Day 8--Glacier National Park

Today, I spent the day in Glacier National Park. After leaving my hostel in East Glacier Park around 9:00am this morning, I first drove out to the Many Glacier area of the park. Despite the name, there weren't any glaciers easily accessible. That is true throughout the park--due to global warming, most of the glaciers have melted (and the rest are predicted to by 2030) which means that all of the remaining glaciers are a relatively long hike from the road. And, since today was a hot day (it got up to around 93, which is atypically warm for this area) and the elevation was high, I did not hike out to any of the glaciers. Despite not seeing a glacier, Glacier National Park is beautiful. In the Many Glacier area, I took a short hike (1.5 miles or so RT) out to the shores of Swiftcurrent Lake.

After briefly exploring the Many Glacier area, I went into the main area of the park along the acclaimed Going to the Sun Road, first stopping to see Rising Sun lake.

After my first stop seeing Rising Sun lake, I went to have lunch at the restaurant in the Rising Sun area as there is no other food that side of the park. While it was a sitdown restauarant in a park lodge, the prices were not unreasonable (it cost me $12.34 for a Roast Beef Sandwich with taxes and tip).

After lunch, I continued along Going to the Sun Road. I pulled off at an area named Jackson Glacier hoping that I would get to see a glacier. I took a hike (not sure how long it was in distance...it felt very long, took around an hour, and I was exhausted afterwards given the steep climb). However, I did not make it to the glacier, as I turned around at this waterfall, which was nice but not worth the trip.

I then proceeded back along Going to the Sun Road, admiring scenery out my windshield until reaching Lake Macdonald, the largest lake in the park and the location of the park lodge. At Lake Macdonald, I decided to take an hour-long boat tour (costs $16.75) which was very nice on a hot day, although I heard that the scenery was not as stunning given how hazy it was getting. Below are some pictures from the boat:

After the boat tour, I did a little more exploring around the park, stopping at Apgar (sp?) Village, where I got more good views of Lake Macdonald. I then headed back to my hostel in East Glacier Park (a 50+ mile drive from the west end of the park) and got a late dinner. Overall, Glacier is spectacular. I think it would be especially cool for avid hikers who have more time, as they can take very exciting but long hikes and still see the park, and to see at a more leisurely pace on the water in a boat (they have rentals for motorboats, rowboats, and kayaks. Some companies offer rafting and float trips in the area as well). Tomorrow, I hope to get an early start in order to stop at Waterton Lakes National Park (the Canadian side of Glacier) on my way to the Canadian Rockies. Yes, I'm celebrating the Fourth of July by crossing into Canada.

Next Stop: Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada