Twelve Nights in Glacier

[Francis DeRoos]

Companion forum thread to: Twelve Nights in Glacier

Trip Dates – August 16-28, 2024 Weather –most days sunny and dry low 60s, lows 30s…

[Paul Wagner]

That’s an excellent introduction to Glacier.  Thanks for posting it.  And it has convinced me that I probably won’t be backpacking there.  The level of advanced planning, combined with the need for a rigid campsite and hiking schedule is not attrative to me. I do backpack where reservations are required and sometimes hard to get.  But the idea of always selecting exactly where you will camp each night loses some of the appeal of hitting the trail for me.

I have no doubt that these regulations (like those in Yellowstone) are designed both to control traffic and to decrease bear interactions, and I approve of them. But one of the great joys of backpacking, for me, is looking up a drainage and deciding to check it out. Or seeing  a lake I hadn’t noticed before and deciding to spend a day to camp there.

[Kevin Babione]

Thanks for posting – I love your selection of photos.  Looks like an amazing trip – I’m glad it worked out for you.

[Francis DeRoos]

@ paul – I get where you’re coming from and I felt the same way initially. That’s why I focused my post on the logistics rather than gushing about the beauty.  Once the preplanning and permitting hurdles have been cleared, there is a there is a simplicity and ease in backpacking through Glacier.  Rolling into a well organized camp area that has an installed food hang, a pit toilet, and a flat, well situated camp site is quite a luxury.  And enjoying dinner with a new set of fellow backpackers (2 to 6) most nights (first 3 nights I was alone) became something I looked forward to. Glacier NP is a very unique place that provides a fairly easy backpacking experience (it would be great for beginners) within an achingly beautiful wilderness.

@Kevin – thanks. I know you’ve hiked all about PA and I thought of you when I enjoyed the Quehanna trail this past year.

[AK Granola]

Nice trip! Thanks for posting the details. I had mixed feelings about Glacier after my friends and I did the CDT through it in 2023. Most of the campsites were decent, but some were not level at all or had very pointed rocks that would slaughter any inflatable mattress. I reported the ones we encountered, hopeful that the NPS will work with whatever volunteer org helps maintain things and they might get fixed. One site was so terrible that we waited until dark, then cowboy camped in the horse area, which was nice and flat and grassy. (and no horses thankfully)

Glacier’s views and landscapes are spectacular though! And the hiking is wonderful.

[Ken P]

Thanks I’m fascinated by the idea of taking the train.

[Jerry Adams]

The train crosses the PCT near the Ashland summit on I5.  I wonder if there’s a way to get off the train and walk to the PCT.

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