East Glacier to Canadian Terminus (10/3-10/7): 90 Miles
With our backcountry permits secured for Glacier National Park, we headed into our last stretch of trail with excitement. The anticipation for Glacier had been building for the last 5 months, and somehow, we had perfect weather ahead of us for our last 5 days. All the rain, hail, cold, exhaustion, long water carries, early mornings and late nights, wondering if we were going to make it in time before winter...I couldn’t help but wonder if it was luck or if in someway, we had earned this ending. Maybe a bit of both.
Glacier National Park felt like something out of a book. We were late in the season - gift shops were shut down, the foot bridges to cross the rivers were taken out (we used horse fords to cross instead), ranger stations were getting winterized and certain roads were blocked off. But that also meant the park was a bit quieter. Not nearly as crowded. Honestly, the perfect way to experience Glacier. And what an experience it was.
We took Dawson Pass Alternate, a trail that actually added 2 miles onto our day instead of eliminating any. We walked a beautiful ridge and viewed the jagged and crowned mountains.
We climbed Triple Divide Pass - 2,000’ of vertical gain in 3 miles. Our legs and lungs were strong, and the climb seemed to be a breeze on a cool, fall morning. We watched a bull moose glide its body through Red Eagle Lake, and later on we walked along St. Mary’s River.
Piegan Pass was my favorite. As we looked to our left into the valley, we finally spotted a grizzly! Just 80 yards from us, but occupied with digging into the rocks and soil for moths. We descended down into the valley, where it seemed like nature was rolling out its red carpet for the grand finale.
While in the valley, it seemed my intentions of keeping my head on a swivel for bears or lions, or rushing through miles to get them done, had switched to just soaking it all in.
Water slid down the mountains from last winters snow, creating rushing waterfalls into rivers. Birds chirped all around us. An elk bugled in the distance, echoing off the rocks. Vibrant colors captured my attention, and the morning dew on the sedges brushed up against my calves. I felt small amongst the mountains.
We took our final lunch on a side path down to a lake, where it all felt like it had come together. I sat there in awe of the beauty. Ross and I talked about how much we’ve gone through the last 5 months - good, bad and all the in between. A brief moment of reflection before getting to the terminus the next day.
We hiked into our last campsite as the sky turned from blue, to shades of pink and purple, then to dark - it wouldn’t of felt right getting into camp early on our last night. Glacier’s backcountry sites felt like a backpacker’s paradise: food prep area, flat tent spaces, fire rings, benches, bear hanging poles and privies.
On our last day, 20 miles stood between us and the terminus. We woke to frost in the meadow near Poia Lake. We hiked up Red Gap Pass, where the sun welcomed us the higher we climbed, warming our numb bodies up. The gentle wind shook the golden aspens, making their leaves fall to the trail. The sun was most definitely at our backs, and the breeze at our faces.
And there it was. The Canadian border. The northern terminus. Chief Mountain - Ninaiistako.
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