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Calgary, Alberta
Canada
1266 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2012 : 10:38 AM
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2012-07-22
As we left Alberta, we were treated to three bear sightings. All three were in Waterton Lakes National Park. One was along the Red Rock Canyon Parkway and the other two were near the park gate. In the course of two days, we saw ten bears in the park.
From Waterton Lakes National Park, we drove down highway 6, which turned into highway 17 on the U.S. side. The scenery was fantastic, especially the view of Chief Mountain. We entered Glacier National Park through the east gate and got onto the Going to the Sun Road. This road was featured in the opening scene of The Shining and I had wanted to see it ever since I saw that movie.
The entry for the park was a mere $25 for seven days! That included everyone in the vehicle. This started a discussion about the high park fees for national parks in Canada. Are the fees so high because the number of national parks in Canada that don't see many visitors? Do fees collected in Banff National Park get spread around to other national parks?
The Going to the Sun Road did not disappoint. The lakes we passed were magnificent. With the snow melt there seemed to be no end to the number of waterfalls we saw, particularly as we approached Logans Pass.
We didn't know much about Glacier National Park, but after seeing some photos, I thought Hidden Lake would make for a good introduction to the park scenery. We parked at the Logans Pass visitor centre and set out to the lake.
This hike can be separated into two sections. The first requires about a 100 meters elevation gain and places you at a lookout above Hidden Lake. This seems to be where most people turn around. The second part of the hike requires some 300 meters of elevation loss and brings you to the north end of Hidden Lake. Switchbacks make this part a bit easier.
This trail is quite popular with park visitors. The number of people on the trail is comparable to that of Johnston Canyon. The trail involved crossing a fairly large snow patch and many struggled to get across it. Running shoes and flip-flops were surprisingly common.
The scenery on this trail is spectacular. Reynolds Mountain and Bearhat Mountain are dominant. Hidden Lake partially wraps around Bearhat Mountain and seemingly hundreds of waterfalls drain into it. There is also a lot of wildlife, particularly mountain goats, that seem to be quite habituated to people. Several mountain goats approached us or just casually sat by as people took photos. I wondered if they were being fed, but a person taking photos speculated that they enjoyed the salts produced by the number of people urinating along the trail! We saw several marmots too, on nearby boulders, observing the park visitors.
The north bank of Hidden Lake had several people fishing. I believe I saw a sign indicating that only at this part of the lake was fishing allowed. I wondered about following the banks of the lake further, but we ended up turning around at this point.
Photos
 
       
Map
[Download GPS Track]
More photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/markostavric/sets/72157630832772556/with/7681915346/
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 bandana wearin', pole huckin', view lovin', dog herdin', 4x4 navigatin', lake huntin', butt-slidin' bridge crosser, who enjoys postholing with an overnighter pack
Surrey, BC
Canada
4663 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2012 : 8:29 PM
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That's a beautiful lake. Been wanting to go to Glacier for a number of years - may have to bump it up the List ...
Thanks for posting!
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Calgary, Alberta
Canada
1266 Posts |
Posted - 08/01/2012 : 4:13 PM
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Spunky, yeah it's worth visiting. It exceeded my expectations. The east side of the park is more like the Canadian Rockies. The west side of the park reminded me more of the west coast mountains.
My only complaint would be the amount of people on the popular trails. If I were to go again, I'd be interested in checking out some of the entry points on the north east and north west ends of the park. The Kintla Lakes look really beautiful and going in the way of Lake Sherburne looks really good too. |
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Poco, BC
Canada
405 Posts |
Posted - 08/01/2012 : 8:05 PM
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Wow! Fantastic pics!
Thanks for sharing |
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Outward Bound author of the Seinfeld Thread, who builds his own snowshoes
Troy, MT
USA
3140 Posts |
Posted - 08/01/2012 : 8:58 PM
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Nice TR. I really have to make it over there one of these weekends.
If anyone is interested in a less tourist infested part of NW Montana, the Cabinets are arguably as beautiful as Glacier, and far less popular. The Sawtooths (along the MT-ID border, wesy of hwy 56) are another great option. Amazing fishing and hunting as well. |
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Edmonton, AB
Canada
486 Posts |
Posted - 08/02/2012 : 12:17 PM
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| Looks like I don't have luck with bears. So far I've only see 4 bears, both on roadside. No bears on trail despite I've done 104 mountains with tens of other hiking trails... Maybe they don't like me, but that's good. |
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High River, (just south of Calgary eh!), Alberta
Canada
1718 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2012 : 07:25 AM
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| Glacier is on my radar for sure. Waterton is one of my favorite parks and it is just an outlier of Glacier from a geographic perspective. When I went over Logan pass a few years back it was totally clouded in so I missed all the high country. (tied in with a trip to Colorado etc) Great photos as always Marko. |
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Langley, BC
Canada
1699 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2012 : 07:28 AM
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| Woweee!!! Awesome..thanks for sharing! |
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Calgary, Alberta
Canada
1266 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2012 : 08:09 AM
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| Clayton, yeah the weather can really change the look and feel of the landscape. This was the best day we had, in that it was clear and warm, albeit a bit too warm. The next few days were fairly cloudy and the colours didn't pop out as much. If you return, I would highly recommend making a detour trip to Dragon's Tail (http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=51302), it really provides good views of the area. I imagine Reynolds Mountain would have had awesome views too. |
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157 Posts |
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Outdoors addicted flyfishing, skiing, snowshoeing, hiking car crooner and resident motormouth
Da'Wack, BC
Canada
5378 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2012 : 9:23 PM
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| Love that nanny and kidd photo on the snow in the foreground and the valley behind. What focal length was your lens? |
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Outdoors addicted flyfishing, skiing, snowshoeing, hiking car crooner and resident motormouth
Da'Wack, BC
Canada
5378 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2012 : 9:25 PM
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| Love that nanny and kidd photo on the snow in the foreground and the valley behind. What focal length was your lens? |
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Stanwood, Washington
USA
314 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2012 : 9:32 PM
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| Great shots, sounds like you had a nice trip. I worked in Glacier Park a few years back, had a really nice summer doing bear research. |
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Utah's canyon trekking,deck chair packing desert explorer who dreams of visiting Canada someday
3988 Posts |
Posted - 08/04/2012 : 7:06 PM
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWKQSDRekBM
I love The Shining. Saw it when it came out in the theatres years ago. I love Jack! He's an amazing actor. I heard you can rent that room at the hotel, too. 
Wow!! you really got your 25 bucks worth! Beautiful place. I don't like the snow, though. But, I guess there is a little window of opportunity with the weather. Any bugs? I won't wear a mosquito net to enjoy the scenery. I would rather skip it. It is a liesure activity not meant for suffering. I'd have to stay on the tour bus. Great pictures!! I'll never make it up there. So, thanks for the amazing trip report. nice!! |
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Hidden Lake, Montana
