We visited Montana this spring to do some hiking in Glacier National Park! I had not been since I was a kid, and arrived a little earlier than peak season. We had some amazing hikes, beautiful accommodations and an all around secluded and relaxing wilderness weekend.

One hilarious thing that happened on our trip was in part due to misinformed preparation. We had been warned that going so early in the season, we would likely encounter bears. So, being the prepared hiker that I wish to be, I went to my local (Ohio) REI to seek advice. Here I was sold exactly three bear whistles and told to simply blow these to dissuade bears from coming near us. This seemed fairly simple. Upon arriving in our cabin, we decided to take secondary precautions and also try out the “bear spray”. Before hiking our first day, my friend Vicki was outside giving the spray a test run. Key learning: do not spray downwind, Vicki essentially maced herself before the day even began.

Once recovering we hit the deserted, and snow covered trails around the East Glacier. The wooded paths were covered in snow, sometimes with drifts up to our waists. We encountered very steep angles, leading down to mountain lakes that we were slipping and sliding with all the ice. None the less, we blew that bear whistle (which makes a horrible sound) every five minutes or so to keep safe. At one point in the hike we were delighted to make contact with other hikers along the trail via this whistle communication. At this point realizing, we had not studied up on the meaning of the various whistle tooting cadences  we assumed the mimicking was a friendly fellow from a trail further off. 

It wasn’t until returning to the lodge (mid-surprise blizzard) that we finally encountered some national park rangers. In addition to be shocked we had made our way through the snow covered trails, they were quick to tell us humans should simply sing and make lots of human noises to keep bears away. In fact, they told us, there are no such thing as bear whistles. Those whistles sound like marmots, which bears eat, and simply attract them. Turns out our hiker friends were likely just rodents. 

EXPERIENCE

Glacier National Park is an impressive place all around. I visited here with two hiking buddies from work. We went over Memorial Day weekend, not realizing this was a little too early to be considered prime season. In fact, many of the trails were covered with waist deep snow, but we came well prepared for cold weather, so this was fine.

Going to the Sun Road  is a must do drive through the park, though much of it was still closed when we arrived. This drive has impressive views of many glacial lakes and rivers. Many Glacier was a highlight of the park for us. As well as a beautiful drive up to St. Mary’s Lake. This place was absolutely stunning, nestled between mountains and glaciers, with a blue color that is almost indescribable. We had a lovely time in the area of the park which boasts the oldest Cedar Forest in the country, there is a particularly perfect waterfall through a small crevass that makes the short hike through this words amazing. Twin Falls was another stop in East Glacier that made a perfect spot for a picnic lunch. 

We made the decision to spend one whole day across the park in West Glacier. This eneded up being a brilliant idea, not only because of the spectacular (and very different than East Glacier) view of the valley, but also because of the warmer temperatures. This day felt like a completely different season than we experienced in snowy East Glacier. The burnt forest was littered with wildflowers, small wildlife and buzzing insects. 

The surrounding area and Blackfoot Reservation were a lovely place to drive around. The landscapes and wildlife, including wild horses, made this particularly worthwhile.

STAY 

We rented a lovely house in East Glacier Park  on the Glacier Acres Development. It was in a pine forested hillside and from the second floor deck had a spectacular view of the park. This place had an awesome kitchen, which allowed us to do lots of cooking, and big windows connected to the wilderness the house is nestled in. We were really happy with this spot and told elk, deer, moose, and bear frequent the property. 

EAT

The gateway town of East Glacier Park has several restaurants and one bar (none of which I can really recommend, hah). The nearby town of Two Medicine has additional options. We really loved the local beers and huckleberry pie. Otherwise we found our best bet was cooking in our house after a long day of hiking.