On our way up to Glacier we spent the night near a beautiful lake in Montana. We were able to go swimming even if the water was cold and we met some really fun people that were camping next to us.
Today is our first official day in Glacier National Park. We arrived late last night (well late in camp time being 7pm) and had the last available campsite taken under our nose while we were talking to the ranger. So he was nice enough to let us stay in a site that was normally reserved for hikers or cyclists that don’t have cars. Which means that we had to change sites the next day. So this morning we picked a site right next door, picked up the tent (literally!) and moved to this site for another two nights. This afternoon we headed out to the nearby hikes. Our campsite is right next to the dock where we can take scenic tours. We decided to break the bank and do the tour across Two Medicine Lake which dropped us off at the ideal location to head up to the Upper Two Medicine Lake. On the way we also stopped off to see some falls which was very picturesque. The hike out to the lake was nice and flat but it was a little over two miles with a somewhat overgrown trail, not great with shorts on. So around every turn we clapped and yelled out, afraid of the possibility of running into a bear on the other side. We went through the backcountry campground which was all flooded from the recent snowmelt. There were still patches of snow everywhere. We had heard from some locals that they just opened the Going to the Sun Road about a month ago in the beginning of July, when it is usually opened beginning of May, due to the snow. So we got some pictures in the snow and enjoyed the scenery of the lake before heading back to catch the boat at 5:20.
We picked up some milk and firewood at the store before heading out to another small hike before dinner. This was a nature trail which meant it was very easy and short. It led out to a nice spot with a waterfall. We stayed there a bit before going home to make dinner- spaghetti and meatballs. This would be our most luxurious meal before dipping into the canned foods and soups. We washed this down with some wine out of a box. We wanted to invite our backpacking neighbors to have some spaghetti with us (inspired by the stories of trail magic from my Appalachian Trail book) but they were just starting out their trip and had to “eat some of the weight” from their backpack. We are happy to be in Glacier but are somewhat nostalgic of Yellowstone which we absolutely loved. Glacier has something awesome which are the hikes. This is truly a hiker’s paradise! Tomorrow we are planning on doing a hike with a ranger, which is fun for Elisabeth because she enjoys the explanations along the way. We will spend one more night in this campground tomorrow before heading up to St. Mary’s which is really the central location in Glacier.
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