Glacier park advice

[Khurram]

I just made reservations at Glacier national park (will be staying at a cabin at the Rising Sun moter inn).

The plan is to leave next thursday afternoon for Waterton (i'm still trying to find a place to stay) and then head out friday afternnon for Glacier.


My previous trip consisted of just a driver thorugh the going-to-the sun road so i havne't seen much of the park.

I wanted to get some advice on must see (note i'll only have friday night through sunday afternoon in the park, so i'm trying to cherry pick the best spots and hikes given my short time in the park).

I had planned on doing sunrise at to get the classic Goose island shot on both sat and sunday morning.

I've read that some great shots of Grinnel lake are possible on the hike up to Grinnel Glacier.  Any suggestions or advice on the hike would be appreciated.  Given the short time i have would it make more sense on taking the boat tour for part of the hike???

I've also read about waterfalls on Avalanche Trail.  Is this byAvalanche Creek??

Any advice on the best times for Grinnel Lake or Avalanche Trai falls/Avalanche gorge would be appreciated!!

Any other suggestions???  Any suggestions on best places to see bears??  What would be the best sunset bets (i'll have one in Waterton and two in Glacier)

[wolfnowl]

Any suggestions on best places to see bears??

Never been there so I can't give you any specific advice, but as someone who used to do bear research I can give you some general advice.  At this time of year black bear cubs are big enough that they're not treeing at the drop of a hat, and it's too early in the year for fish runs.  Since bears really only get a few months to put on weight, you'll find them wherever they can find the best food sources.  For bears that can be just about anything, but it's also too early for most nut and fruit crops, so I'd focus on berry patches, open hill country, places they can get out of the heat we're experiencing in this part of the world right now.  Glacier is currently experiencing high temperature records every day, so that might drive them down toward water.

And if food is scarce enough you won't have to go looking for them - they'll find you!  Remember to be aware and be safe.  You may wish to take a moment to look at this site: http://www.nps.gov/archive/glac/resources/bears.htm

Mike.

[Hank]

I was there the last week of June, sadly leaving two days before Going to the Sun opened up.  We spotted bears on two occasions early in the morning in the meadows leading up to the mountains approximately SW of the Weeping Wall.  Looked to be grazing.  Not a scrap of inclination to cross the draw to reach them, however.

[seangirard]

Grinnel is worth a hike and there are indeed nice shots of the lake, the peak, and what's left of the glacier. Avalanche is a nice lake and a great walk, but I wouldn't really recommend it for photography... you're pretty closed in and will spend most of the time in fairly dense (but very beautiful) forest. It is worth taking the 5 min. walk off the road the see the gorge though. Iceberg lake is also popular. The hidden lake overlook walk will open up a couple of nice vistas not visible from the pass parking lot and can be a nice place to be for sunrise. It is a very accessible 2 or 3 mile round trip. The sun comes up pretty much directly behind Going-to-the-Sun mountain, for reference. If you want to get on top of a peak the two most accessible 'climbs' i can think of are Oberlin (right off the pass) and probably Pollack (leave from Siyeh creek). The Mt. Siyeh trail will get you some great views of several peaks. Also the Swiftcurrent Pass trail from Granite Park Chalet, either one is accessible in a moderate day. Since you're staying on the east side, you might like the short hike up to scenic point from Two Medicine lake. The boat ride down Waterton is fun and anywhere along that lake you will have wide views of a great range. You can do a day hike up to Crypt lake which would probably yield more photographic opportunity than Avalanche (although I haven't been on up there for a long, long time). In Waterton the Kilmory lodge is a nice place and if you can't get a room there check it out for dinner. It's right in town. Keep an eye out for Chief Mtn when you head up to Waterton for something a little different. You used to be able to drive up quite close but that involved crossing some reservation land and I'm not sure what the status is on all that right now. Consult your map.

[Don Libby]

We were at Glacier last September and were able to obtain several decent images.  I got a pano at Avalanche Creek that has been very well received (having sold several).  Were I to return to Glacier which is planned, I would most certainly return to Avalanche.