Glacier National Park: Backcountry

...and here we are at the most exciting part of our trip! We spent only 2 nights backcountry, but you could easily spend a month and still have so much more to see. My overall thoughts and experiences: the trails are very well-kept, and very well marked. You know where you are at every intersection, there is a map of each campsite, and always somewhere to hang or store your food (you do still need your own rope!). There were little log bridges over every creek (if the creek was too big to jump over), and while we didn't see a bear, we saw a moose, lots of marmots, jackrabbits, and more! The campsites were all full, which made for a unique backcountry experience: one where you share conversation around the "dinner table" and share your experiences with other campers. I very highly recommend a backcountry experience in Glacier National Park, and I especially recommend the route we took. We were told time and time again that we got the best 2-day trip possible in the park!

This was our basic itinerary:
Day 1: Many Glacier to Poia Lake
Day 2: Poia Lake to Elizabeth Lake Foot (via Red Gap Pass)
Day 3: Elizabeth Lake to Many Glacier (via the Ptarmigan Tunnel)

Day 1: Many Glacier to Poia Lake

Brian and I were all packed up and ready to go after lunch. We left from the Poia Lake trailhead, near the trail to Apikuni Falls.

Day one was a full half-day, 6.4 miles from the trailhead to Poia Lake. The trail is beautiful, but unlike I expected. Lots of flowers and mountain meadows, as well as wooded areas.

Here is an example of what you see when you get to a backcountry campsite:

Clockwise from top left: Actual campsite (there are multiple of these at each larger campsite), the map that shows you where everything is, campers' food hanging on the pre-strung line, the food prep/eating area.

Poia Lake was beautiful, though it was a windy day! We spent the evening enjoying the view before having dinner. While eating, we met some other campers who were headed the same direction we were. We decided to travel the next day as a group.

Day 2: Poia Lake to Elizabeth Lake (Foot) via Red Gap Pass

Luckily for us, the wind had died down some for day 2. It was a beautiful day, and our new friends set quite the pace! This day was a total of 10.2 miles with a GREAT elevation change - up and down! I was completely worn out, but boy was this worth it. A few tips for this stretch of trail:

• There is no water in the middle of this day, so make sure you have enough for the day before you leave, or fill up before you get too close to the top of the pass.
• The top of the pass is very windy and quite chilly! Make sure you have enough warm layers, and a wind-blocking layer.
• There is a peak off to the side of the pass if you want to take a side-trip in the middle of this long day, but it is farther up than it looks! There are multiple false-peaks before you reach the real one.

And the view from the top of the pass? SPECTACULAR! Worth every step!

There is seriously no beating this view! After all the hard work to get there, your jaw just drops at the beauty and vastness of it! We had the perfect day with the high puffy clouds and sun shining!

We finished our day around 1pm, thanks to our friends' crazy pace, had a late lunch, and lounged around the rest of the day at Elizabeth Lake. We played cards (I always bring a deck backcountry), enjoyed the rocks on the beach, and Brian even tried making a fishing pole. One of my favorite parts of being able to eat with other campers was hearing their recommendations for other places to camp (both at Glacier and other parks), and their tips on gear, food, etc. We stayed up past dark (which really isn't that late) playing cards, which we scored with rocks.

Day 3: Elizabeth Lake Foot to Many Glacier via the Ptarmigan Tunnel

Day 3 was another doozy! 10.1 miles with similar elevation change as the day before. I wasn't sure I was going to make it another day, but the trails are so well-graded, and the views amazing as always! The Ptarmigan tunnel is a tunnel through the mountain that is about 250 ft. long. It had just been opened the day before we left on our trip, so we were some of the first visitors of the season! Here is the tunnel, and the view from either side:

The foot of the lake on the left is where we camped the night before.

The way down from the tunnel to Many Glacier gets busier and busier the closer you get. There are many other things to see along this trail, so it is a popular one for day hikes! The trail is a piece of cake the rest of the day, but started to feel long once I knew how close we were! Arriving at Many Glacier, we celebrated with some beer (for Brian) and huckleberry ice cream (for me)! If you need a place to hang out at Many Glacier while waiting for a shuttle or ride, the picnic area is a great place. We set up our tent to air out, washed up a little in the bathrooms, and even took a nap!

Cheers to another great adventure!