For Labor Day of 2015, me and two of my school friends made a plan to visit Glacier National Park in Montana. We booked our tickets to this little known town called Great Falls. The outrageous cost to access this underrated gem was a sour pill to swallow.

The week leading up to the trip was an anxious one. A wildfire had broken out in the heart of the Park and would cease only a couple of days before our arrival. Anyway, the plan was still on.

Day 0: Flying in

As my regional Embraer jet approached Great Falls, two thoughts hit my mind. The first was an immense appreciation of the beauty of the low hanging clouds over the green hilly terrain. The second was that of qualm over the likely weather conditions for our planned hikes. The worries got sidetracked upon reuniting with my buddy. We had to drive up to another Podunk location called Browning, which was on the foothills of the park. It was hard to predict the surrounding topography amidst the widespread darkness. We drove through dense fog & at one point we were sure that a plane was landing on the highway – it was actually a truck rolling downhill from the other side. We caught up on the outlines of our lives over the last year and a half by the time we reached the hotel. The details & interventions were left for the crux of the trip.

Day 1: The Rainy Hike

One of my favorite things about traveling is to wake up to a completely new setting next morning. This time though, opening the curtains ascertained our fears. It was chilly, gloomy & pouring. This was unlike any of my previous long weekend trips. The notion of drenched-hiking wasn’t a pleasant one.

Anyway, we made our peace with reality & ventured out. We picked up our third friend from a nearby train station and as we started nearing the park, the hills grew into mountains. We were now surrounded by the majestic Rockies on all sides. Throughout the way, every story we heard about Montana’s sparse population were validated.

We arrived at the starting point for our hike to Lake Grinnell. The route consisted of ferry rides across two lakes and a some walking in between. The ferries plied from the historic Many Glaciers hotel, which was a rustic lodge of Swiss architecture. We set sail to cross lake Swiftcurrent, the first lake.

Only a handful of the tourists got down to trek towards Lake Josephine, the second lake. It was a muddy and wet walk through a canopy of alpine forestry, leading us to our ferry stop. Higher peaks with the characteristic “rocky” constitution were now visible, but just barely. The dense haze of the rainy clouds veiled their iced caps. The clouds then wreaked further havoc as it started to rain again. The worst was yet to come. We soon saw little flakes of snow sprinkling around us. Luckily, it was short-lived.

We arrived at the other end of the lake, hooded up & proceeded to disembark the boat. The issue was that we were the only 3 to get down. There were at least 15 people who boarded the ferry for the onward journey. But that didn’t deter us, we were sure there would be more hikers along the way. What did get our hearts pounding was the sign board at onset of the trail, which read – “Bear Danger: Hikers are recommended to have bear spray in possession”. Why didn’t anyone mention that at the lodge? What do we do now?

Once again, we went ahead. The trail started with a fantasy like hanging bridge atop a pebbly stream, across two rock cliffs covered in moss. Reuniting with school buddies naturally takes you back a few years in terms of personality – so yes, we did childishly swing the bridge. A wooden boardwalk snaking through a dense forest, ensued next. We decided to stomp hard & talk loudly to ward off any bears. So far, it was still just the 3 of us, on a platter for Mr. or Ms. Bear, who for all you know was just following the noise. Of course this didn’t stop us from making all kinds of bear-jokes as the seemingly endless walk continued.

We knew we were nearing the lake when we heard a gushing noise. The mountains were now visible in the backdrop and a few steps later we would catch a glimpse of sparkling water of Lake Grinnell. And guess what, the human race was still alive as we spotted 2 more hikers. We would spend a while admiring the multiple glacial waterfalls into the lake before heading back. No bears – the 3 of us made it back unscathed. To be frank, we were a little upset at not spotting a bear or two at a distance.

After warming up at the lodge we drove around the park for a while & then headed to the Western side of the park, where our accommodation for that night was. We had booked a Canvas Tipi setup on a campground. As we settled in, we realized why they gave us two blankets each. It was freezing cold and the decision to buy two bottles of wine was a good one in hindsight. Our plan to view the milky way was ruined by the clouds. We talked deep into the night with the hope that the skies might open up. But it wasn’t meant to be.

Day 2: Of Setbacks and Surprises

The following morning would conclude the trilogy of disappointments, when we learnt about the closure of the Going-to-the-Sun road. Turned out that the top rated attraction of the park was buried under several feet of snow.

Hoping against hope, we decided to try anyway. We did a hike to the serene Avalanche lake, after which we drove out towards the Going-to-the-Sun road. Before we began the ascent, we stopped to get some photos of the awe-inspiring peaks around us. Many a single-file, selfie and group picture later, we heard a rustle from below the culvert, where we stood. Probably the wind? Couldn’t be – it was a localized shaking of leaves, which shifted a few times. Was it a…?

Indeed, it was! A little black bear gave a glimpse of itself through the gap between the shrubbery. It was munching on some leaves. But wait, if the baby is here, then mama bear should be in the vicinity. That thought – well, let’s just say, didn’t thrill me. But the rest seemed unfazed. The word spread fast. Other motorists stopped to join us. Everyone made sure they had sufficient content for their social media profiles.

We made it up to the final vista point prior to the road closure, which alas was now truly confirmed. Anyway, we enjoyed a breathtaking sunset from there and headed back to Great Falls. We stopped for some snacks on a roadside mart, which was full of Huckleberry confections – a local specialty. As I was backing out of the parking spot, the car behind me started honking frantically. He was probably confused by my eyes being on the reverse camera and not out of the window. I waved an apology and was set to move on. But it wasn’t over. The car’s door opened and a disheveled, elderly man started walking towards me. He was trying to say something. “Excuse me, sir”? I asked with a smile. My friends urged me to step on the peddle. Turns out he was gesturing his fist and shouting – “Do you want a piece of me?”. This was straight out of a Hollywood apocalypse movie. Our Toyota RAV4 revved and slipped on the gravel driveway, before zooming off. I remained startled for a while.

Dusk turned into pitch darkness, as we maneuvered through the curves and folds of the country byway. We eagerly opened the moon-roof, to see if our fortunes had turned. Sadly, the bashful sky was still modestly clothed behind the fleecy clouds. We peeped frequently to no avail. We went to the extent of checking weather maps, with our limited data signal, for cloud patterns. An hour later, our eyes turned wide. The sky had decided to give us sneak peek. We pulled off to the curb in the middle of nowhere. The only lights were that of passing trucks and the twinkling of millions and millions of stars from the Milky way, spread across the horizon. The views from the park are supposed to be far better, but this was still an experience worth savoring.

We could’ve stayed there all night staring at the stars. But we all had flights to catch next morning, which would formally conclude this eventful trip. A trip that started with rain & unbearable cold and the stars aligned against us, but ended with a bear and a stunning view of the stars. Montana was truly magical!

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In case this story inspires you to visit:

https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/things2do.htm