Glacier National Park Chat

I am looking to see what realistic expectations are for overnight (multi-day) backpacking (dayhikers and trail runners need not apply).

Swiftcurrent trailhead-Ptarmigan tunnel-Elizabeth Lake
Glenns Lake to Kootenai Lakes
Bowman Lake Head to Brown Pass
Brown Pass to Boulder Pass

We are (or so I think we are) relatively slow. Are 10-12 hour days, up and over passes, expected norms?

Thanks!

Pack_Mule wrote:I am looking to see what realistic expectations are for overnight (multi-day) backpacking (dayhikers and trail runners need not apply).

Swiftcurrent trailhead-Ptarmigan tunnel-Elizabeth Lake
Glenns Lake to Kootenai Lakes
Bowman Lake Head to Brown Pass
Brown Pass to Boulder Pass

We are (or so I think we are) relatively slow. Are 10-12 hour days, up and over passes, expected norms?

Thanks!

The only one of those hikes that comes even close to 10-12 hour day is the Glenns lake to Kootnei lakes. The rest are pretty reasonable days.

Swiftcurrent trailhead-Ptarmigan tunnel-Elizabeth Lake. It's about 10 miles, even a slow hiker would be in the 5-7 hour range for that.
Glenns Lake to Kootenai Lakes Where you start at Glens lake makes a difference. If at the foot, it will be a longer day. The head is shorter but still roughly 12 miles. I can't see this be greater than 8-9hrs though.
Bowman Lake Head to Brown Pass Lots of up hill but it's a reasonable distance. It's in the 5-6 hour range.
Brown Pass to Boulder Pass Pretty easy hike really, the uphill won't bother you much because you'll be floored by the scenery. It's like 6 miles. I'd say 4 hours because you'll probably be stopping and taking pictures a lot.

If you're thinking you're on the slow side, a good rule of thumb may be to plan for 1 hour per mile, especially if there is a lot of elevation change, and including time for all of your breaks and stops.

And as Paul said, you'll want extra time for stopping to enjoy the scenery -- plenty of it on all of those routes with the exception of Bowman - Brown Pass.

Also if you're thinking of BRO being one of the nights on your itinerary, go with HOL instead. They may give you BRO as a substitute, but HOL is the way to go if you can get it. (And if your trip is after Aug 1st.)

Thanks! You think 1mph includes snack/water breaks?

We will be applying for 3rd week in July, so I am hoping to score the Kintla route, up and over Boulder Pass as a walk-up; as opposed to the BOW-BRO route. But, I want to get something!

If you are familiar with the Tetons; we took the tram up to Rendezvous and hiked to Marion Lake. That ~6 miles took us about 6 hours

Pack_Mule wrote:Thanks! You think 1mph includes snack/water breaks?

We will be applying for 3rd week in July, so I am hoping to score the Kintla route, up and over Boulder Pass as a walk-up; as opposed to the BOW-BRO route. But, I want to get something!

If you are familiar with the Tetons; we took the tram up to Rendezvous and hiked to Marion Lake. That ~6 miles took us about 6 hours

I'm a "geezer" 71 next month....and pretty slow.
However, I'm pretty certain I could do the legs you mentioned at better than 1mph with the possible exception of GLF to KOO.

pete

Haha. Ok thanks Pete
Happy bday!

My max speed on pavement is about 16 min/mi (almost 4 mph). In order to go faster than that (4 mph or more), I have to run. For hiking, I've been able to hit 3 mph. With photography, my speed varies from 0 to 3 mph. E.g. it took me all day to hike to the end of Swiftcurrent Valley back. So what is that, a total of 6 miles. So ~0.7 mph. I think it's hard to predict if people are sled dogs or rubber-neckers.

Jay