2010 is the centennial celebration for my current favourite place in the world, Glacier National Park.
I have come to find that Glacier is a place to renew, refresh, recharge and rebalance. We make a point of making a pilgrimage … and it does feel like a pilgrimage … every year.
Glacier reminds me very much of the vast Ansel Adams and John Muir wilderness areas in the Sierra Nevada, where I used to tramp around in my youth. It’s wild, jagged, breathtakingly spectacular … and best of all, uncrowded.
When I lived in the Sierra, I didn’t have the slightest interest in nearby Yosemite. Too many things had gone horribly wrong with Yosemite. Too many people, too many cars, too many gift shops, too many bus tours. The same is very much true with Yellowstone.
Yellowstone is too full of the kind of tourists that, for lack of a nicer way to put, I simply cannot relate to. These are people often driving RVs, with plates from Florida or Texas, who rarely venture more than a quarter mile from the parking lots, who stop for an hour to take snapshots of Old Faithful, fully plugged in to their iPods and cell phones the whole time, hit the nearest gift shop for postcards and knickknacks, then leave like a bat out of hell, because they have to get to the Idaho Falls KOA before sundown and then have a long drive the next day to Las Vegas. Trust me, when I’m around these kinds of people in the parks, I have to expend a lot of energy to not be a wilderness snob. (“Must fight … inner contempt …. for rude … obese …. Yellowstone touristas …. with NASCAR caps …. and yipping lap dogs on a leash….”)
I know the parks are for everyone, I know these people pay their park fees, too, but it’s too many people like that, clogging the roads and parking lots, which is why I don’t go to Yellowstone, and neither do most people in Montana I know. Yellowstone and Yosemite to me are examples of what went wrong with America’s National Parks. They have been turned into Disneyland with trees. They are relics of a bygone era when national parks were not seen as true wilderness, but tourist destinations. Maybe these parks did their part to help teach people the value of outdoors (much like marine parks taught kids to love whales and orcas, but are now relics), but they aren’t for me.
Glacier is a park done right.
One of the advantages of Glacier is that it’s hard to get to, way up on the northern border. There’s only one major road through the whole park. And the accommodations are few and rustic, which keeps away the tourists … I can’t relate to. It attracts the people who “get it,” in my opinion, who genuinely appreciate wilderness. There’s a few very nice campgrounds, a couple of backcountry chalets (You have to reserve a bunk in these chalets a year in advance), and there’s also some old-fashioned, beautiful lodges. Many Glacier Lodge is my personal favourite. One of the joys of the lodge are all the cool people you run into in the hallways, out on the deck, in the tiny bar, which has one of the two televisions … IN THE ENTIRE PARK. People who “get it.” Old, young, young families. They all seem to “get it.”
For some of these people, staying in a rustic lodge, then catching a ride in a Red Jammer up Going-to-the-Sun Road to Logan Pass is their idea of being in the wilderness. And that’s fine with me. They still “get it” in their way. My idea is different, which is to get as far away from the roads as possible, as high as possible, into the realm of the mountain goats and grizzlies … not people. When I come back to Many Glacier, I don’t feel like I’m in the wilderness, I feel like I’ve returned to civilization.
I fell in love with Glacier several years ago before I actually moved to Montana (and to a lesser degree Grand Teton, which probably has less than half as many people as nearby Yellowstone, though the scenery is more spectacular). Unless you show up on Fourth of July or Labour Day weekends, the Glacier crowds aren’t bad. I’ve hiked the high country and barely run into a dozen people.
I’ve climbed seven mountains so far in Glacier (I hope to climb a beast this year called Mount Reynolds. Still not sure I can do it.). I’ve seen clouds blowing straight upward as I’ve stood on top of Swiftcurrent Peak after a clearing storm. I’ve had baby mountain goats licking my arm for the salt in my sweat. I’ve heard the echoes of the bighorns’ epic bugles against the massif of rock at the Continental Divide known as the Garden Wall. I’ve walked through meadows full of marmots scurrying to collect grass for their dens for the winter. I’ve literally had to sit down on the trail on top of 7,000-foot passes and ride out 90-mph gusts threatening to blow me off the ridge. After a long day hiking or climbing, I’ve sat on a deck chair and drink Red Jammer Huckleberry Crème Soda or Red Jammer Root Beer, or a Moose Drool or a Scapegoat Ale (You are allowed to buy bottles of beer in a tiny mini-store in the basement and take them out of the deck. They will even give you a lemon for your beer.) I’ve seen early in the morning the Milky Way glistening off the water of Swiftcurrent Lake below the hotel. There’s literally nowhere else like it I can think of.
I’ve never understood why so many elected Republicans just don’t seem to value wilderness and the parks. Montana’s Denny Rehberg is notorious for his open hostility to creating new wilderness areas in the state. Tom Coburn fought, at an almost pathological level, creating new wilderness areas in Oregon and California (I don’t know why an Oklahoman would care so much about Mount Hood, Oregon.) I remember a Republican Congressman in Washington state I met named Jack Metcalf who was on the House Natural Resources Committee (he was part of that GOP class of 94) and how he told me he valued the national parks – then weeks later I discovered he had written and introduced a bill to sell off a bunch of national parks to private concessionaires. One of the parks on his “hit list” was a tiny, gorgeous national park in the San Juan Islands where I lived at the time. I was furious at what a lying rat bastard he was. That bill never made it out of committee, fortunately.
I’m sure some Republicans care about the wilds, but, I’m sorry, I just haven’t met very many (or any off the top of my head I can think of, frankly).
Though Glacier hasn’t been damaged in the way Yosemite and Yellowstone has, it’s under severe pressure, politically, climatically. The park suffered from not-so-benign funding neglect under Reagan. The Going-to-the-Sun Road was allowed to crumble. They twice had to close it for months because it was falling apart. Now, thanks to funding from the Obama administration, the road is being rebuilt. It will take 10 years and more than $100 million.
The latest pressure is a new insane law passed by Congress and signed by Obama to allow loaded handguns in national parks. This law was literally written by the NRA. Are we going to see a bunch of yahoos in the park packing heat this summer? I wonder. Just because they can … and no other reason?
Of course, Glacier’s glaciers are under pressure, too. They have shrunk dramatically the past 20 years; the photographic evidence is startling. What the park has now are small remnants of the old glaciers. In another 10 to 15 years, they may be completely gone.
The party will be going on all year. I plan to be a part of it for a week this September.
Photos by Pepe Lepew!
Beautiful post, Pepe. Thank you.
I just checked.
Rehberg scores a big, fat “0” with the League of Conservation Voters.
Honest, I didn’t put A.J. up to this. This is a big surprise to li’l ol’ me. 😀
It’s awesome.
I wonder how she discovered the Planet.
I hope she returns and does a bit of campaigning here.
I am seriously impressed with the interview that I posted the link below.
j’avaz, was the post just spam?
That person really is running for Congress against Rehberg. I know that. It’s not a joke.
We might have to check with Adlib for his ruling! 🙂
I’m more than happy to give the benefit of the doubt that she may be interested in following up here.
We certainly aren’t interested in hosting political spam, hit and run solicitations but we are open and available for discussions with political candidates.
And knowing the membership here, if a candidate was to engage this community and make good points, they could very well gain contributions.
So let’s see…
I googled her name, because I was afraid to click on the link provided and she has several entries on google, which is where I found the interview.
Did you click it and get spam?
Just clicked the HHR one that I posted, and it was legit.
HHR = HipHopRepublican
Pepe, a zero is not a good sign at all. Where is the district and what is her score?
Hah!
The “district” is the ENTIRE STATE!
Montana has more senators than congressmen.
Wow. Thanks, Pepe.
I wondered when he kept calling himself “Montana’s Rep.” 🙂 I was thinking “man, this guy is full of himself.” LOL
At-large districts: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.
Nowhere is “at-large” more fitting than in Montana and Alaska. Given Montana’s population though, and the vast difference between the east and west, it would be fair to just split it between Dems in the Missoula/Bozeman area and the GOP in the Great Falls/Billings part (my apologies to the Crow).
I’m back. If any one needs to discuss the issues with me, you can go to my facebook page A.J. Otjen. Or my contacts are all available on my website at http://otjenforcongress.com. I support the Tester Bill. It is a worthy compromise. I am worried about the Beetle Kill and want to see us harvest our resources, The BEST in the World. I have a technology background and believe we can do it in a way that we don’t even know we can yet. Think back 30 years before personal computers and the internet, then think ahead 30 years….we can have resources and wilderness. Montana is the last best place to get it right.
A.J., I do have a question for you. Is there no “purity test” for Republicans running in your state? Will you get any RNC help ($$) if you win the primary?
I’m a Republican running against Denny Rehberg in a primary June 8th. So you have now met a “good” Republican. http://otjenforcongress.com
I need your support if you want to change the future.
Can you tell us a little bit about your district, the issues, and the person you’re running against (the incumbent, I assume)?
Thanks for posting. This is fascinating.
This is who she’s running against –
http://rehberg.house.gov/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denny_Rehberg
Rehberg isn’t as bad as some Republicans. He’s not a Bible-thumper. But, he’s very anti-environment, IMO.
He sounds just like your red meat Republican right out of he base.
Yup. He was very pro-Iraq War, a Bush apologist and is very anti-environment and anti-health care reform (though he was one of the few Republicans to vote in favour of SCHIP).
The only thing I give him is he isn’t one of those Republicans who wears Jesus on his sleeve.
KQ, after looking at his site. 100% red meat Repub. I agree.
That’s all I know about him to be honest. But when a Republican starts ripping the stimulus I just know they are another partisan hack.
Thanks, javaz. I will certainly check out the online info. But I’d also like to get some insights from the candidate.
Welcome, if you are here to share your thoughts, I will read. Who put you up to this, Pepe?
Pepe, do you endorse?
She’d be better than Rehberg.
Hello, Professor Otjen and welcome to the Planet POV.
You have a very impressive bio and I have perused another site – an Exclusive HHR Interview – and I admire your stance on nearly every issue presented and disagree with some.
I hope you are open to discussion and debate.
I am honored that you’ve posted on PPOV and hope to read more of your opinions and perhaps a post or two stating your plans for Congress.
http://hiphoprepublican.com/politics/2009/10/02/exclusive-hhr-interview-aj-otjen-progressive-republican-for-congress/
Thank you j’avaz,I for one will look into this.
I wish we had Republican Congresspeople that sounded as intelligent as Ms. Otjen, and sane.
All I can say is good luck against your Republican primary contenders from what I read about where you stand on the issues I doubt you will get much support from the base of your party.
Haha. I know who you are. Are you the MSU-Billings professor?
Rehberg wants to undermine Tester’s wilderness bill and he’s been opposed to protecting the Front. How do you feel about these issues?
Welcome to The Planet, A.J. Otjen. I look forward to checking out your site and getting familiar with your positions on the issues.
We happily welcome “good” Republicans here. Cheers!
Wasn’t that interesting? My post attracted a candidate for Congress.
I hope she sticks around and that wasn’t just a one-off on her part.
It’s a first! Cheers!
Very pleased and as you say, I do hope she returns. It would be great to learn about her and her positions in her own words and have a conversation.
I thought it quite interesting. Good going Pepe!
I have some questions I’d like to ask a “good” Republican, I too hope she returns and this just wasn’t a campaign plug.
Maybe she’ll tell her friends?
Incoming.
HITO, nice to see you!
Incoming???
Hiya, babe!
In defense of those of us who travel by motorhome or travel/trailer, some of us do “get it” and we’re not all beer-guzzling, baseball hat wearing, NASCAR loving, environmental-hating morons!
In our 30’s and well into our 40’s, we hiked and ultimately hiked 12-14 miles up into the Superstition Wilderness carrying 45 pound backpacks, or in my case 25 pound backpack, carting in food, utensils, emergency supplies, sleeping rolls, a tent and the heaviest of all clipped to our packs – water.
Twelve miles doesn’t sound like that long of a hike, but when you start on the desert floor and walk steep uphills to pine trees and apple orchards, it’s a taxing journey.
I quickly learned to let wasps land on my face and neck, since they didn’t sting, but were drinking my sweat.
Camping outdoors in such rugged conditions was “getting it” and we did that hike two separate times and I’m still proud of myself for having trained for it and then doing it.
For years we tent-camped and roughed it, but as we got older into our 50’s, we decided we’ve been there and done that and felt it time for luxury traveling.
So, we started off in a very old, gas-guzzling motorhome and traveled cross country and visited several National Parks.
We’ve biked Mt. Zion, climbed portions of Yellowstone, fly-fished in the Sawtooths, hiked Multnomah Falls in Oregon, walked down the Grand Canyon, to name a few.
We are members of the National Parks Conservation Association and every year we purchase an annual National Park Pass.
And I’m a gift-shop-shopper.
I buy calendars and/or the typical T-shirt, knowing that a portion of the price I’m paying for a souvenir is going to help with the maintenance of the park.
We’ll wave to wherever you are in Montana from our trailer while we’re in Glacier this summer!!!!
🙂
Oh, I didn’t mean to pick on RVers. It’s just those people who stick around for an hour and then leave. They drive me nuts.
My sister and brother-in-law travel to music festivals in their little RV. There’s a lot of retired people who travel the country in RVs during the summers and spend their retirement living in campgrounds and I think that’s great.
I love it.
No worries for us about bedbugs, or dirty bathrooms or gross stuff in hotel rooms on bedspreads and remote controls.
We rarely stop to eat out, but rather pull into local markets and buy food and then prepare it in the trailer, which is much healthier.
When we need a break, we can pull over and make espresso, and we’ve taken breaks in some incredibly beautiful areas.
For us, it’s the only way to go!
Yeah, all you guys are definitely revealing me as a city slicker. I’m guessing my climb to the top of Multnomah was more leisurely than yours. Oh, and hiking in Arizona, yeah, I’ve done some short hikes. Preaching to the choir – getting to the top is totally worth it though, the cool breeze and view and, did I mention, the cool breeze? Only been through the Superstitions quickly myself. Would be worth it to spend more time there sometime.
Khirad, did you hear the sad tale about Multnomah Falls?
Not sure if it is true, but was told by a ranger while there.
Not sure what year this supposedly happened, but you know the bridge that’s half way up the falls?
A wedding party thought it would be a beautiful spot for a wedding photograph, so they climbed up to the bridge and lined up for the photo and a boulder fell, killing the groom.
Isn’t that tragic?
If I remember correctly there are 7 or 9 (?) falls in that area, and we saw them all!
There was one that you could climb up and around switchbacks, and then walk behind the waterfall and that was so beautiful.
And figures, we forgot our camera that day!
DOH.
Some of the falls were easy to get to, such as Multnomah, but others took a bit of hiking and climbing, but they were worth it.
That is God’s country.
Pepe: I read this article of yours last night and left a comment and now I’ve just read it again. You know, you could write text for those books they publish about big natural sites like these (or even small natural sites).
I read it again just for the joy of doing so, it really is a lovely thing to read.
Thanks again.
My NW heart went aflutter with the Mt. Hood and San Juan references. I never did make it to Glacier, and would like to make it a part of a Banff trip someday. As far as tourist traps, I thought Zion was WAY more worth it than Yosemite. It and Joshua Tree have to be the most overrated parks… sorry Muir & Co. To be honest, I actually found Death Valley to be one of the more interesting ones, although there is just the hip factor of being to ‘Death Valley’ I’ll admit there’s not much there. What else is there? Another touristy place, Crater Lake I finally went to this past year – I go to all these places off-season though, so the touristy thing isn’t a factor. Mind you, I’m not a really outdoorsy person, but I’m not the fanny pack – trinket type —- well, okay, I’ll buy postcards, but I like getting out the camera and trying for some cool shots and getting a wee bit off the beaten path, going to places not on the bus tour docket. Never have gotten anything good out of the Tetons shot-wise. Need like a panorama shot for that… One of my faves of the bigger ones has to be Arches, but some of my fondest memories will be of Mt. Rainier, where I could imagine fairies might live if they existed… magical (Mesa Verde as a kid was too). If anyone comes down to Arizona, after doing Grand Canyon come down and do Saguaro – it’s far better than Joshua Tree IMHO. All of these may not be National Parks (I didn’t check myself), but I think you got the general gist.
I *loved* Death Valley. I once spent an entire week there in late winter. Climbed Telescope Peak. Drove along the worst road ever though Saline Valley to some weird hot springs. What an amazing place.
Pepe,
Loved this post.
I have a book on my book shelf that I have not opened in over ten years.
-The Outdoor Traveler’s Guide- Canada
It has had one bookmark in it, all this time,
on the page –
Waterton Lakes National Park.
I had a burning desire to see this part of the world and
hope to get there someday.
Very cool to hear about this again.
I got interested in this area after seeing the film “The Shining”
Although the Overlook Hotel was fictional
I wanted to see places like it and that led me to to reading about Waterton.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stanley_Hotel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timberline_Lodge
🙂
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many_Glacier_Hotel
Been to Timberline Lodge, many a time. 😉
Even before I was aware The Shining was shot there.
Nice article, Pepe. The Reagan philosophy of opening up the parks to more and more cars and RVs was a bad idea. Instead, what we should consider is adding low speed tour monorails or the like above the floor of the area so that it does not disturb wildlife with noise or infrastructure, other than support towers. This would also reduce the wear and tear on the entire area, and give more viewing access to those with physical limitations. Not to mention produce a lot of jobs and some technological innovation.
The parks are a treasure to share with all, but with a great responsibility to preserving them and their habitats for future generations. Only by reducing man’s effective footprint within the wilderness parks can we do so.
What a lovely post, Pepe. Packed solid with information and the countryside so lovingly described…
Thank you.
Nicely done, Pepe! This sounds like paradise to me. Since I live in the mountains, this over-running by tourists is a sore spot with me, although my little business is dependent on them and the money they bring into the area. Their road manners leave a lot to be desired!
We have mostly Florida tourists here who come up in the summer to avoid the sticky, hot weather down there. When I first moved here in ’76, we gave away our air conditioner unit. I still don’t have one…and don’t need one. It is delightfully cool here with a mountain breeze most summer days.
You would not be particularly impressed with our mountains…much less imposing than the peaks out there, but in their own way, equally as beautiful, very lush and green with an abundance of flora and fauna. I would love for you to come to North Carolina and experience the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Trail for some top-flight hiking! From the sound of your article, I believe you would love it! In fact, perhaps we should consider having all you wonderful people come for a visit! I make a “killer” pot of pinto beans and cornbread! Everybody is welcome! 🙂
Edit: Pepe, I forgot to mention how beautiful those pictures are! You’ve got some talent there!
Pepe, you touched on a subject dear to me. I too love, and am so grateful for, our national treasures! When I was 20, a girlfriend ad I went on a camping trip in her little Mazda and two sleeping bags. That’s all we needed. What a trip! We went whitewater rafting down the Colorado River, saw Mesa Verde, the petrified forest, the Grand Canyon (another Disneyland), Crater Lake in Oregon (where I saw my first snowfall– In August!), and went to an inter-tribunal festival in Gallup, NM.
As a young married, we had a VW van and we went all the way up to Canada– Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Crater Lake, the coastal redwoods in northern CA (magnificent!!!!) Olympic National Forest. Bryce and Zion. They are all exquisite. And when our son was born, we went back every year. But never again to Yosemite. It’s a zoo.
And I have mixed feelings about the people and activities in those parks. I want everyone to experience them, but they are simply not for everyone. I don’t even mind the RV’s so much– it’s the motor scooters and the motorcycles and the ATV’s that I think should be banned! Too noisy and they should never be allowed off-road. And for God’s sake– people need to check their iPods and TV’s at the gate!Why do they bother even going?
When our son was young, we used to love the various walks and lectures the Rangers used to provide– and the slide shows at night in the lodges around the giant fires. My roughing it days are over, but I still love those fantastic old WPA Lodges.
Oh, they do that stuff at Many Glacier. Live music and Indian storytellers around a giant fireplace. The kids love it.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2422/4011938373_42c797bf27.jpg
Awesome pic, Pepe. That’s what I’m talkin’ about!
Great story and fabulous pictures for a lazy Sunday afternoon. I have great memories as a youth when my family owned a Volkswagen camper of meandering down the coast on old route route 1 and A1A in Florida visiting many State and National Parks along the way.
Then my wife and I spent much of the time while courting camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina and Virgina. Probably the biggest thing I miss being disabled is the great outdoors. Though our favorite vacation is still renting a vacation home in the GA mountains and enjoying the simpler life.
Sorry to make this post all about me but it brings back some of my fondest memories.
Hey KQ! Hope you’re feeling well today! I noticed your mention of the Blue Ridge of NC! I know I could work for the local chamber of commerce with my unashamed promotion of the area, but I truly love this neck of the woods!
I live about half a mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway (as the crow flies) and nothing is more pleasant than a picnic up there in the summer! There are several state parks, including Grandfather Mountain, with amazing views and wonderful hiking. I would truly love for everybody here to experience it! As a matter of fact, I am sitting in my living room right now, looking out my front window at Grandfather Mountain, covered in rime ice and snow. It is especially beautiful in the late afternoon sun.
You have an “open door” invitation for a visit! Just give me time to straighten up the house a little! 🙂
Awesome! The matriarch side of my wife’s family is from Henderson, NC and my wife especially is very familiar with Grandfather Mountain. She tells a story of learning to drive a shift stick in that area in bad weather that is so funny. The first vacation we ever spent together was split up between a B&B in Asheville so we got to tour the Biltmore house, staying at the Pisgah Inn a night and then camping out across the street from the Inn for the rest of the week. Just about every time we visit her grandmother we find time to hit the mountains at least for a drive.
K, I cannot imagine trying to learn to drive a stick shift around here, and especially in bad weather! You should get her to post her story.
Asheville is a nice town, and I love the Biltmore. When I was a kid, I went to a camp just a few miles from Black Mountain, and it was there that I learned to love the mountains. I made up my mind at the ripe old age of about 10 that someday, I would live up here. In ’76, both my ex-hubby and I were so burned out from high-pressure jobs, so we pulled up stakes and came here to live. I have never regretted it for a minute!
I had planned to write an article here about Mt. Mitchell and the horrible thing that has happened up there. All the gorgeous giant hemlock and other evergreen trees are all dead from acid rain and air pollution. It is a sorry sight! I’ll have to get up there to take some pictures. You wouldn’t believe the terrible damage!
You should write the article!
People don’t realize the devastation of acid rain and how it makes trees vulnerable to attack. It was too late for Mt. Mitchell but there would be allot more Mt. Mitchells if it was not for cap and trade to curb SOx and NOx pollutants. I saw the adverse effects of acid rain when I was an undergrad in NY state and many areas up there have rebounded but because of the altitude Mt. Mitchell may never come back.
It may be Spring before I can get up there to take pictures that would be a necessity for anyone to understand. The roads up there are closed now. We have had some extremely heavy snow and ice that does not look like it’s going to melt any time soon. It’s only about 12 degrees here now, with a forecast low of 8 tonight. BRRR! When you add the wind chill, it is brutally cold. I checked the Grandfather weather station website and it is 3.2 degrees Farenheit now up on top! But it’s so beautiful with the rime ice. Everything is coated in sparkling white!
I hear you the hawk is out this time of year in the mountains.
And another comment…I have noticed some trees in the higher elevations along the Parkway that show signs of it too. We have lost some trees on Grandfather and Beech Mtn. but not to the extent of Mt. Mitchell.
Fantastic article, Pepe. Your nature writing is the best! I want to go there so badly! Do they allow dogs (offleash) on the hiking trails there, do you know? At Rocky Mountain National Park, they don’t allow dogs at all (due to irresponsible dog owners no doubt).
Your pix are gorgeous too. I can’t figure out what that critter is standing up in the meadow.
Here in Colorado, before I started having back problems, I used to be one of those people “bagging fourteeners” as we call it. They are not technical climbs generally but are very rigorous hikes. But now the fourteeners are packed every weekend during the summer. I’m not interested in hiking with crowds. I am so pathological about it, it sometimes even bothers me to hear other voices when I’m hiking (yeah, I’m a bit anti-social). Now that I have dogs, I settle for lower altitude hikes where water and shade are available and it’s reasonable to hike without a partner.
I completely agree with you about the different types of tourists. I will never forget the shock of “camping” at Yellowstone and Yosemite. At both places, it was like setting up a tent in a parking lot. I felt extremely claustrophobic and exposed in both places. What a horror that was.
One of the main issues here in Colorado is mountain biking. I’m all for letting people have a good time but hikers and mountain bikers do not mix well. A lot of the bikers are speed demons and testosterone addicts and they come screaming down the trail without regard for anyone else. We hikers (and our dogs) are just expected to scurry out of their way. One thing that George Bush did that really pissed me off: During his last weeks in office, he snuck in some law that allowed mountain biking on national forest land. This is because Bush himself is a mountain biker. Selfish slimebag.
Another big issue here in the high country is the ATV, motocross and snowmobiling crowd. Some areas are completely overrun by these people. They are incredibly noisy and destructive and completely ruin the experience for the rest of us — who wants to hike with the sounds of hot rodders all around you? There’s a certain mentality in this country — that “conquer the wilderness” mentality, instead of the “co-exist with the wilderness” attitude. Only in designated national parks like this can we keep those people out and protect the wilderness from them.
No dogs in Glacier. They have to stay in the cars and in the parking lot. I had a big fight with my sister over that a couple of years ago. She insisted on bringing her pit bull and she didn’t believe me that dogs were banned in the park. I damn near had to have a park ranger call her. It’s because dogs harass the wildlife.
The animal is a hoary marmot.
I’d like to bag that Long’s Peak in Colorado someday. We keep talking about going down there, but this year, I think we’re going to go to Waterton Lakes.
I avoid the crowds by going to Glacier after Labour Day, though for scheduling reasons this summer, we went the week before Labour Day, and the midweek crowds still weren’t *that* bad. There were a lot of people on the Highline Trail, but that’s the most popular trail in the park.
Yeah, ATVs and mountain bikes are an issue here. There is a lot of controversy in the Bitterroots, because a proposed travel plan there restricts ATVs and mountain bikes pretty much (not as much as I would like. ATVs are for people with small penises, IMO.), and off-roaders are threatening litigation over it. There is a nice mountain bike park right outside of town and if you just stay off certain trails, you won’t have to deal with them.
There is a trail to a mountain outside of Bozeman I badly want to do (called Hyalite Peak, about 10,500 feet high). They actually allow motorcycles on that damn trail. If you want to avoid the motorcycles and mountain bikes, you have to hike it on a Friday! That’s insane.
I love the hoary marmot.Who wouldn’t?
http://www.hatcherpasslodge.com/graphics/hoary_marmot.jpg
Nice photographs and informative article, Pepe.
We’re heading up to Glacier this summer after the 4th of July.