Amaris and Fox were once again awoke at the first rays of dull light around 5am to prepare for a long day of driving through marvelous Montana. Friday was the day the steps of East Glacier National Park would be viewed for the first time and the primary destination of our summer 2021 road trip was reached. This portion of the story will include a brief background of the places we saw between Sheridan and Babb followed by an in-depth review of our adventures in East Glacier.
A short morning drive through the beautiful Crow Reservation, site of the Battle of Little Bighorn in June 1876, fed the Subaru into Billings 2 hours later where breakfast greeted us at Stella's Kitchen and Bakery prior to a courtesy check at the local MasterLube on 4th Ave to top off the oil before heading further north towards Great Falls, MT. Great Falls presented a perfect opportunity to restock, create proposals for work, and fuel up at one of the last stops before Babb and East Glacier. A brief stop was made at the local Walmart and then we snagged some sandos at The Block for a relaxing outdoor meal. Graffiti by artists was sprawled across the neighborhood with locals and tourists enjoying the scene.
The next leg towards the east side of GNP and local towns may be reached from the following hubs in a few hours:
Great Falls to Babb - 161mi / 259km / 2.5hrs (Route We Took)
Bozeman to St. Mary - 297mi / 478km / 5hrs
Helena to East Glacier Park Village - 188mi / 302km / 3hrs
Police Chase in the mountains of Blackfeet Nation near Browning, MT
The stops throughout the day were crucial to an enjoyable afternoon and we were in awe of the growing peaks on the north side of Browning when a live action police chase caught us all by surprise. Fox caught sight of swirling lights, moved right slightly and then left quickly as the Subaru was overtaken by a fleeing pickup on the gravel filled right shoulder with police cruiser in hot pursuit! A pullout appeared and everyone was out of harms way in time to catch a video of four police vehicles in pursuit followed by a fifth that cut up the mountain switch backs off the main road. After catching our collective breaths we arrived at an [overlook] where wide open sights of the jagged rock and glacier lakes let the gang know we had finally arrived after five days on the road. A short drive later and we were checking in at the remote Thronson's Motel with a stocked general store and delicious Glacier's Edge Café across the street (try the loaded English Muffin).
Saturday arrived and the first day of exploration in the park greeted the family with mountain air, well cooked food, and hot coffee at Glacier's Edge Café next to the motel before driving 12mi / 19km / 30min to the Many Glacier Hotel. The hotel provides a nice launching point into the various different paths one may take within the Many Glacier area. Glacier National Park was undoubtedly our favorite park on the trip and Many Glacier provided the best experience with animal sightings, a hike to Grinnell Lake, relaxing views of Josephine and Swiftcurrent Lake.
The landscape entering Many Glacier on Route 3 is stunning, there are fewer tourists than the West Side, and wildlife is willing to say hello. Around 9am, a grizzly bear was spotted to the left in a low clearing near the river and a pause was taken to enjoy a first of its kind moment. After enjoying a moment of bare necessities time marched onward as the views were absorbed and a man near the hotel strolled along the sidewalk with a six shooter. A brief pitstop was made at the hotel, an accidental stop at a nearby parking lot that houses the local horseback riding, and then we arrived at the Grinnell Lake Trailhead. A group of travelers parked on the road lent the kiddos their binoculars to scope a bear and her two cubs on the mountain slopes high above. This was the second bear sighting of the early day and we were all ready to see what else was in store on the "3.5mi hike" ahead of us.
There are several trails in Many Glacier and the two of us already want to go back and explore the longer hikes with a potential stay at the Granite Park Chalet. Something of note is that even in mid June many of the trails including Grinnell Glacier were still iced up and crampons were recommended. Grinnell Lake is one of many picturesque locations (who are we kidding the entire park is picturesque!) and Fox had his heart set on reaching it. While everyone else was at a bathroom break he discovered the hike was not 3.5mi roundtrip but rather 7mo roundtrip and failed to share that information...
The hike is relaxed and fairly flat along the edge of Lake Josephine and Swiftcurrent Lake with stunning views all around. From the top of the peaks to the trail there was movement all around as waterfalls roared high above, caterpillars spun their cocoons, and snakes slide into holes. With only .3 miles left before Grinnell Lake the seven and eleven year old were exhausted from walking. The weary travelers crossed a wooden bridge with a nearby waterfall before making the file quarter mile walk over compacted snow as the pristine lake and more waterfalls came into view. A solid 15 minutes was spent catching our breath, being present in the moment, and snapping pictures.
After a long day of adventuring everyone was ready for real food and the quick decision was made to eat at Two Sisters Café (Near Babb), which had excellent food and a friendly staff. The next morning came quick and we were off to the east portion of Going-To-The-Sun-Road, which requires ticket be purchased in advance from RECREATION.gov. We missed the initial sale and were forced to attempt to book tickets a week in advance. This was a wild process where tickets would go on sale at 8am MDT and be sold out by 8:02am. After a couple days of failed attempts we enlisted the help of a few friends and they were able to book tickets for us fortunately. One of the wilder parts of this system is that, based on the visitors we saw in East vs. West Glacier, most the tickets probably went to folks on the west side who didn't even need them because the road was still closed past Lake McDonald.
With all of that said, Going-To-The-Sun-Road was incredible, like so much of the park, and we would definitely go back in a heart beat. A few key stops we made were at the first overlook of Wild Goose Island, Sun Point Trailhead Parking Lot, and Jackson Glacier Overlook where we hiked 2.3mi roundtrip to Deadwood Falls.
There are many more destinations in the area including St. Mary and Virgina Falls, and the strenuous Gunsight Lake. All the views were stunning and the glacier blue water of Reynolds Creek flowing over the falls was a relaxing reminder of nature's power. The rest of the afternoon was spent slowly rolling back down Going-To-The-Sun-Road, enjoying a burger at the Snowgoose Grille in St. Mary Village, and a scenic drive to the U.S. / Canadian border, which was still closed.
The following morning would take the gang west on US-2 through the famed Marias Pass and gorgeous mountains around the continental divide. All our experiences in GNP were quite special and is just one more reason why we value the preservation of public lands so much and encourage people to learn the history of the people who came before.
Roaring light blue glacier water at the Deadwood Falls
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