Glacier National Park: The Highline Trail

Hi To Summit Up squad! I apologize that it has been quite some time since my last post. Grad school and work are certainly keeping me busy. It is quite refreshing to take a quick break and write and I certainly feel that I should be allotting a little bit each week to stay fresh and blog. I am extremely excited to put together and share these next few posts summarizing an incredible trip to Glacier National Park in Montana, United States that I took with friends Neil Ferguson and Rose Hvisch last August. I hope you find this destination and the stories that came along with it as inspiring as I did. Photos do not do the landscape justice, but I do hope that they peak your interest in venturing to Glacier. This place is a must-see for any mountain-loving adventurer.

View from the Highline Trail – A Must-Hike in the Park

**Head over to the gallery from Glacier National Park – August 2017 to see more photos like this and embark on a visual journey through the mountains, glaciers, lakes, and streams of the United State’s Northern Rockies!**

This trip began as an idea initially embedded way back in the fabric of time near the end of my undergraduate collegiate career. I was involved in an engineering club called the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) – more specifically the Steel Bridge Team at the University at Buffalo. To summit up (the club) we designed, fabricated, and competed against other schools with a scaled bridge model. We made it to nationals in 2016, which were to be held in Provo, Utah at Brigham Young University. A few buddies of mine and I decided that we were going to drive our bridge (it comes in pieces and fits in a box…I won’t get into too much detail because I could go on for days talking about it and this blog is for MOUNTAINS) across the country and began plotting a glory loop in which we would drive the middle route through the US on the way there, making stops in National Parks such as Arches, Canyonlands, and Rocky Mountain. We were trying to take the northern route back in which we would hit wonders such as Grand Teton,, Yellowstone, the Badlands, and Glacier National Park if we were feeling ambitious. Glacier really stuck out as a must and we began to pursue planning. We went to the Student Association and proposed our idea and were immediately shut down. “You must go directly there and directly back on the shortest route possible.” The general outcome of this story is that we were unable to hit up Glacier in 2016 (although we did get Arches, Canyonlands, and Rocky Mountain…I’m saving these for their own post). After graduation, the craving to explore Glacier grew and grew until it was decided that Summer of 2017 would be the time to go. I began spreading the idea around to see who would be interested and eventually zeroed in on me, Rose, and Neil. I even put together a pump-up informational brochure that had cost estimates, photos, potential hikes and activities! It was set. We were pumped. We immediately began planning and the excitement began to build… eventually the time came for us to embark on the adventure.

Our journey began with the three of us meeting up in Spokane, Washington, as this was the cheapest and closest airport at the time. Neil and I flew out of Buffalo and Rose flew out of JFK. When we landed, we noticed a funky odor and haze in the air outside. This was during the time of large wildfires to the north in Canada. The smoke had drifted south and made its presence known. It was as if a light fog was constantly hanging around. We ensued to rent a car and embarked on the journey roughly 4.5 hours to the west side of Glacier, with the haze coming and going. As we got through Idaho and into Montana, we began to see the Montana mountains rise from the rolling grass flats.

Mountains Rising

A short drive later and we had entered the western edge of the park through West Glacier. We were set to camp at the Apgar Campground and were blessed with an incredible first impression, as our campsite was a short walk from the south end of Lake McDonald.

View from the Water’s Edge on Lake McDonald

We were mesmerized. It kept getting better and better as the sun set. We breathed in the air, skipped a few rocks, and appreciated the fact that we were there. Living. Enjoying the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of nature. The sun set and made way for one killer moon rise.

Moon Rise on Night 1 over Lake McDonald

Shortly after the moon rise, it was time to hit the hay. We were exhausted and had a big first day ahead of us. We awoke the next morning early (definitely still on eastern time), eager to get our feet wet in exploration. We had decided to hike the Highline Trail, which was about an hour-or-so drive into the middle of Glacier. We drove the Going to the Sun Road, the main road through the park traveled by thousands each year as it is known for its breathtaking views. The Highline trail is not a loop, but rather just a hike from point A to point B. Point A for us was the visitor’s center at Logan’s Pass near the top of Going to the Sun Road and Point B was a spot on Going to the Sun Road called “the loop”. We arrived at Logan’s Pass and were ready to roll.

Highline Trailhead

We arrived at Logan’s Pass and embarked early. Watching the fog rise with the sun was quite an experience. When you do this trail, I highly recommend getting out early, as this trail fills quickly mid-to-late morning. We were off and there were only a few other people on the journey, which made for a peaceful and thought-filled beginning to the hike as we soaked in the views.

Highline Trail

Highline Trail

The Next Windows Background #1

The Next Windows Background #2

Breathtaking Views from the Highline Trail

A few hours of hiking in and we approached a fork in the trail. The sign indicated that we could reach the Grinnell Glacier Overlook. Obviously we couldn’t turn this down and NEITHER SHOULD YOU if you take the highline adventure. We hiked up the side of this mountain to the saddle and our reward was the best first impression that I’ve ever had.

First Impression of Grinnell Glacier from the Overlook

View from one side of the Saddle to the Other

The Trail up to Grinnell Glacier Overlook (Highline trail down below)

After taking some time to soak in this astonishing place, we ventured back down to the Highline Trail and trekked on. We cruised towards the Granite Park Chalet. For those of you who don’t know what a chalet is, it’s basically a wooden or stone hut in the woods. We arrived at the Chalet and sat at a picnic table to grab a bite while enjoying the views.

Granite Park Chalet

Granite Park Chalet

Although I fully appreciated this moment and took in each breath with gratitude, I appreciated the moments even more after the events that took place the few weeks after we left. The wildfires spread south into Glacier, aided by lightning strikes, and certain areas ended up being torched. Unfortunately, the Granite Park Chalet was one of those areas. The chalet was originally built in 1914 and 1915 by the Great Northern Railway. The Chalet is currently listed as a National Historic Landmark. It saddens my heart to see what happened to the Chalet within a few weeks of us being there. It’s pretty wild how quickly mother nature can humble humans.

Granite Park Chalet During Fire – Image taken from NPR article https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/09/09/549561013/glacier-parks-scorched-sperry-chalet-was-a-haven-for-the-hungry-hiker

Making our way down the last portion of the Highline, we found ourselves in some mid-height, thick brush. This area had been burned a few decades earlier and was in a period of re-growth. Perfect for Bears. Literally Perfect for Bears. Surprisingly, we didn’t see a single bear as we made our way through the rest of the hike. We later found out that there were three bears sighted along that portion of the trail during the time that we were on it. Glad we didn’t cross paths! We did find a pretty sweet pedestrian bridge to cross and I wouldn’t be living up to my duties if I didn’t share a photo with you.

Perfect Bear Territory

Obligatory Bridge Photo

This bridge pretty much marked the end of the trail and we made our way back to the loop to catch the shuttle that would take us back to Logan’s Pass to get the car. Eventually, we made our way back to Apgar to unwind after our amazing day on the Highline. We kicked back and watched the sunset.

Sunset on a Highline Type of Day

Our next day was to be filled with our first back country camping experience on Logging Lake. We met some interesting people and have some memorable stories from our back country experience. Stay tuned for the next post which will dive into the middle of the week!! Thanks for reading the beginning, y’all are the best!!! What a great time to be alive. Never take anything for granted and love every minute of your time here on earth.

Until next post,

-Ryan

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