Fishing was on our agenda for the next day. We parked our car on the side of the highway and climbed down some rocks to the Gallatin River. The Gallatin is where The River Runs Through It was filmed, so those who have seen it know how beautiful this river is. We fished for about 5 hours that day and Conner cought one while I didn't even get a bite. I blame it on the 50 rafting boats that went by throughout the day. That night we found a campground on the Gallatin and stayed there for the night until early the next morning we went fishing again. Conner kept telling me he had a good feeling that I would catch something that day and I did! This was the first fish I ever caught fly fishing. It was really exciting but of course once I got it off the hook it slipped out of my hands before I could take a picture. Conner found a great spot and caught three beauties. That morning made up for the day before.
The next day we headed to Great Falls, MT to see Conner's great aunt. We arrived in the afternoon and were instantly welcomed by Barb and Lonnie. We got to visit with them a while which was really fun, not to mention it felt really good to be in an actual house! Barb's granddaughter Nikki, who Conner hadn't seen since he was super little, came for dinner. Barb made an amazing meal and we couldn't have asked for a better night! Barb's son Tim also stopped in at the end of dinner so we got to talk to him for a while as well. The next day we set out for Glacier National Park stocked with leftovers from Barb and Lonnie. Thank you SO much Barb and Lonnie!!
We drove into Glacier and headed straight for our campground at St. Mary. Before I say anything, I didn't think I would be able to pick a favorite national park but Glacier, to us, is the best. Giant mountains, beautiful lakes, forgotten glaciers, wildlife and no crowds. It was perfect! So, we got setup and then headed to the Sun Point/ Baring Falls Trail. We hiked down to the falls, which were beautiful and then noticed a path leading down to the lake. This lake ( later we found out all lakes in Glacier are like this) was BEAUITFUL. The water was see-through and yellow and green around the shore and the perfect blue. We took some pictures and hiked up the lake trail a bit. On our way back, we hiked up to Sun Point. This is one of the most beautiful views in Glacier. We stayed up there just staring at the mountains and the lake and then to Logan Pass. There was a boardwalk trail leading up from Logan Pass so we decided to go up. We kept going, walking through the snow, and ended up at the top, passing tons of mountain goats on the way. Again, we just couldn't believe how beautiful this view of the mountains and Hidden Lake.
The next morning we were excited to go on the Iceberg Lake Hike. We got all ready and strapped our bear mace to our chests and started off on the trail. About a half a mile in a man stopped us. About 50 feet away was a mama grizzly and three cubs. I grabbed my mace and got a rush of adrenaline but realized, at that point, the bears could care less about us. Conner told the man we would stay by him. As we stood there watching more and more people starting coming around the corner. Within 10 minutes there was a line of 30 of us watching and waiting for the bear. It was pretty funny looking at everyone because while we were all very calm, everyone was armed with their mace. All of a sudden, the man who we thought could protect us, set off his bear mace accidentally. Instantly, everyone behind him started coughing and running away from him. That stuff instantly burns your throat and if it is strong enough it can burn your skin. The guy who sprayed it was fine, it went behind him so he didn't get any of the effects. Dummy. Finally the bears went on their way and we continued our hike. It was really beautiful and green with views of the mountains on our left. We didn't really know what to expect from Iceberg Lake we thought it was just a lake below a glacier. When we got there we were taken back. It was a huge lake filled with icebergs surrounded by a HUGE wall and glacier. We were expecting to see polar bears swimming around. It was really beautiful and one of the reasons Glacier quickly became our favorite. That day also marked two years for us being together so that was the perfect way to spend the day. That night we headed to the Many Glacier Lodge (we had moved campgrounds in the morning to Many Glacier Campground) for dinner. This lodge is absolutely gorgeous. As we were driving into the lot we saw a few people on the side walk taking pictures of the lake. Turns out a grizzly decided to go for a swim. It just swam across the lake and got our on the beach at the lodge. I'm not sure where it went after that but he seemed pretty happy! The lodge has the best view any lodge has ever had right on the lake looking out to the mountains. We got a couple drinks and sat out on the deck and then had some dinner. Perfect end to a perfect day!
The next day we planned to hike up the Grinnel Glacier. We were all pumped and ready to go but when we got there it was closed to bear danger. We did a little hike to Josephine Lake but Conner decided he wanted to paint so we took it easy that day. We sat on the beach at the lodge for about 3 hours, Conner painting the view and I worked on some hemp jewelry. After that we went hunting for a grocery store to get some stuff to grill but nowhere had meat. We passed Park Cafe which we were told we had to go, so not planning on eating out, we did. It was a tiny, cheap hikers cafe and it was SO good. We were happy with our choice.
I'm in love with Glacier National Park and just Montana in general. Glacier is definitely the forgotten park but it is WELL worth the trip up.
Hope you enjoyed reading!! Only three weeks left of this crazy adventure, it's hard to believe it's going to end!
Love,
Katie and Conner
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