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Alpinejo.tripod.com: Backcountry Trails Guide
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Montana Backcountry Trails

Granite Park Chalet

Nearing Piegan Pass

Swiftcurrent Lake

Glacier/Waterton National Parks

Grinnell Lake

Definition of terms below
Location: Glacier National Park
Directions: Get yourself over to Glacier National Park. Head up into Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada for the Beginning of this trip.
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation +/- +14557 feet elevation up (-13450 feet elevation down)
Distance: 92.25 Miles one way
Rating: 10 out of 10
Fishing: Good
Scenery: Awesome, from the valleys of trees to the Continental Divide
Map Printable Topo Map
Glacier National Park is well worth a week long+ trek in the wilderness.

This was the first long distance trip in Montana. It was a great time--we had sunshine, snow and then blazing heat. It was a grueling trip (long distances each day of 10 to 15 miles) due to the strict regulations within Glacier. We wanted to hike the full length of Glacier from Canada to the Two Medicine Campground. The trip on a whole was a success, but completing the trip to Two Medicine proved to a bigger challenge than I expected.

We started by hooking up with a friend that lives near Missoula. We carpooled up into Canada and caught the boat shuttle they have on Waterton Lake. I would suggest this because it is a hoot, you get a little bit of history and also you are saving allot of energy for the tough days ahead.

After the boat ride we had a one nights stay at the Goat Haunt Campground, it had running water a bear pole and a great info center with chairs and a huge fireplace. We timed it perfectly, the crew on the boat had there summer party that night at the Goat Haunt info center, we met some neat people and enjoyed a beer or two with them.

The views are great once you get out of the trees through the Waterton Valley. Hiking was relatively easy to start but as the trail continued it got a bit steeper on up to our campsite at 50 Mountain Campground, the beautiful scenery is everywhere and the wide open "Big Sky Country" was living up to it's name. 

The next day we found the trail on the ridge and headed south to stay in the Granite Park Campground , the grizzly warnings were out in force (this being the same place that someone had been attacked by a grizzly years earlier. The Granite Park Chalet is awesome, the chalet is beautiful and rustic and the people who man it are like your own private trail guides. I would go here and stay if I make it back to Glacier. We also got caught in a snowstorm and it was August

We then were headed up Swiftcurrent Pass to Many Glacier Campground. We had cached some food there, you just put your food in a 5 gal. bucket w/ a lid and take it to the ranger station for safe keeping, on our way up to Waterton Lake.

Fishing-- We fished out behind the Goat Haunt ranger station in the creek, we landed a few and a few huge ones were smart and fiesty and managed to flip off the hook. I fished a few other places along the way but I did not try to hard and thus did not have much luck.

 Do it again? yes, in a heart beat

Other Links:
Glacier National Park
Hiking Glacier National Park
Glacier Park, Inc.
Hiking Trail Updates in Glacier Nat'l Park
Glacier National Park and its Backcountry book
Glacier National Park, Mt July 2001 Trip report


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Although Alpinejo.tripod.com provides backcountry trail reports, you are responsible for your own safety. We will not accept any responsibility for injuries or rescues that may take place after reading this information.


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