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Day 6: Hiking galore in Glacier National Park

 Glacier National Park is the first place so far in this road trip that I am staying in one place for 2 nights. This allowed me to spend all day driving around, exploring and hiking in the park without having to worry about driving a few hundred miles to the next destination. Not having to pack/unpack today was a luxury compared to the mad rush the previous days. 

It had rained overnight at the KOA resort, but had stopped early morning. The weather forecast indicated it was still snowing inside the park. I started driving on the "Going to the Sun" road, not knowing what the weather condition would be at various trailheads. I had downloaded 4 different trails in AllTrails  for just in time selection. There was also the issue of finding parking at the trailheads. Glacier park is extremely busy and the general advice is to reach the popular trailheads by 8am. Well, I was able to leave KOA only at 10am. 

When I reached the Logan visitor center an hour later, it was very foggy, low visibility and light snow.  I decided to do the short Hidden Lake Trail first and then do a 2nd hike based on the weather when I returned. The weather started clearing up and the views in this hike were spectacular. Seeing the trees and mountain tops covered in fresh snow was an extra bonus. 


 



 

It was clear and partly cloudy when I finished this hike, so I decided to drive another hour to the Many Glacier hotel, which is the starting point of the highly rated, but difficult Grinnell Glacier Trail. It was a beautiful trail, going past 3 alpine lakes and views of multiple glaciers and waterfalls. It was getting late in the afternoon and I decided to turn back with 2 miles still to go to the glacier. Even though I did not get to touch and walk on the glacier, I think it was the responsible thing to do. 



 

I relaxed for a while at the Many Glacier hotel with a Cappuccino, before the 2 hour drive back to the KOA cabin.



The raw numbers for the day:

  • 144 miles driving, 28000 steps walking
  • 1 NEMA 14-50 overnight charging session at KOA
  • 1 state - Montana

Next:  Day 7: Long Drive from Glacier to Yellowstone (Sept 10, 2022)

Comments

  1. AJSeptember 15, 2022 at 9:48 PM

    Great pictures! Very scenic trails!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. VisheshSeptember 17, 2022 at 5:03 PM

    These views are breathtaking! The bright turquoise water, the towering glacier-carved cliffs... I'm glad your on-the-spot planning was able to make the most of the weather!

    ReplyDelete

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