Nortern Traverse/ Fifty Mtn

[wileys]

Evenin',
I am trying to do the Northern Traverse starting @ Granite Park and ending @ Kintla.. I don't see a way to do it without camping @ Fifty Mountain, which is full until September.. Are there any sites near Fifty that I"m not seeing that could serve as alternates or is there another route that is similar (Ultimately I have to start and end @ Apgar and have 6 days)

Thanks for the help, I appreciate it!

[ND Sol]

It is hard to avoid Fifty Mt. unless you do the true Northern Traverse and go in through the Belly River area. What dates are you looking at?

A more basic question: You say you need to begin and end at Apgar, but yet both your beginning and ending points are miles away from there. How are you planning to get from and to Apgar?

[wileys]

My dates are flexible right now, but I need to do it before September; my plan is to take the shuttle from Apgar up to Granite Park, hike the northern Traverse to Kintla and hitch back to Apgar.. 6 days total;

Thanks for the response...

[Kathy]

My dates are flexible right now, but I need to do it before September; my plan is to take the shuttle from Apgar up to Granite Park, hike the northern Traverse to Kintla and hitch back to Apgar.. 6 days total;

Thanks for the response...

Just a question.....when you say you're taking the shuttle from Apgar to "Granite Park", do you mean the Loop or Logan Pass? (You can only get to Granite Park by hiking in....either via the Highline Trail, the Loop Trail, or Swiftcurrent Pass Trail....and I'm assuming you're not taking the shuttle all the way over to Many Glacier to hike in via Swiftcurrent Pass.)

And you do realize, hitchin' back to Apgar from Kintla is a long hitch, right? - I'm not sayin' it's impossible, just wanted to make sure you knew it's a long way in a less-traveled area.

Oh....and.....WELCOME TO THE PAGE!!!!

[mattB]

Evenin',
I am trying to do the Northern Traverse starting @ Granite Park and ending @ Kintla.. I don't see a way to do it without camping @ Fifty Mountain, which is full until September.. Are there any sites near Fifty that I"m not seeing that could serve as alternates

Why are there so few campsites between GranitePark and Waterton? Its a roughly 25 mile stretch and there are 3 campsites in-between. Between Waterton and Kintla is roughly the same distance and there are 6 campsites in that stretch.

It seems like this really makes FiftyMtn a huge bottleneck. I've never hiked that stretch, is the problem that there are no good spots or water sources? I've looked at doing that hike but abandoned the idea because I didn't think I could get a campsite at FiftyMtn and didn't want to have a 20 mile day with tons of vertical.

I understand there are resource and budget issues and restrictions, but it seems like there are a few places were adding a new campsite or two, or opening an abandonded trail could really ease some congestion and allow a few more people to enjoy the backcountry, but still not overload it.

In general I really like the idea of the formallized wilderness designation for Glacier, but I'm a little concerned that the wilderness designation will mean absolutely NO new trails or campsites, is that true?

[wileys]

Kathy,
Thanks for your response.. I was planning on taking the shuttle toward Logan and then hike in to Granite Park.. you bring up a great point, I did not realize that the road from Kintla back to Apgar is sparsely travelled.. I may have to rethink my strategy and try more of a loop.. Issue is I won't have a car, I'm flying in to Kalispell.. Great site btw, its extremely helpful..

[Kathy]

Excellent!!! The shuttle to Logan and going into Granite Park via Highline, IMO, would be the preferred route. (The Highline Trail, again..IMO, is stellar! - VIEWS! VIEWS! VIEWS! VIEWS!...the entire way, without the grunt, as you're already starting at the Continental Divide at Logan Pass.)

As for getting back from Kintla....yeah, that's always kinda a tough one. There is a non-backcountry campground at Kintla (where folks can car-camp) and I do know, others have said the ranger stationed there has tried, in the past, to help folks with transportation from there. AND.....you could always see if it looks like anyone of the car-camping folks is gettin' ready to leave, and see if they'd be willing to give you a lift. And if you can only get from Kintla to Polebridge, it's kinda spendy, but Flathead Transportation could pick you up (you'd just have to set it up with them prior to headin' in on your backcountry adventure and timing of the pick-up might be tricky...): http://glacierparkchat.com/phpBB3/viewt ... f=9&t=3784

BUT.....if you can make that work, that would be a BEAUTIFUL route!!!!!!!!!! (not that any route would be "ugly"....after all, it IS GLACIER!)

[ND Sol]

The road to Kintla is not only sparsely traveled, but it is primarily dirt. You cannot go very fast on that road. I would not recommend starting or ending there (or Bowman Lake) without some preplanned transportation access.

Two Medicine is one area to do a nice loop and has availability in late August it looks like. Many Glacier area is great as well. The problem is leaving and ending up at Apgar. Most of the trails are quite some distance away from there and you have to coordinate with what shuttles there are.

[sj in cal]

adding a new campsite or two, or opening an abandonded trail could really ease some congestion

It's all a matter of perspective. Mine is that adding more campsites would add to the congestion NOT ease the congestion. There are 5 campsites at Fifty, which means there could be as many as 20 people in the campground at a time. That would mean as many as 40 people coming and going on the Northern Highline on any given day. That in itself already detracts from the backcountry experience.

[mattB]

adding a new campsite or two, or opening an abandonded trail could really ease some congestion

It's all a matter of perspective. Mine is that adding more campsites would add to the congestion NOT ease the congestion. There are 5 campsites at Fifty, which means there could be as many as 20 people in the campground at a time. That would mean as many as 40 people coming and going on the Northern Highline on any given day. That in itself already detracts from the backcountry experience.

There is that.
But then it comes down to a question of trying to achieve solitude, or trying to preserve and protect the resource, but also make it available. Those may be incompatible goals.

Adding more campgrounds and more trails may increase the number of people in the backcountry but it may also disperse them more. The shortage of trails and campgrounds tends to force hikers onto the same routes and same campgrounds, so that increases the chance of encountering other hikers. If there were more options then it may be that hikers could disperse out to less used trails and campgrounds so you may encounter fewer people.

It seems like there are some trails and campgrounds in glacier that get very heavy use and some that are under-used, a better or improved trail network may be able to balance that out some.

[dorf]

That would mean as many as 40 people coming and going on the Northern Highline on any given day. That in itself already detracts from the backcountry experience.

That is a major reason why I'll never again do a serious backpacking trip (that is, one without the wife) in a national park: too many people

Others: Too many signs, too many bureaucratic hoops to jump through and designated campsites with little or no views

[ND Sol]

That is a major reason why I'll never again do a serious backpacking trip (that is, one without the wife) in a national park: too many people

Others: Too many signs, too many bureaucratic hoops to jump through and designated campsites with little or no views

Try North Cascades NP. Any campsite we wanted and didn't see anyone else for days.

[Heff936]

The Great Northern Traverse, as I recall, is actually from Chief Mountain to Kintla. I've done this route, or a variation, 3 times, the first starting at Chief and twice via Lee Ridge. I had wanted to start at Many Glacier but the tunnel trail always closed for bears. If you can swing the time, here is my suggestion. Get there a day or two early and take the Hockey Ref hike, otherwise known as Logan Pass to Many Glacier via the Highline Trail and then the Swiftcurrent Pass trail. Then start a variation of the northern traverse from Many Glacier via the tunnel (if the trail and tunnel are open), or via Chief Mountain if not. If you get to go through the tunnel, optimal camps (IMO) would be ELF, MOL, STO or KOO, FRA, HOL, UPK and out. If you have extra time, take your time in the Belly River area and spend an extra day at MOL (or GLH) and hike up to Margaret Lake. You could also stop at BOU after HOL and climb Boulder Peak - a worthwhile walkup.

I hope this helps. You will love this route. It's my all time favorite backpacking route.

Heff

[Ear Mountain]

The NPS has a difficult challenge in managing Glacier. Yes more campgrounds and more trails would provide more recreational opportunities. But that same effort would increase crowding. More dispersed trails and campsites do not decrease impact. It spreads more impact over larger areas. The entire High Line stretch is prime grizzly habitat. Any additional campsites would impinge on that as well.

Another factor is the expense and staff required to maintain trails and campsites at the high level we see them in Glacier. More trails require major construction, more bridge and a greater level of maintenance all for a 2-3 month season.

As other posters note, there are countless other hiking and backpacking opportunities both in Glacier, Montana and elsewhere.