I just returned from a 4-night backpack in the North Fork area (Bowman Lake - Brown Pass - Brown Pass - Bowman Lake). Day 3 consisted of day hikes to Hole in the Wall & Lake Francis from Brown Pass campsite. It was a great trip with weather cooperating until the morning we hiked out. We got a bit of rain from about 5 am to 7 am on Day 5 but this didn't impact our hike out.
However...
The lack of adult supervision (Rangers) in the backcountry seems to be having a negative impact. I don't know if the Rangers are being pulled from the backcountry to enforce the Corridor Hall Pass plan (we saw 3 Rangers acting as crap screens outside the west gate on the afternoon of Sept 1); COVID related manpower shortages or search & rescue for the missing hiker.
Regardless, on Day 3 as we day-hiked to Hole in the Wall, we ran into a group of about 6 guys that - based upon reports we got later in the day - had pulled an "Occupy Hole-In-The-Wall Campsite". Reports from backpackers that that had been at Hole in the Wall on the evening of Sept 3 indicated that there were too many people at the campsite and that the group of 6 guys couldn't seem to come up with a permit. They didn't leave though.
On Day 4 (Sept 5), when we arrived at Bowman Lake at about noon, there was a young couple at the meal prep area. I engaged in the usual small talk regarding their itinerary. When asked, the young man was unable to tell me the name of their next campsite. When I mentioned it should be on their permit he replied with a bleep-you smile, "We don't have a permit. - Everybody's asking us that."
They left and I was smiling a bit because I suspected they might be a bit surprised by the climb to Brown Pass from Bowman Lake. Just after dark that night, as I lay in my tent, I heard a bit of noise that I thought was a couple that had paddled into the site getting firewood for the fire ring. The next morning I discovered the permitless young couple had returned and the noise was them pounding tent stakes. I think Brown Pass campsite was full and they were run out by the guys that were there. That couple hiked out in front of us so I wasn't able to point them out to any authority figure upon reaching the trailhead.
The point of all this is that without enforcement of permits in the Backcountry, it's going to be anarchy out there. There is no longer a requirement to display your permit on your tent so that means the folks that follow the rules get to try to figure out who's not supposed to be there by interrogation... wonderful. I’m sure that social media is lit up with guys & gals explaining how to trick-bleep the system by giving examples of how they backpacked in Glacier without the expense or inconvenience of going through the aggravation of getting a permit.
I reported all of the above to a Ranger in the Frontcountry Bowman Lake campsite after we hiked out. I suppose I should also send the same information to Glacier's superintendent although it's not clear if that's Pete Webster or Jeff Mow. Maybe that's part of the problem too.
Anyone else have similar stories from this year?
Scott