Glacier National Park: Deer and Grizzlies....oh my!

We may have arrived in Montana with blue skies and sunshine, but our day to explore Glacier dawned full of clouds and rain. And rain. And did I mention that it is still raining?

The weather did not prevent us from exploring the parts of the park that are [recently] open to visitors. I have personally always wanted to visit Glacier and see the majestic beauty that most people only get to read about. And although it was raining and the Going-to-the-Sun Road was not fully cleared of snow and open to driving, it was still a wonderful visit. Something that you don't get to see or do every day.



We stopped at Avalanche Creek and hiked in to Avalance Lake to see this gem.

 Due to snow and avalanche danger, only the first 16 miles of the Going-to-the-Sun Road were clear and open to the public for driving. The initial miles that we did get to see were really beautiful. It is a little disappointing that we couldn't continue up to Logan Pass and across the Continental Divide mostly because I think that the vistas and landscape from there would have been amazing.


Both girls have proven during other camping trips and adventures that they are great hikers. Diego is still a newbie and therefore it took some coaxing and positive reinforement during our hike (roundtrip was 4 miles) to keep him motivated. But he did great! Despite the rain, we had a terrific experience. And we even got to see some wildlife. It seems that the deer here are not afraid of humans at all. In fact, the deer we encountered on our hike was walking on the trail next to us...so close that Diego asked if he could reach out and pet him!

Our other wildlife encounter was with a mother bear and her two cubs. A group of hikers heading into the lake warned us (as we were on the way out) that a bear and her two cubs had just crossed the creek and headed up to the trail not two minutes passed. We waited on the trail with another group who were about to pass us (Diego hikes a bit slower than others) and when we decided the coast was clear, proceeded to continue to the trailhead. After only a few minutes, (we were by now walking as a group) Ana yells out "There they are!". Sure enough, just to my left about 100 feet off of the trail was the momma and her cubs watching us walk by. A couple of the more experienced hikers identified her as a grizzly just before she took off up the hill with her babies. Neat to see....but a little too close for comfort.  I would prefer seeing the bears from the car, thank you.




Lake McDonald



They love snow!



Daniel Boone??