Glacier National Park Chat

Hi there!

My wife and I are doing our first ever Glacier trip in early August, a 5-night backcountry trek through the Northern loop. Our waypoints are:

1. Many Glacier to
2. Elizabeth Lake to
3. Glenns Lake to
4. Stoney Indian to
5. Fifty Mountain to
6. Flattop and back to start.

I don't have a great sense of the terrain. Does anyone know how much river/stream crossing there will be? We don't have gaiters--are those crucial for such a trip?

Many thanks!

In my opinion gaitors are not essential.

I've never used gaiters in the park. I imagine they might be nice if going off trail, or if hiking a trail with a lot of growth in the rain, but have been just fine in the past.

Are you planning on hiking to Many Glacier from Flattop via Granite Park? Or exiting at Packer's Roost/Loop and shuttling around? Either way could be a long day!

NDjason wrote:.Are you planning on hiking to Many Glacier from Flattop via Granite Park? Or exiting at Packer's Roost/Loop and shuttling around? Either way could be a long day!

We'll be exiting at LTE (Loop Trail), so not quite where we started. It's about 6.3 miles from Flattop, so not too bad. Once at Loop Trail we'll shuttle our way back to Whitefish.

Thanks for the advice!

KizzleBits wrote:
Does anyone know how much river/stream crossing there will be?

Many thanks!

No unbridged stream crossings on this route if you go via the Belly River Ranger station. If you take the cutoff and cross the outlet of Cosley Lake you wade the river at that point, but gaiters won't help that situation.

I agree that for the most part gaiters aren't essential in Glacier.
But I do have a pair of very light gaiters, so sort of a light fabric, almost like a silk scarf, and they're really just for keeping dust and small rocks out of your boots on very dry trails.
I also did a hike on the Logging Lake trail one year where I really wished I had gaiters! It was a beautiful warm sunny day, but after a couple days of rain, and the trail hadn't been brushed out recently. It was still easy to follow and and hike, and from the thighs up I was perfectly dry, but the constant wet brush got my lower legs soaked, and then the water ran down my legs into my socks and boots. I was wearing shorts, so putting on rain pants would have solved the problem or some good gaiters..
But I still only carry my light gaiters and only when I know it might be dry and dusty..