Glacier National Park

Hi,

Noob here, joined last year, and then my trip got cancelled. Anyway, put in for a new trip to GNP this year, will find out soon, about route. Does anyone have experience in backpacking (5-6 days) in GNP? I've done quite a bit of camping/canoeing, but backcounty hiking/camping is new. I am planning on a few weekend trips to SHT, to try gear and dial in weight and supplies. Any help with food, weight, gear, general hiking suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks,
CnMe

1. They have big brown bears there, carry Bear spray and make noise on the trail. If you are really new to this please read up on hiking and camping with bears and proper food handling. Such info will keep you AND OTHER BPers safer. Bears will frequent areas of the park and warnings will be posted. Camp sights on occasion will close due to bears frequenting them.

2. BC camp sights have hanging wires for food storage, bring an appropriate bear bag kit for hanging food. Again if your new to this practice hanging before you go.

3. It can get cool and damn windy depending where your going and what time of year. Expect a little rain, or a torretial downpour. Most of the time their summers are very pleasant.

4. There is some elevation to deal with but its not enough to bother us in most areas. YMMV

5. Bring some way of taking pics, it is absolutely beautiful there.

6. The rest is pretty much standard BPng fair.

Enjoy

Cass,

What do you specifically want to know about Glacier? I have done a number of multi-day backpacking trips there and plenty of day hikes. It is a special place for backpacking. What routes did you apply for?

Here is Sue Lake on one of my backpacking trips:

Thank you both very much about the info. A bit more background, I have done quite a bit of camping/canoeing. I go to the Boundary Waters every year, and don't deal with Bear, but Moose, wolves, etc.

I applied for 4 routes, hoping to find out in the next couple of days. One route is out of MG, through Ptarmigan, to Elizabeth, Stoney, Fifty Mtn, and back. Another route is to GH, from Kintla, and Hole in the Wall, and Boulder Pass. Another Route is to GH from the Belly River area, and final route is a Lake McDonald Route, through Sperry Chalet. I put in a 2.5 week time frame in Aug. We'll see, fingers crossed.

I understand about storing food at campsites at the Bear poles.

A few things, I was wondering/strategies? I'm assuming, its preferable to get up and hike in the AM. I'm really trying to figure out gear. I have a good pair of hiking boots, and I have a good pack. I'm looking for suggestions for a sleeping bag. I also have a hammock, but don't think it would be useful. Food wise, is Mountain House the way to go? I have a water filter, or should I just bring tablets? Clothing wise, maybe 1 change of clothes?

I will get most of the gear in the next month, and then take a few trips to the Superior Hiking Trail, to test gear. Are there any tricks to packing your bag?

Once again, thanks for all your advice, and any information, you might have.

CnME

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!! Thanks! What kind of camera did you take? Tripod?

Thanks for the advice. I heard that you have to have bear spray, and will rent. I also read about making noise on the trail. MY trip will be in Aug, so hopefully some pretty good wx.

Those first two routes are exceptional. I have never come in through the Belly River; just have joined up after going through Red Gap or Ptarmigan Tunnel routes. I have not done Sperry Chalet, but would like to do so in the future. If you get any of the four, I don't think you will be disappointed.

A big constraint is that you can't be spontaneous. You have to camp where your permit says you can on the day it says you can. Back in 2009, my hiking partner wanted to shorten up the trip by heading north out towards Goat Haunt. I was going to keep heading south to Fifty Mountain and Granite Park. It was also the first trip we had brought a satellite phone (more so because my wife really wanted for me to be able to contact her). So at Stony Mountain, we called in a change in permit so he could legally camp. I think that was the first call in from the backcountry to change a permit as they asked several times where we were calling from because they couldn't believe that to be the case.

As for bear spray, I may be in the minority on this one, but I don't carry. I always fly, so that means I would have to buy a new one each time and I don't want to spend the $50+ for that. Perhaps that is penny wise and pound foolish. Another story - I was day-hiking to Cracker Lake and ended up with two other guys going the same way. Well one of the hikers and I ended up a bit ahead of the other. All of sudden, we hear a scream and turn around to see a cloud surrounding him. He had accidentally triggered the bear spray. We helped him clean up and I can tell you that stuff is nasty, which is why it can be effective against bears.

The rangers are very strict about food separation. In fact, when you arrive in camp, the first thing you are to do is go to the kitchen area of the camp and hang your food. Only then can you go to your tent site.

As for food, once again I may be in the minority, but I really like Mountain House. Having said that, I supplement with items from the grocery store like Idahoan Mashed Potatoes and Stove Top Stuffing.

Sleeping bags are a personal preference. I would suggest (even in August) that your bag be rated for at least 32F. I have a WM 10F bag that has served me well over a number of years. But I don't know if that is within your price range. As for a hammock, the campsites generally don't lend themselves to that (I am not sure if they are permitted or not).

I would bring a water filter and not tablets (tablets as a backup perhaps). I use the Sawyer Squeeze, but make sure you bring the syringe to clean out the filter as the glacial flour can wreak havoc.

We generally do a pretty leisurely day by ensuring that the miles we are going to do are reasonable so that we can enjoy the scenery and not have to push by getting up and hitting the trail at the crack of dawn. But HYOH.

As for packing your bag, here is an REI article for you to consider.


At the foot of Glenn's Lake

Both photos were taken with a Sony A-350 and no tripod. While I do like tripods, for a long backpacking trip, I am not going to carry one due to weight. I already commit to taking a DSLT for a camera, so that is more weight than a P&S.

Ndsol,

WOW!!!!!! Thank you very much for the info. I'm super geeked, but haven't gotten my permit yet, so we'll see. I am looking for a sleeping bag, so I will check out your suggestion. I also figured that a hammock, is pretty useless. Looks like I need to get a camera and a sleeping bag.

Instead of a tripod, you can always use a bag. I was thinking of finding something like an ice bag, so it has a wide screw top on it. Something light & rugged. Actually a homemade bag with a velcro side, zipper, or drawstring would work too. Fill the bag with sand or dirt and use it to set your camera on top of things, like rocks, logs, tree branches, etc. When done, empty the bag back out and pack it for the next photo shot. I've seen them sell bean bags for this, but who wants to carry the beans?

Great Idea!!!!!

A couple of more thoughts for tripods.

GorillaPods are flexible and light in weight (I have a 1.6 oz. that can be used for smaller P&S and a 5.7 oz. one for an average size DSLR). The downside is they are only about 6-8 inches tall, so for many photos you need to set them on something else.

If you are using trekking poles, you can consider TrailPix for a taller tripod. I hesitate to use it in windy conditions and it is basically one height, but it gets your camera higher.

Cass and Me,

So what Glacier trip did you score?