Glacier National Park Chat

Maybe I'm just romanticizing the past, but it seems like there used to be lots of thoughtful discussions over here, instead of just potshots of political rants and juvenile snark.

Ah, well. Sign of the times, I suppose ...

A Glacier Park press release today. Quite the story. ---------- Mountain Lion Killed After Fighting with Dog WEST GLACIER, MT. – A mountain lion was shot and killed by a park ranger after the lion attacked a dog in the employee housing area of Glacier National Park in West Glacier Saturday evening. ...

I've been out there several times, and actually got to stay there when I was doing a research project on the station's history. The loop over Starvation Ridge is one of the park's least-used trails and doesn't have many expansive views, but I think it's really lovely and you're not likely to see ano...

Following up on the original question, I'd agree with res that for most people, working at one of the larger Xanterra or GPI locations will offer the best experience, because you'll be dropped into a large, ready group of similar people who are usually obsessed with exploring the park at every turn....

I did that in college ... and it really did end up changing my life! After a few summers there, I moved to Montana and never left.

Greatest thing I ever did, and I'm still friends with a lot of people from those years ...

I'm surprised no one has mentioned doing Gunsight Pass. It's a fairly long dayhike, but easily one of the best in the park ... and this would be a good trip for you to do it since the in-laws could drop you off at the trailhead and then pick you up at the end, eliminating the need for a shuttle.

That article probably shouldn't have made my day, but it did.

Very pleased to hear this.

I like East Glacier a whole lot in general ... lousy beer and dripping faucets included. The people are great, and it's the little town that time forgot.

And as a former GPI employee, I can definitely attest to the pleasures of alternating hiking with drinking.

I'm sure there have been a few drone videos made up here -- I've seen one shot at Bowman Lake, actually -- but I definitely agree that on the whole, Glacier visitors are far more civilized than most Yellowstone visitors. That's a very low bar to set, though. Anyhow, I'm very glad the Park Service is...

Yeah, from the webcams it doesn't look like a good day to go anywhere high up ... I don't think Firebrand would be much fun. Avalanche would be wet, too, but at least not in the snow. Looks like a good day to just curl up at Johnson's with some comfort food, or drive to Polebridge for baked goods ...

Thanks for posting that ... it was fun to read! I used to keep travel journals like that when I was a kid, too. As for the trail, I think Ralph is correct in that it was probably the "water ouzel trail." I'd have to look it up, but back then the Park Service had a self-guiding nature trail...

Yep, they closed the pass just a while ago, between Big Bend and Jackson Glacier overlook.

They closed the pass just a while ago, between Big Bend and Jackson Glacier overlook.

Generally, if conditions on the upper parts of the Sun Road get bad enough that chains would be required, the Park Service will just temporarily close the higher-elevation part of the road. That happens occasionally in the fall, though not terribly often in mid-September. So I wouldn't worry too muc...