WARNING: This blog post will absolutely compel you to visit Northwestern Montana.
The weekend started with a bit of a hiccup as we were expecting three guests and received two; Eric had a bit too much pre-vacation fun the night before his flight and, well, he didn’t make it. Spoiler alert: he met up in Glacier the following day.
Glacier NP
After scooping Gabe and Alex up from the airport we headed straight for Glacier NP; no time to waste too much ill s**t to see.
We decided to drive Going-To-The-Sun-Road across the park to our campsite at Chewing Blackbones and took a warm-up hike to Hidden Lake.
Amazing start to the trip!
From there we headed to camp and started setting up shop.
Once set-up was complete, we got down with dinner and a warm fire.
The following morning we woke up to the most pristine day we’ve experienced in Glacier thus far; not one cloud in the sky. Perfect day for our 6 mile, 1,200 ft elevation hike out to Cracker Lake.
After countless switchbacks we hit an elevation point that provided for absolutely insane views.
A bit further down, we could tell we were close; time to pick up the pace ladies.
As if it was meticulously planned, the final stretch takes the explorer to a small crest that reveals Cracker Lake.
Words and pictures don’t do it justice…so go there yourself.
We continued on a bit scoping out a place to post up for some lunch. Yup, that’ll do.
Following this fairly intense hike there was no time to waste in getting into our meal.
After thoroughly munching out, we lounged awhile taking in the stunning backdrop and decided to dip our feet in this magnificent lake before heading back.
Look what we found IN the water!
From there it was time to go, so we laced up our boots and braced for the mission home.
While we were not completely thrilled to walk all the way back – a ski lift would have been cool – the views compensated and we enjoyed every minute.
6 miles later and mission complete!
Back to our site we started cooking, and as if we rang the dinner bell, Eric rolled through and set up shop at the site attached to ours.
We wrapped up the day with full bellies…
…and yoga.
Our last morning in Glacier we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and headed back west on Going-To-The-Sun-Road.
Nothing like seeing this ride from both directions.
Big Arm
Back in Big Arm that evening, family dinner was proper
And a campfire was lit in our front yard.
Our plans to rent a boat the following day were hampered by wildfire smoke and high winds so we got our water toys and headed south to Polson to escape the smoke.
‘Merica!
From there we headed north to the Tamarack Brewery in Lakeside for some beers and dinner.
We arrived home to an incredible sunset and took our guests for a tour of the neighborhood.
Amy and Alex of course were doing their thing.
And out of nowhere the horses occupying the field we were passing galloped towards us to say hey.
This was truly incredible!
We strolled back to the house as the sun disappeared behind the hills
THE END.