Seeing that Emily and I technically had two weddings, it only makes sense to have two honeymoons…right?!
After saying our “I do’s” on Tubbs Hill, Emily and I returned to the house, threw together some last minute snacks and hit the road for Glacier National Park, one of our all-time favorite parks. Our last trip was a literal whirlwind of inclement weather, unexpected snow and dramatic overlooks. Since I wasn’t blogging back then, here’s a few of my favorite shots from that trip.
This time, we chose to go during peak season. The forecast called for clear skies and we packed our swimming gear. To save money, we decided to take the Tesla and car camp for most of the trip. Despite the lack of Superchargers, there were plenty of RV Parks. I had ordered a 14-50 NEMA adapter for the Tesla early on during the week and we made a reservation for Friday and Saturday night at an RV Park that featured a 50v outlet near Glacier. We decided to stay at a hotel in Missoula on Thursday night because, hey, we just got married! We stayed at the C’mon Inn Hotel & Suites, which featured a huge indoor waterfall (with a mountain goat on top), hot tubs and huge lofty ceilings. Definitely a pleasant surprise!
We spent Friday morning making our way into Glacier and slowly ascended the Going-to-the-Sun Road, an absolutely stunning journey.
Hidden Lake Hike
Hidden Lake is a fairly tourist-y place to go in Glacier, but there’s no denying it’s unbelievable beauty. We hiked down to the lake for a dip in the ice cold water. The wildflowers growing haphazardly around us and the wandering wildlife was something out of a novel set in years past, when nature and wildlife were far more plentiful. We timed our hike back up from the lake to coincide with golden hour and to take some photos of the sun setting around the mountains and lakes. As luck would have it, a mountain goat decided to have a snack on the hillside overlooking the shot I was hoping to capture. While I was able to take several photos of this overly photogenic goat, Emily gorged herself on pistachios on a nearby rock and now can never eat that many pistachios ever again. While taking photos, I ran into Chris Byrne (@chrisbyrnephotography), an avid shooter of the park and an amazing photographer. He gave me some pointers for shooting the wildlife and was very kind and helpful, it’s always so refreshing meeting talented, kind photographers.
As we hiked out, the sky turned beautiful shades of pink and purple. It was hard to not get lost in the sky as we took in the last hues of the day surrounding us. It turned into a windy and cloudy twilight, which was ok for us, but not great for crowds that had amassed at the Hidden Lake Visitor Center. They had paid for a “private” star-gazing event and everyone donned glow sticks. The clouds were only getting thicker, so instead of sneaking into the crowd for a free show, we opted to head for our campsite.
Chewing Black Bones
We pulled up to our campsite around 11PM. The gate was closed which caused me and Emily some concern, but it was not locked so we were able to get in. The campsite was fairly empty in comparison to the sites available. We searched for our camping spot, plugged in the Tesla, put the cover on and went to sleep.
In the morning, we got a slow start and ate at a local breakfast cafe. We didn’t have a plan other than do some hikes in the Many Glacier area, a place neither Emily nor myself had explored yet.
Many Glacier
Our first stop was the beautiful Many Glacier Hotel. We explored the beautiful building and dreamed of staying a few nights in the near future. It was a little crowded, so we opted to start our hike. I had heard great things about Grinnell Lake, so we opted to head in that direction. As we walked the paved trail towards the trailhead, a Ranger approached us. “Where you guys headed?” he asked. “If you’re going to Grinnell, stay to the right, the path to the left is closed. A grizzly bear is on the path and it’s eating a bear carcass.” Grizzlies get very protective of food they’ve claimed as theirs. Apparently, they are also sometimes cannibalistic. “Also, make sure you take bear spray.” We had assumed the highly trafficked trail would be somewhat safe and had left our spray in the car. With active grizzly sitings in the area, we had definitely made a mistake. Needless to say, we swung back to get it before continuing on. The hike was a solid 11.3 miles round trip, however there was minimal elevation gain, so it wasn’t long before we made it to our destination. We passed two lakes along the way (Josephine and Swiftcurrent), which you can choose to take a boat across if you don’t want to hike.
Grinnell Lake was massive and gorgeous. Waterfalls cascaded from nearby glaciers and it felt like we were on another planet. It was a bit difficult to take photos in the direct sun, so we had a snack and enjoyed the sunshine. We stopped at a smaller waterfall on our way back that had water so blue, it almost seemed as if a light was illuminating it from below. Glacier has to be one of our favorite parks.
As we returned to the south end of Lake Josephine, Emily and I spotted the shuttle boat pulling up to the dock. The passengers were unloaded and the next group began to board. “I bet we can beat the boat back to the other end,” I said. Emily seemed interested but didn’t show too much urgency. We started hiking a little faster than usual but nothing crazy. The boat finished unloading passengers and we turned a corner, losing site of the boat’s progress. Emily smiled at me and started hiking a little faster. We cruised around some hikers in front of us and kept a fast pace. The lake is a little over a mile long, and we’d already passed the halfway point. We had a quarter mile left before the boat suddenly cruised into view behind us. We couldn’t lose. Emily and I went into a full on sprint. The day was hot and we were pretty exhausted already from the hike thus far. We rounded a corner where we couldn’t see the boat’s final approach and as we burst between two trees, we saw we had won by only a few seconds. We gasped for air, laughing and celebrating. We felt we deserved a prize and ice cream sounded like the perfect way to cool off and bask in our glory.
We drove back into town for ice cream, however, I realized I wanted to photograph a waterfall back in Many Glacier around sunset. Emily was ok with the return journey and after some scouting, I found the spot I had hoped to photograph. The clouds didn’t cooperate, but I still got some lovely long exposures. After some time spent watching the sun set, we headed back to our campsite for some sleep.
St. Mary Lake Sunrise
I woke up around 5:00 AM. There was an island in the middle of St. Mary Lake that, along with the mountains and dramatic sunrise colors, created an iconic and breathtaking scene. Emily was a little tired, and since it took forty minutes to drive to the spot, she opted to catch a few more Z’s in the back while I drove. We pulled up to a nearly empty parking lot, but we weren’t alone for long. We ran into a couple we had talked to on our hidden lake hike (@drivehikerepeat). They were on a road trip all the way from the East Coast taking photos along the way. After the sun came up and we explored the area a bit more, we decided to head back home a little early. After all, we had a wedding to plan!
Drive Home
With a full car battery, we ascended the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Once we reached the top, a large amount of our battery had been used due to the steep incline. Driving through parks and lesser known areas with the Tesla is always slightly unnerving because you aren’t sure the exact range. But by the time we arrived in West Glacier, the descent had charged the battery back up and then some due to the degenerative braking. It was a pleasant surprise and another reason why electric cars are the future’s adventure car. This trip was a blast and Emily was very patient with my photography, which I’m always eternally grateful for. Until next time Glacier!
UPDATE
In the process of writing this blog, a variation of the goat photo featured earlier in this article titled “Glacial Harmony” was featured by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s social media and posted on National Geographic Travel’s Facebook page! It was also nominated for the cover of the Glacier Travel Guide!
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