Glacier Part 1 -Bowman Lake

So I entered Glacier National Park on May 31st through the Polebridge Ranger Station. This is 22 miles south of the Canadian Border. The plan was to camp for 4 nights. I made 3 before a heavy rain system came in. There was still plenty of time to do what I wanted. First order of business was stopping at the Polebridge Mercantile (completely off grid), famous for their baked goods and bought a Huckleberry “bear claw”. It was Yum and it was so big, it lasted the 3 days. I drove the bumpiest dirt road ever to the Bowman Lake campground (primitive). It was so gorgeous and the lake was mind boggling beautiful. I took the inflatable kayak out on Bowman Lake and was basically the only one on the lake. Because this area is hard to get to and no RVs can handle the ride, it does not get crowded. The evening temps dipped into the 30s so it was chilly. I put on all my layers and mummified my sleeping system. It held up well. I woke up once pretty cold-praying for dawn to come. I did a hike on the Bowman Lake trail and met up with two young women who were seniors from BYU. They were outdoor rec and zoology majors so they knew all the tracks and scat. There was bear scat but thankfully we didn’t see any. I am terrified of grizzly bears and it took all my courage to even go hiking there. Glad I ran into the girls! Rain moved in on Monday so I packed up and went back to Columbia Falls. Will do a local hike tomorrow before I head back into Glacier on Wednesday morning to do a 3 day backpacking trip with a group and guide. The weather seems to be improving for that timeframe. My initial thoughts on Glacier - It’s mind blowing. And I learned quickly that as the human, I am the interloper. The uninvited guest. It changes your view on nature completely.Read more