But With Montana It Is Love ❤️
“I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection. But with Montana it is love.” – John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America
Idaho
We spent a few days in the panhandle of Idaho before continuing east to Montana. After we visited Post Falls (which is a cute town on the Spokane River), we then rode bikes on the famed Hiawatha Trail. It is a 15 mile trek along the former Milwaukee Railroad route that passes through 11 tunnels and across 9 high trestles. The view of the Idaho valley was stunning as we wound our way down the mountainside. Lucky for us, there was a shuttle waiting at the bottom of the hill to drive us back up! If you are in northern Idaho, then this famous trail is a ‘must do’!
(Click on any image to open the gallery and read the captions)
We both feel that we didn’t allot enough time for Idaho. But after riding the Hiawatha Trail, we continued east to Montana.
Montana
Ahhh … Montana. Where cowboy hats, Wrangler jeans and Marlboro cigarettes are a fashion staple. Where the glacial carved mountains support a complete, diverse ecosystem. And where the sky is so wide that you can watch a thunderstorm roll in from miles away. There is a grittiness about this state and I love it here!
Glacier National Park
We started our three weeks in Montana in Glacier National Park. The Continental Divide bisects this large park and hotels and trails are often referred to as being ‘on the west side’ or ‘on the east side’ [of the Continental Divide]. Travel from one side of the park to the other is possible via the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Logan Pass is the highest point on this historic road. We spent almost three weeks in Glacier NP, so I will try to stick to the highlights of our visit!
But first, a bit about the namesake of this park. In 1910, there were over 100 named glaciers in Glacier National Park. By 1966, this number had declined to 35. Today, there are only 26 that meet the size criteria to be designated as active glaciers. Scientists estimate that the glaciers will disappear from this park by 2030. We were fortunate to see 11 of these massive ice sheets during our visit.
The melting glaciers and high annual snowfall have resulted in hundreds of massive waterfalls, sparkling aquamarine mountain lakes with colorful rock bottoms, and extensive wildlife. We were able to catch a glimpse of: marmot, pika, black bears (6), a grizzly bear, a moose, ruffed grouse, mountain goats, and big horn sheep.
Unfortunately, the sky was often smoky from wildfires in Idaho. This made for poor visibility but some amazing sunsets!
The Highline Trail and Granite Park Chalet – 12 miles hiked
Glacier National Park has a few remaining chalets from the days of the Great Northern Railway. People would bring the train to Glacier and then ride a horse to the chalet for a relaxing evening. Most of the chalets were destroyed by fires or avalanches; however, both Sperry Chalet and Granite Park Chalet remain operational. Both chalets are accessible on foot.
When we last visited this park (in June 2010), there was a lot of snow on the ground and the mountains. During that trip, we hiked to Granite Park Chalet and enjoyed a 360 view of snow covered peaks. Although it was beautiful, we both remember the hike to be incredibly challenging with our feet sinking deep into the snow as we climbed up the final hill. We were both eager to do this hike again.
We began our hike on the Highline Trail at Logan Pass. This Instagram-famous trail starts along a blasted mountainside before widening to beautiful meadows and waterfalls. This trail ultimately summits to Granite Park Chalet. The view from the chalet is breathtaking and overlooks the Lake McDonald river valley and several mountain peaks. We enjoyed our lunch before returning via the Granite Park trail. It was a great day and significantly different than our initial experience!
Gunpass Site Trail – Jackson Glacier Overlook to Lake McDonald Backpacking trip – 3 nights and 36 miles hiked
We had a permit to hike 6 nights in the backcountry and we changed our itinerary at the last minute. This trip worked out perfectly because the hiking between each camp was relatively short, which left us some time for exploring.
Day 1 – Jackson Glacier Overlook to Gunsight Lake – 8 miles hiked
The first day, we rode the Glacier Shuttle to the Gunsight Pass trail (near the Jackson Glacier Overlook). The shuttle isn’t known for its speed, and we didn’t hit the trail until after noon. We hiked 8 miles with a side trip to Florence Falls and then camped at Gunsight Lake.
Day 2 – Gunsight Lake to Lake Ellen Wilson – 10 miles hiked
There is a suspension bridge that crosses the outflow of Gunsight Lake and it was, conveniently, rolled up along the shoreline. It appeared that a cable broke earlier in the season. So, the first order of business on Day 2 was to roll up our pant legs and cross the brisk, flowing water to continue our hike. To say it was refreshing would be an understatement!
We continued our journey with another side trip. From the map, it appeared that we could hike up to the Jackson Glacier. We saw this massive glacier from the trailhead and were both excited to get a closer look. The trail was steep and narrow with heavy brush on both sides. It seemed lightly traveled and the whole thing was a bit unnerving in grizzly country. To add to the uneasiness, we passed through lush huckleberry and blueberry patches bursting with berries! (Side note: did you know that a single grizzly bear can eat up to 100,000 huckleberries in one day?!?).
After hiking for a couple of miles, we came to the most beautiful meadow and the trail abruptly stopped. We saw snowfields in the distance, but the glacier was hidden by a moraine. The beautiful meadow was soggy and too pretty to trample. We snapped a couple of photos and then returned to the berry patches to pick some for our morning breakfasts. The berries really were the best part of this side trip!
We camped our second night at Lake Ellen Wilson and arrived early enough to dip in the icy lake and rest before dinner. We chatted with some men who were hiking the same route and low and behold, they are Michiganders! One guy lives 15 minutes from our former Canton home! Anyhoo, they asked us if we heard mountain goats the night before and we answered honestly that we hadn’t. They told us stories about hearing the goat hooves all night and then getting out of the tent only to see goats staring at them! They even thought that a goat took one of their pairs of underwear! I don’t think they were ‘kidding’ around! Get it? Kid? Goat? Hahaha!
Day 3 – Lake Ellen Wilson to Sperry Chalet Campground – 12 miles hiked
The third day of our hike was a short 2.5 miles to the Sperry Chalet Campground and we arrived early because we had a long side trip planned. We scoped out the campsites and picked the one with the very best view. It overlooked Lake McDonald and was the perfect place to watch sunset. However, this campsite was a solid example that you want to pick the site with the best attributes and NOT the best view!
Immediately after we set up the tent (and we hadn’t yet staked it to the ground), a gust of wind blew up the side of the mountain, grabbed ahold of our tent and sent it flying! Mark ran like a man possessed to snag our tent before it flew over the side of the mountain! Once it was back under control, we secured the stakes, loaded the tent with our gear and added some rocks for weight before we set off for our afternoon jaunt.
We hiked to Sperry Glacier, which was 4.8 miles [seemingly] straight uphill. The trail involves hiking over Comeau Pass, which includes climbing a set of stairs that were created using dynamite! This area was a complete wind tunnel! You can see in Mark’s picture that the waterfall is actually blowing backward into Featherwoman Lake at the top of the pass! Once over the pass, the terrain was snowfields, boulders and rocks carved by the glacier. Despite all of the hard work (and my complaining along the way), this was an epic side trip and completely worth it! I hope the pictures help you appreciate the magnitude of this remnant from the Little Ice Age!
We were exhausted when we returned to the campground; however, we were rewarded with one of the most beautiful sunsets we have seen. We enjoyed the company of our new friends while watching the sky on fire. Afterward, we quickly crawled into our tent to find that all of our gear was covered in fine dirt! The wind howling up the mountain all day had blown dust directly into our tent! We were so tired that we agreed that we didn’t care and we were looking forward to a solid night’s slumber.
Soon after the sun completely set, we heard the hooves of mountain goats surround our tent. Between our gritty gear, feeling the eyes of mountain goats pierce through our tent, and the wind howling up the mountain, we didn’t get much sleep on our last night on the trail. At least we didn’t leave any underwear laying around!
Day 4 – Sperry Chalet Campground to Lake McDonald – 6 miles hiked
After our restless night, we were up early to hike a quick 6 miles down the trail to our car parked at Lake McDonald. We shared our breakfast spot with another couple and I overheard the following coversation:
- Wife: “A watched pot never boils”
- Husband: “Watching the pot has nothing to do with boiling time. It’s pure physics!”
This caused me to smile and say “I thought that Mark was the only person in the world to play the ‘physics’ card”! You see, any time I am surprised by an outcome, Mark will say something like “It’s physics!” It’s been a running (albeit totally nerdy) joke throughout our time on the road.
After we all laughed at the randomness, we then continued with a bit of small talk. Low and behold, they have lived in Avon Lake, Ohio (Mark’s hometown) for 30 years. There is a chance that their daughter (Megan) attended my father-in-law’s science class at Learwood Middle School! For our Avon Lake followers: if you have a friend or neighbor who recently embarked on a two-week road trip that included camping at Sperry Chalet Campground in Glacier NP, then there is a very good chance that we met them on the trail! It was an incredibly entertaining breakfast!
After our hike down the hill, we quickly showered, found fresh clothes and then we rewarded ourselves with a piece of homemade huckleberry-peach pie and a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream! It was a great few days with some fun stories to share!
Ptarmigan Tunnel and Iceberg Lake – 16 miles hiked
Another memory we have of our 2010 trip is a hike to Iceberg Lake. We recall that the skies were clear when we left for this 5 mile (one way) trip, but snow was falling when we were in the cirque by the lake. In fact, we were surrounded on all sides by avalanches. We both remember standing in awe with the thunderous snow all around. The memory is so clear for both of us and we wanted to see this magical place with less snow!
We started our hike with a trip to Ptarmigan Tunnel. The Ptarmigan Ridge runs through the mountain range and when the trails were built, the ridge was blown out with, yep, you guessed it … dynamite. The resulting tunnel connects the north trails to the southern section of the park. There are steel doors on both sides of the Ptarmigan Tunnel to keep out the winter snow. On a clear day, the view from the tunnel overlooks the northern portion of the park and is said to be outstanding. The smoke from the Idaho fires dimmed our view, but we still enjoyed our lunch at the top of the ridge.
We hiked back from the Ptarmigan Tunnel to Iceberg Lake and it was simply beautiful. There were a few icebergs floating in the aquamarine lake and it was fun to figure out where we were just 12 years ago.
Also, in case you are wondering, the ptarmigan is a type of bird in the grouse family. They change their plumage twice a year so they are brown in the summer and white in the winter. It helps them blend with the snow in alpine areas. We thought we saw ptarmigans along the trail, but some myth-busting proved that they were, instead, ruffed grouse.
This was a really great hike and we would definitely do this again as part of a longer backpacking trip in the future.
Cobalt Lake – 11 miles hiked
In and of itself, Cobalt Lake isn’t overly remarkable. It’s an easy hike from the Two Medicine Campground and a bit off the beaten path. When we arrived at Cobalt Lake, we were the only people there. The deep blue water was stunning and we enjoyed watching marmots fatten up for winter while we ate our lunch. Out of nowhere, a grizzly bear came from behind, then walked across the shoreline, dipped in the water and swam across the lake. The width of Cobalt Lake is 623′ (about 1/8 mile). The grizzly swam entirely across the lake, came out the other side and immediately scrambled up the side of the mountain. It was a testament to the sheer power of these animals and was a highlight of our trip!
Grinnell Glacier – 14 miles hiked
The Grinnell Glacier trail was one of my favorite parts of Glacier National Park. The trail follows the shoreline of both Swiftcurrent and Josephine Lakes before heading up a mountainside for 3 miles. The trail ends at Upper Grinnell Lake. From the lake, you can see three different glaciers: Gem, Salamander and Grinnell. There are massive chunks of glacial ice floating in the beautiful blue lake. We spent a couple of hours here and it still didn’t seem like enough time. If a trip to Glacier NP is on your list, then this is a ‘must do’ hike! Be sure to find a quiet spot close to the Grinnell Glacier and you can hear the ice cracking as it continues to slowly carve down the mountain.
All told, we hiked approximately 150 miles (of a possible 700 miles) during our time in Glacier and we have more hikes planned for our next visit to this park!
Charlies M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, Winifred, MT
Part of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, this wildlife refuge is said to look mostly as it did when Lewis and Clark passed through in 1805. There are four remaining temperate grassland ecosystems left in the world, and this is the only one in the United States. Two people told us this is a ‘must stop’, so of course, we added this to our itinerary!
The area is home to over 200 animal species and the most famous in mid-September are the elk! If you have never heard the high pitched bugle of an elk in rut, then it is definitely worth a quick Google! The males emit a screeching sound and clash antlers with other males to help build their breeding harem.
We stood in awe watching at least 100 elk graze on the prairie land and jockey for breeding position. As the sun started to set, the action increased with some males sparring and then rounding up their ladies to head into the woods for the night. We have been lucky enough to see elk for the past two autumns, but there is certainly something special about this grassland wilderness!
Billings on out
It had been three weeks since we enjoyed the comforts of hotel living. From Winifred, we drove south through towns named Grass Range and Roundup on our way to the metropolis of Billings.
We made one final stop on our way out of Montana. The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument elicited a range of emotions during our visit. This battlefield is the site of General George Armstrong Custer’s Last Stand. The history of this area, the relationship between the US and the Native Americans and the roles of Custer and Grant were all fascinating to me.
In 1869, General Custer and three Cheyenne Chiefs smoked a ceremonial peace pipe commemorating Custer’s promise never to invade them again. Custer was told that he and his men would be killed if he broke his promise. Custer kept vow for 7.5 years until (under the guidance of President Grant), he took 400 men to invade the area intent on forcing the Native Americans to live on established reservations. The main motiviation was to secure the Black Hills and the gold that lies within. Custer’s army encountered over 7,000 native men (from multiple tribes), and true to their word, the Indian warrriors killed Custer and his troops.
The National Monument did a nice job of memorializing the men who died on both sides of the battle. While the Native Americans won the Battle at Little Bighorn, they ultimately lost the war, their land, and their way of life. Our travels have certainly shifted my perspective on the events of history and how they have shaped our modern world.
Next up is North Dakota as we continue our travels east through late October. Unlike the ptarmigans, who will spend winter in the Montana mountains, we are avoiding the snow at all costs! Our plan is to stay warm in Florida for the season while we outline our 2023 travels! We love to read your comments, so let us know if you have suggestions on ‘must dos’ for next year!
Hope you had a wonderful summer, made some new friends and found grand adventures along the way! – Mark and Debbie
2 thoughts on “But With Montana It Is Love ❤️”
Chris & I did the Hiawatha Trail with his brother Bruce & his wife. It was a most memorable time, beautiful views.
We had a great time on that trail too! Beautiful views! Hope you are doing well, Debbie! 😘
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