Glacier National Park: Away from it All at Granite Park Chalet

Our day began like most others with an early departure since we planned to drive along Going-to-the-Sun road in the early morning light. Our goal was to arrive at Many Glacier Hotel where we would be staying in two nights. Tonight, we were staying at the Granite Park Chalet, which is accessible only by hiking. So, we needed to leave our car at Many Glacier, take the hiker's shuttle to the St. Mary Visitor Center, transfer to a bus, ride the bus to Logan's Pass, switch to the west side bus which would take us to the Loop trailhead.

With so few people on the road, we had ample opportunity to safely pull over and enjoy the early morning sunrise along Going-to-the-Sun road. Well, Nate enjoyed the morning light, while Ashley dozed in the passenger seat.

Yesterday, we only explored the western half of Going-to-the-Sun road. As we drove through Logan's Pass, we descended down the eastern side Going-to-the-Sun Road for the first time so many of the views  were new to us.

Wild Goose Island Overlook provides one of the most photographed views in the Park, which we Nate enjoyed in peaceful solitude in the early morning light.

As we bounced along the the bumpy (and only) road to Many Glacier Lodge, we caught a glimpse of a small grizzly grazing, our first bear spotting in Glacier. After securing our car in the Many Glacier parking lot, we boarded the hiker's shuttle to begin our journey to The Loop. Just a minute into our shuttle ride, the driver noticed two grizzlies swimming in the river below so he slowed down the van for a few moments. 3 bears this morning! 

The multiple shuttle/bus transfers proved a bit of a hassle, but we were glad this option was available to encourage backcountry hiking. However, we still would have preferred to hike the Highline Trail to Granite Park Chalet. Highline Trail leaves from Logan's Pass, provides amazing views from narrow edges and extremely close animal encounters, and seems like the more ideal way of getting to the Chalet overall. Alas, the Highline Trail was still snowed in and deemed unsafe for hikers. Despite the Park Service warnings and closing of the trail, several people have died on this trail after ignoring said signage. 

Eventually, we arrived at The Loop trailhead. After rehydrating and eating a quick picnic, we mentally prepared for our hike - 2,200 feet of elevation change in a little over 4 miles. The hike, which was a constant uphill climb with minimal tree cover, didn't provide much of a view until we passed the tree line. A recent forest fire had decimated the hillside. With the heatwave still hanging around, we made sure to take frequent water breaks during our ascent. 

Once passing above the tree line, views opened up of the valley below and surrounding peaks.

After the difficult hike, Ashley was really excited to finally spot the Chalet in the distance (look through the trees). While the distance was manageable, the steady, but steep incline in the summer sun provided a challenge for us sea-level residents. 

Seeing the Chalet gave us a boost of energy, so we soon arrived at our rustic home for the evening. Granite Park Chalet is one of the two remaining backcountry accommodations. As we mentioned, it's accessible only by hiking trails and provides an alternative to tent camping. Since our reservation included a small room with bunkbeds and linens, we didn't have to lug all that equipment with us up the trail. Quick note: the walls are paper thin so you can hear every whisper and movement in your neighbor's room - the hosts even provide earplugs! 

A few college aged boys live and work at Granite Park Chalet for the entire summer (entire = two months). Food is brought up to the employees by pack mules so they never leave the Chalet until the end of the summer - truly one of the most unique summer jobs we have ever heard of. After checking us in, one of the college guys gave us a tour of the resort grounds and helped us get settled. To prevent mice infestations, we needed to store toiletries and food either on hooks or in bins in the main kitchen. Although the Chalet has outhouses and a kitchen, it does not have running water. Instead, guests hike to a nearby creek-fed water filtration tank, fill jugs with water needed for cooking, and carry them back to the Chalet.

With several hours of daylight remaining, we explored the nearby meadows filled with Yellow Glacier Lilies.

The abundance of wildflowers and glacial peaks felt like a scene straight out The Sound of Music. In fact, Ashley was so inspired she spun around while singing "The Hills are Alive" - she only wished she had packed a better dress for twirling while Nate wished this moment would soon end. 

The yellow glacier lilies were near endless and provided a short but beautiful excursion from the chalet. If you have more time during your stay at the Chalet, there are other hiking trails to explore such as Grinnell Glacier overlook and the Swiftcurrent Lookout. 

After exploring the meadows, we headed back to the main building to prepare dinner. Since all the guests share one kitchen, the hosts assign you cooking times in 15 minute increments to prevent too many cooks in the kitchen. Guests can either bring their own food with them in their packs or preorder freeze dried meals on the Chalet's website. If you have cash, you can also purchase sports drinks, candy, and assorted snacks. We chose the convenient option of ordering ahead of time (we'll do anything to lighten our packs) and cooked added hot water to the gourmet packages of beef stroganoff (a camping classic), mashed potatoes, and berry cobbler. As we enjoyed our meal in the dining hall, Ashley pointed out that this surely must count as camping. 

After dinner, we donned our binoculars and scanned the surrounding valley (which the college guys referred to as "bear valley" for it's high density of grizz) for wildlife. There is also a spotting scope setup to aid in your search.

Unfortunately, we didn't spot any bears tonight, but we still enjoyed the sun setting over the surrounding peaks.

As we admired the sunset in this remote setting, we couldn't help but notice the significant amount of snow still present on Heaven's Peak even though it was early July.

In the evening, the guys who run the Chalet provide hot chocolate and tea and tell some stories of the Chalet, which is a  good opportunity to meet the other guests. 

Due to the remoteness of this location, it reportedly provides some of the best star gazing in the country. However, the summer nights meant extended daylight, so we fell asleep before the stars came out. 

Hiking Out via Swiftcurrent Pass

We only had one night at Granite Park Chalet, so we began our hike out the next morning after a quick oatmeal breakfast. The hike began with a little more elevation gain to get over the pass and provided a nice view of the Chalet we just departed framed by the mountains. 

As we continued the hike, we passed through remaining snowfields, which explained why the Highline Trail wasn't yet open.

We rarely saw any other hikers during this portion of the hike so we made extra noise to alert any grizzlies nearby of our presence. At one point, we heard rustling in the brush ahead and stopped in our tracks. As we held our breath in anticipation of what critter was about to cross in front of us, a big horn sheep lept across the trail. He was followed by at least four or five other sheep. The last big horn sheep paused on the trail and seemed as stunned to see us as we were to see him. Unfortunately, the whole moment was over in a matter of seconds so we didn't have an opportunity to take a picture.

Once over Swiftcurrent Pass, we were met with expansive views of the Swiftcurrent Valley and turquoise glacial fed lakes.

After completing some narrow switchbacks, we crossed a stream, which was actually the top of a waterfall. Due to the sharp dropoff, we carefully chose our stepping stones and watched our footing.

After crossing the stream and avoiding the waterfall, we began a serious of steep switchbacks. Footing was precarious as the trail was predominantly comprised of scree (very loose broken rock fragments).

The valley was more than 1,000 feet below - thankfully, the views provided a distraction from the narrowness of the trail and the dropoffs. Our vantage point along the trail allowed for views of Bullhead Lake, which is a popular hiking spot itself for those starting from Many Glacier. 

As we continued our descent, we were soon surrounded by beargrass, which is a wildflower in the Lily family that can grow up to six feet tall.

As we continued down the trail, we started to pass some other brave hikers actually walking up the 7+ mile long, steep trail to Granite Park.

Once lower in the back bowl of the valley, we gained greater appreciation for the numerous waterfalls cascading down the slopes. It reminded us of Milford Sound in New Zealand. 

Other than our encounter with the bighorn sheep earlier in the hike, the trail was relatively void of wildlife. However, once in the valley, we spotted some dark shapes on a snow patch in the distance. As we walked closer to the animals, the shapes morphed into a Moose with two calves. We couldn't believe our moose luck continued! If you've read this blog, moose probably don't seem too hard to spot. However, to give a better appreciation for our luck, one of the college guys who was from Montana and worked at the Chalet, had actually never seen a moose in his entire life! Yet, here we were - two sea-level dwellers from Florida on a two week vacation spotting 3 additional moose after already seeing at least five moose earlier in the trip! 

Since the heatwave continued, the twin moose were cooling themselves on what remained of a small patch of snow.

Having finally leveled out in the valley, we reached a series of stream crossings with makeshift bridges wobbly planks. As one can imagine, being able to still see the snow that literally feeds the rivers, the water was extremely cold as we found out at the crossings that did not have planks or bridges or stepping stones.

After fording the streams, the trail passed Bullhead Lake. Many people hike to this lake from Swiftcurrent Motor lodge area so the trail became more populated.  The lake also provided the perfect natural picnic ground so we stopped to enjoy some snacks after the steep hike down from the Chalet.

The hardest portion of the hike was behind us and the trail became a flat stroll winding through pine forests and along the beautifully clear, turquoise lakes and streams.

As we continued along the trail, more and more day hikers asked how much further the trail went. They seemed perplexed when we said "oh, about five or six miles to the Chalet over the Pass" and pointed up towards Swiftcurrent Pass. Once we realized they only intended to go to Bullhead Lake, we provided a clearer and seemingly more realistic answer. These lakes provide an excellent opportunity to get out of the car and explore the Park for even the most novice of hikers since this portion of the trail is relatively flat.

As the number of hikers steadily increased, we realized we were quickly approaching civilization. Soon, the trail entered Swiftcurrent parking lot. From there, we would finish our day at Many Glacier hotel (hot water, food that doesn't need to be rehydrated, ice cream!)