Latest 2020 Season Opening News

[al_in_al]

I was just watching the West Entrance webcam - cars started lining up around 6:50 am (only 3 or 4), and it looks like they were just let in at 6:58. (There's another line up now at 7:20, but looks like the gate opened at 7:30.)

[PeteE]

The weather, very overcast, chilly with light rain really sucks and is forecast to continue to be bad until late in the day.
I have to work until noon or so, but I may go out to check on Bonnie and Clyde if the rain lets up some.
Nothing else to see out there.

pete

[Pizza Bob]

44 degrees and rain right now, and expected the same all day. Low clouds.

Camas Road is supposed to be closed to biking due to resurfacing.

Biking past McDonald Lodge is only to Logan Creek, due to trees down from the storm a week ago.

I’m guessing most visitors today won’t stay longer than an hour.

[PeteE]

I was in the Lake McDonald Lodge area for about 2 hours on Monday, the first day of the "reopening".
There were probably several hundred people coming and going over the time I was there.
And NOT ONE of them(including several park rangers) was wearing a mask, OR practicing "social distancing" that I could see.

pete

EDIT ADD:
I should have added that I could care less if people wear masks, engage in group hugs, whatever...
Social distancing and wearing of masks, especially outdoors is an utter waste of time, defying all logic and the laws of physics.
We've been sold a medical "bill of goods" by the government politicians and health care bureaucrats like Dr. Fauci.
Resulting in our economy being destroyed and social chaos.
Herd immunity will ultimately decide who lives and dies.
And so I'm going to get on with living my life and not hiding under the bed.
And no, don't worry... I won't try to shake your hand if I happen to see any of you.

[calicotraveler]

Scary! Hope people don't bring disease with them to beautiful Montana.

[Jay w]

I've hit the mt bike trails (Cuyuna) in north central MN three times. Not once has someone worn a mask, but groups of people don't really interact. So a family may interact with each other in the parking lot and on the trail, but groups don't seem to interact. If the temp is cool enough, I'll wear a neck gaiter just in case I get into a long conversation, but it's hard to imagine that happening. Now that it's warm, I just keep a distance (which is normal). I do wonder about the pickup truck with 3 or 4 guys. I just hope they're roommates otherwise that's not a great idea.

I swear I had this back in Feb, all the classic signs:

-Low grade tired feeling, dry throat for a week
-When I got sick, it immediately went to my lungs (weird for me)
-Dry cough, and coughing fits, particularly when I when to bed
-One night I was up all night blowing my nose. The body went into overdrive.
-Fever for 2 days, I think it was 101.7
-Super tired, but that went in waves.
-I'd walk up the stairs and feel like sitting down, and one time I did. Kicked my ass.
-I woke up one morning and it dawned on me that I didn't eat supper the night before. Slept 14 hrs after taking a nap that day. Woke up and didn't really know where I was.
-Cough lasted...oh a month. It went away very slowly. I'd cough two months later and think back to the sickness.
-Cough was often worse after having a drink (a few weeks later).
-I "raced" the Birkie after partially recovering (hah) and did really poorly
-I've raced after a cold before and did quite well

The day before I really started feeling sick, I rode for about 20 min in a van with 3 others (and Julie). The guy directly in front of me got it too. He says, "Oh I know I had Covid, all the signs." He got a flu test and strep test and both were negative. I apologized.

Julie only got a cough. The other two in the car didn't get sick (that I know of.) So I don't think of it as super infectious, but man it kicked my ass. I can see why people struggle with this one.

Jay

[al_in_al]

New press release about what's opening starting next week : https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/news/media20-08.htm

They also put up a date for backcountry permits - June 26, as well as some new procedures for this year.

Yesterday, Xanterra announced that the Two Dog Flats Grill at Rising Sun Motor Inn will be closed this year. That's put a little damper on my plans there - I rely on eating breakfast when I'm staying there, so I'll have to investigate other options.

[zozeppelin]

New press release about what's opening starting next week : https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/news/media20-08.htm

They also put up a date for backcountry permits - June 26, as well as some new procedures for this year.

Yesterday, Xanterra announced that the Two Dog Flats Grill at Rising Sun Motor Inn will be closed this year. That's put a little damper on my plans there - I rely on eating breakfast when I'm staying there, so I'll have to investigate other options.

Thanks for the update! Incremental progress.

[PeteE]

I drove out to the park today arriving about 11:30AM.
Long time Polebridge based Reggie Altop was one of 3 rangers waving cars through at the main gate.
We chatted briefly. Reggie said beginning Monday we will be able to drive in on the Inside road to Kintla and Bowman Lakes.

No overnight stays. The gate is set to open for cars at 8:00Am which is a huge disappointment to me and I said so.
Dawn to 8AM is the BEST time of day to see animals and take photographs.
So I hope that 8AM gate opening policy will change asap.

"Flannery" is back to the area for those who remember her running the Polebridge Mercantile's bakery a few years back.
Flannery's baked goods were the best ever in my experience.
She will be working at the Polebridge entrance to the park among other duties.

Back to the park...
The park was chaotic. The rangers had the road blocked at the gate at the picnic ground turn.
Too many cars between there and Lake McDonald Lodge.

As a result, the entire Apgar area was slam full of cars and people everywhere---with nothing to do other than walk around the immediate area.
Apgar CG was open for day parking only which helped with parking, but so what? Nowhere for anyone to go and do anything.
I saw lots of out of state tags so driving longer distances is apparently not deterring that many visitors.

The opening the GTTS road to Avalanche on Monday will help, but not much imo judging by the crowds this weekend and the past week.
We'll see soon enough.

The gate near the stables on the road to the Apgar Lookout is open, so hiking to Apgar Lookout is possible.
Opening the Camas road Monday will open access to the Huckleberry Mountain Lookout hike too.

I forgot to ask Reggie about Ranger Lyle.

pete

[PeteE]

June 17th update link

https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/statusupdate.htm

pete

[zozeppelin]

Thanks Pete, so June 26th it is.

Here is a projected availability for the 26th based on today's trail status and campsite availability of that date.

Trails
Red = not cleared, not projected to be cleared by date
Purple = not cleared, but projected to be cleared by date
Blue = cleared but not 'green' on trail status page
Green = cleared and 'green' on trail status page.

[risingwolf]

Montana Is Open, But For Now The Blackfeet Nation Is Closed

So far there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the reservation.

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronaviru ... -is-closed

[joybird]

So far there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the reservation.

That's good to hear. For their sake, let's hope it stays that way.

[llholmes1948]

Here is an update from the Beacon:

Is there anything open at East Glacier? The Blackfeet Reservation is closed but I assume that U.S. 2 is open for travel. Correct or not?

https://flatheadbeacon.com/2020/06/18/b ... g-glacier/

[teapot57]

[Deleted this post because I can’t verify if the info is accurate. Would hate to spread false information.]