry campground options and days of travel?

Any opinions on the best (most scenic/secluded) backcountry camping in the north fork and two medicine?

Is waterton worth a day or 2 of the trip (I was thinking crypt lake, maybe cathew alderson) or are there better options on the US side for hiking with limited time?

[David Chenault]

I'd rate Kintla-Bowman a fair bit below Kintla-Goat. One way to solve that is to do a side hike down to Lake Francis. Best camps on this stretch are Hole, Boulder, Francis, and Hawksbill. Avoid Browns and Bowman.

Crypt Lake is pretty cool, but if you're only around for a week time is better spent elsewhere in Glacier. Because of the boat shuttle, Crypt can actually be amongst the most crowded hikes around.

[John Rodo]

Thanks for the input, Dave. This is what I'm looking at currently – note that these are "full" days, AKA not coming or going from the park.

Day 1-3 North Fork Backpack
Day 1: Bowman to lake francis
Day 2: lake francis to hole in wall or boulder pass (short day)
Day 3: boulder pass/hole in wall to kintla (long day – doable?)

Day 4/5:West Glacier Hotel / check out GTTSR and highline trail

Day 6-8: Belly River/Goat Haunt backpack
Day 6:Chief mountain > stoney indian pass
Day 7: Stoney indian pass > kootenai lakes (short day)
Day 8: Ferry up to waterton. Day Hike in waterton (cathew alderson perhaps?) and stay in hotel.

Day 9:Filler day – not sure yet (day hike in many glacier or waterton?) End up camping at cut bank.

Day 10-12:Cut bank/Two medicine
Day 10:Day hike Triple divide pass/medicine grizzly from cut bank.
Day 11/12: Dawson pitamakan loop as an overnight. Suggestions on which backcountry site to stay at?

Day 13/14 (Note – labor day weekend): Undecided. Day hikes in many glacier – concerned it will be a zoo. Open to suggestions.

Aiming for:
-Several 2-3 day backpacks interspersed w/day hikes and car sightseeing to mix it up.
-As much solitude as possible in summer on the backpacks – day hikes not a big deal either way.
-Seeing a good mix of the park features/areas.

Big Qs still on my mind:
1. For the belly river area, is there a better way to do the loop than the ferry to waterton? Maybe loop around to many glacier? Curious to hear from folks who have made a 2-3 day loop in that area.

2. Ideal backcountry site on dawson/pitamakan loop.

3. Any "can't miss" hikes that I am missing on the itinerary for my first trip. I still have two "open" days at the end.

[Gary Dunckel]

John, you might consider the following for your last 2 days in GNP: Leave your car at the Swiftcurrent Lodge parking lot and take the Park shuttle (with your 2-day packs) to Rising Sun to spend the night. The next morning, take the shuttle to Logan pass and hike the Garden Wall to the Granite Park chalet where you will have booked a room. They provide a basic kitchen, bunk beds with sheets, a roof over your head, and a killer view from the chairs on the porch–so your packs will be quite light. The next day, hike up to the Swiftcurrent lookout for perhaps the finest panoramic view in all of Glacier, and then over the pass to do the beautiful knee-busting descent back down to your car at the Swiftcurrent Lodge. You could book a room there, eat a good meal in their restaurant, and talk about how cool your GNP adventures were.

By the way, if you get back to your car before the sunset (which you likely will), I would strongly urge you to drive over to the Many Glacier Hotel's upper parking lot. Take a couple of beers to the top of the knoll between the parking lot and the hotel, and watch the mountains of those 3 fantastic valleys erode while enjoying the sunset.

If I only had two days in GNP, that's what I would do (again).

[willie v]

Hi there, total stab in the dark here… but is anyone going up to GNP to do the Kintla to Bowman loop from July 20-23? Couldn’t secure a 2nd rental car… so I’m hoping to meet someone or some other group that could potentially work out some type of shuttle situation. Otherwise we’re gonna have to hope we can change our original itinerary to come back to Kintla campground for the last day.

 

Will

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