For the 4th of July 2008, we visited Glacier National Park in Montana. It was a bit of a whirlwind itinerary, complicated by the fact that the park received snow two weeks prior to our visit keeping many of the trails closed (and the Going to the Sun Road only opened the day before we arrived!).

We flew into Kalispell, via Seattle on Horizon Air. In these times of airline foolishness I have to comment on Horizon's in flight services: pillows, blankets, a snack, and free beer on an hour and a half flight. They rock!

We picked up a brand new Toyota Highlander from Hertz and were quickly on our way. After a quick stop at the Super 1 Foods in Whitefish to pick up a jug of drinking water and some bagels, it was a short 30 minutes to the West entrance of the park.

We stopped at the visitor center and confirmed which trails were still closed due to snow. We then headed over to the Village

We went for a walk around the village (it was near 90 degrees outside) and then drove to West Glacier (about 10 minutes away) for dinner at the Belton Chalet. It was the first Great Northern Railway hotel in the park and was completed in 1910, the same year that President Taft established Glacier as the country's 10th national park. Given that we would be eating dehydrated astronaut food the following night, this was viewed as a last supper so we gorged on a great meal.

We arrived at the chalet a little afternoon, right on schedule of our four hour estimate. Built in 1914 by the Great Northern Railway, this National Historic Landmark has been described as "basic" and "a hostel" and (though I've never been to a hostel) I would agree but the environment outweighs the fact that you can hear neighbors breathing and can actually see through the timbers into the next room :).

We checked in with Lars at the front desk and were assigned room #6, which was upstairs in the main building and had a phenomenal view of the valley below.

There's no running water, though there is a water source nearby (we are lazy and just paid for bottled water). Regarding the bathroom situation, there is an outhouse with a pit toilet (not horrible, but not the clean clivus we encountered in Alaska) and of course no shower.

When you arrive, you can sign up for a 15 minute time slot in the shared kitchen. You are also asked to store any food that you brought in labeled bins in the kitchen to avoid mice issues. Though you can bring all your own food, we pre-ordered most things through the chalet to avoid the schlepping. In retrospect, I'm not sure what I was thinking ordering pad thai - other visitors reported that the kung pao chicken was also gross so note to self: stay away from dehydrated Asian cuisine and stick with something safe like mashed potatoes (and the Jiffy pop popcorn was definitely a hit). We had beef stroganoff (which was soupy but the noodles were ok), pad thai (which was not good and was not really pad thai either), and raspberry crumble for dessert (which was good - essentially pie filling with no crust). We weren't starving or anything, we had a bunch of little snickers bars, granola bars, and nuts, and for breakfast we brought bagels so we were all set.

Though my boots were well worn in from hiking in Rwanda and Alaska, I still managed a doozie of a blister on my heel. I had Band-Aids and moleskin, and the chalet manager suggested duct tape over the whole thing (who knew?).

There were lots of deer around the chalet, but no bears (too much snow apparently). Though we never got caught in the rain, we watched as heavy storms passed by including lightening, thunder, and hail. The high temps were in the low 70's when the sun was shining and the lows were in the 40's when the wind was howling at night. After dinner, the three staff guys gave a presentation about the history of the lodge, bears, and the surrounding trails. One interesting tidbit I remember is that 95% of park visitors don't stray more than 100 yards from their cars. Would we go back? Absolutely, but 1) later in the season 2) using the Highline and Swiftcurrent trails and 3) with an entirely different food strategy.

The hike down took two hours and we were back to the car by 11am. As expected, the hike down uses entirely different muscles, and though it was a quick hike we were both a bit tired. We drove back to the Lake McDonald Lodge where we had a good lunch at Jammer Joe's (it was either a REALLY good burger or we were REALLY happy to be eating food that was not water-activated). After lunch we checked in to the lodge and were assigned to Motor Inn room #25, but it smelled funky so we asked for another and were assigned to room #3. The motor inn was all that was available when we booked back in February, and if we went back I'd try for the lodge or one of the cabins. But heck, it had running water, a flushing toilet, a shower, and I couldn't see the people in the next room from the bed so I was generally happy.

In the afternoon we drove the Going to the Sun Road to St. Mary's. There is one section of the road that is one lane, but the delay was never more than 15 minutes or so (and I've never been stuck in traffic ANYWHERE more beautiful). Because of all the snow, the Weeping Wall was actually a waterfall cascading onto the road, and there was also a fair share of wildlife (moose with calf, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, deer, etc.). We arrived in St. Mary's around 6:30 and decided to have dinner at the Park Cafe (we saw two "jammer" drivers waiting and figured they would know where the good food was). It was definitely worth the 40 minute wait - cheap and yummy, and (as we read later in Backpacker magazine, "possibly the best razzleberry pie in the country").

Our guides for the day were Keenan and Trish, and the ride took a little over two hours, crossing through several different alpine environments. My favorite parts were crossing the stream and the lichen-covered trees, which in the south is of course called Spanish Moss. My horse's name was "Suede" and Andy's was "Bullet" - they dutifully followed the horse in front of them just as they had been trained to do.

When we reached the snow about 1/2 mile from the chalet, it was time to dismount and retrieve our belongings from the saddle bag. Note to self: next time we need to pack everything in giant zip lock baggies - clothing was pretty equestrian-smelling and had to be isolated for the rest of the trip !

The remaining hike took us about a half hour and before we knew it we were welcomed to Sperry Chalet by a snowman and several mountain goats. We were assigned to room #9 which was on the 2nd floor with a view of the mountains.

Built in 1913 by the Great Northern Railroad, the Sperry Chalet was renovated to become a full service chalet in 2000. There still isn't electricity (note - that means no lights or heat), but the composting toilet building is pretty fancy.

Lunch at the chalet was a la carte and we both had a great sandwich and pea soup. Dinner was at 6 and was essentially Thanksgiving in July (minestrone soup, fresh baked wheat bread, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and yellow cake). Breakfast was eggs cooked to order, pancakes, bacon, and oatmeal and they packed everyone a sack lunch for hiking that included a roast beef sandwich (leftovers from dinner the previous night), juice box, fruit leather, granola bar, candy bar. Keep in mind that there is no electricity here and all supplies arrive by mule !

The chalet also had duct tape so I was able to rebandage the growing blister before we headed out. The hike down took a little over three hours and we were both BEAT. The horses were definitely a good decision. According to the GPS it was 7.1 miles and a descent of 3000 feet.

As a side note, we had read that the mosquitos in July can be "aggressive" and after the Sperry trail we would definitely agree. I had on enough 100% deet to test positive for Diethyl-meta-toluamide for the next five years and it seemed to only attract these pesky buggers. Did I miss some fine print on the label about "not applicable in Montana?" In the end, they seemed to be more of a nuisance than anything else because I only came home with about 10 bites.

When we arrived at the car I was anxious for flip flops, but not anxious to see what was brewing under the duct tape. Word for the squeamish - think before double-clicking the images below :) But, I have to say that it is healing fast at least.

We stopped at the Park Cafe for a late lunch (and more razzleberry pie) and at the Super Mart (which was not "super" because they sold pain reliever in packages of ONE), and then headed for Waterton. Once on Highway 17, a sign warned to watch out for livestock on the road and it wasn't kidding ! Cows everywhere ! It is still a mystery how they get out because I saw miles and miles of unbreached barbed wire fences.

The border here is seasonal, and only open from 7am to 10pm. The crossing was quick and they were really only interested in who's car we were driving and if we were carrying bear spray.

We arrived in Waterton National Park around 4pm. Even though Waterton is part of the "Waterton Glacier International Peace Park" there's a separate entrance fee.

We checked into the Prince of Wales Hotel and were assigned to room #507.

Completed in 1927, this Canadian National Historic Site was named after Prince Edward and still serves afternoon tea.

The elevator (which requires an operator) only goes to the 4th floor (did I mention we were both hobbling from aching muscles and we couldn't find the kilt-clad elevator operator ??). The 5 flight walk was SO worth it though - our corner room had an outstanding view. The water pressure wasn't too strong, and the water was lukewarm, but HECK, if I had to pee in the middle of the night I didn't have to put my boots on, grab a flashlight, and beware of mountain goats on my way to the outhouse so I was MORE than pleased !

We saw lots of deer, and a lone black bear ! Our last day and we were still seeing new animals ! We ate breakfast at the Bayshore Inn (probably would have been better off at the lodge) and then hit the road.

On our way out of Waterton we stopped several times to look and the viewpoints and for wildflower photo opportunities. We also went out the the "Bison Paddock". There was a great sign at the entrance that warned visitors to stay in their vehicles because bison may attack.

After the bison paddock adventure, we headed back towards the border. There was one vehicle in front of us, and we watched as three customs agents swarmed the Ford F150, thwarting the driver's attempts to smuggle (gasp) a bag of three red apples into the country. When it was our turn, we got some extended questioning regarding the full passports ("what were you doing in Tanzania?") and the usual puzzled look when I tried to explain what I do for work :)

On our way back, we decided to stop in Many Glacier (would have loved to have done some hiking but that will have to wait for next trip).

Because of a ridiculous 6am flight home, we spent our last night in Kalispell. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, which was quite nice with its complimentary bottled water, bath products, and fluffy down comforter. After a very long shower and an attempt to find some sort of clean clothes, we had dinner at the adjoining Blue Canyon restaurant which was excellent. I'd have to double check on a map, but I think Columbia Falls might be closer to the Kalispell Airport - not like there was traffic when we left at 4am :)

So to summarize. we'll be going back eventually (though later in the season) to:

• hike the Many Glacier Area
• visit Granite Chalet, but hike in via Highline and out via Swiftcurrent
• go back to Sperry but spend more than one night