Mountains, Pine Trees and Glacial Water!

June 25-29, 2025

Brandon commented to us how much he loves the scene of mountains, pine trees and the glacial blue water.  Boy, he couldn't be more right about this!

After driving the 115 miles from Grand Forks to St. Mary, we did laundry and had dinner.  Our big outing was to the St. Mary Visitor Center to pick up resources and get some suggestions from the park ranger.

The next day was our 43rd anniversary!  We often like to do something a bit challenging on our anniversary, so we set the alarm for 5:30am, getting an early start to the day.  I’ve really been excited to hike Highland Trail and this was the perfect day to do it!  We drove up to Logan Pass, getting there in time to be able to find a parking spot.  Walking across Going-to-the-Sun Road from the visitor center to the Highland trailhead, we were greeted by ropes strung across the trail with a “trail closed” sign on it.  The 12+ inches of snow they had a few days ago had made use of the trail too dangerous.  Wah-wah.  

Determined to go on a fun hike, and seeing how we were already at Logan Pass, we headed back across the street for another popular hike that leaves from the pass.  You can pick up the Hidden Lake Trailhead just behind the visitor center and follow the trail to Hidden Lake.  

This trail is rated as “easy”, which I’m sure it normally is; however, following a big snowfall, it is anything but easy!  Instead of “Hidden Lake”, we thought this hike should be named “Hidden Trail”.  Although it was the end of June, we donned winter coats underneath our raincoats, stocking caps and gloves and began our trek up the snow-covered landscape.  The park had planted some yellow stakes at key places to identify where the trail generally was, which was greatly needed!  Just to be sure it was challenging enough for us, Mother Nature added a little rain shower, chilling wind, and even some sleet for the final stretch back to the car.  Yep, it qualified as a hike fit for the day!  I couldn’t help noticing the striking contrast between the delicate glacial lilies blooming inches away from fresh snow.  They are certainly no pansies!  

While we were busy slipping, sliding and completely enjoying this amazing trail, Brandon, Anne and the kids were driving from Salt Lake City to join us.  They made incredible time, allowing them to join us for dinner!  We kept our salmon supper super simple and enjoyed a charcuterie board together.  Following dinner, Brandon and Anne broke out a bottle of champaign for us to toast our 43 years of marriage! 💕

For our first full day together, we headed out to explore Two Medicine.  Along the drive there, we once again passed the “thin place” where Pops had his flat tire 35 years ago.  We couldn’t resist stopping for another photo. 

Once we arrived at Two Medicine, we took to the South Shore Trail.  This trail had several surprises for us.  The first portion of this four-and-a-half-mile trail was lined with bear grass and I became obsessed with it!  It’s such a cool plant in this region.  Apparently, it gets its name because bears like to eat the fleshy spring shoots, and grizzlies use the leaves to line their dens. 

Waterfalls are everywhere in Glacier National Park, but I was surprised to find Aster Falls along this trail.  It was maybe a quarter mile off the trail, but a fun little addition to discover! 

While we didn’t see any bears along this trail, we came across several marmots.  I’ve seen them from a distance a couple of times before, but never this close.  I bet we got within ten feet of them!

I hadn’t expected crossing a 100-foot suspension bridge.  A sign was posted just before stepping onto this rickety-looking bridge limiting it to one person at a time.  Being that we were well over half-way through this hike, and we had tickets to take the boat back, my options were limited!  As long as I walked slowly, kept to the center of the bridge, held on to the lines on each side of the bridge, and PRAYED, I was fine!  I felt a little like Peter walking on the water.  As soon as I got distracted and started looking around, the bridge began swaying and bouncing, making it difficult to continue on!  Once I refocused, things settled down and I was able to complete the crossing. By the way, I thought it was interesting to learn this bridge crosses Paradise Creek.  I guess it wasn’t quite my time to enter Paradise yet!

Another surprise was the length of this trail.  We were told by a park employee when we headed out it was three miles, but it turned out to be closer to five miles.  It’s a good thing Brandon has a strong back, as he was carrying Zoe (nearly four years old) on his back!

The last surprise was the very hungry mosquitoes.  Despite park warnings to not feed the wildlife, we definitely were feeding mosquitoes along the way!  I typically wear moisture-wicking clothing on hikes and today was no exception.  With my arms and legs covered, the mosquitoes were somewhat limited, but believe me, they still feasted away.  Zoe was the one who got the worst of it.  She must be a little extra tasty, as her little face and head had so many bites, including one on her scalp! 

Once we reached Paradise Point, the beach where the historic Glacier National Park boats dock, we had just enough time to eat our picnic lunch before we boarded the boat, traversed Two Medicine Lake, and arrived back at Two Medicine.  

We were surprised to learn the history of the General Store located there.  Although it is now a great little spot to pick up snacks, beverages, camping supplies and souvenirs, it was originally a dining hall.  It was built in 1911 and has maintained its original beauty.  What really stood out as amazing is that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sat by the huge stone fireplace while giving his first fireside chat!  Last fall, Josh performed in West High School’s production of Annie, playing FDR.  While Josh gave us a slight eye roll, he cooperated and allowed us to photograph him beside this stunning fireplace.

No cigarette holder or wheel chair for today's fireside chat

After leaving Two Medicine, we headed to Many Glacier where we took in the amazing views of the “Switzerland of America”.  We lucked out finding a parking spot here, as the park is updating its 100-year-old plumbing this summer and much of the parking is filled with construction equipment and is torn up!  Although it was a bit of a cold, blustery day, we still grabbed a drink from the Swiss Lounge in the historic hotel and drank it on the lodge’s balcony overlooking the lake.  I tried out their Huckleberry Martini, but once we were outside, I found myself second-guessing my choice.  A hot beverage might have been a wiser selection!

Many Glacier Lodge's balcony

Back at the campsite we had fish tacos for dinner.  Brandon had clued me in on Cilantro Lime Crema, which topped off these tacos with an amazing finish!

We got a bit of an earlier of a start for our final full day on the east side of Glacier and headed to the Saint Mary Lake boat launch.  Reservations need to be made before 5:00pm the day before, and with limited (or non-existent) cell service, we hadn’t gotten reservations made ahead of time.  Luck was with us, as they had room for all seven of us on the 10:00am cruise.  During the narrated cruise, we learned how the glaciers shaped each of these stunning mountain peaks and got a little geology lesson in rock formation. We also sailed past the spot where there once stood quite the vacation destination.  Guests would arrive by boat and be met by a horse named Uncle Sam who hauled luggage up to a lodge.  With constant maintenance needed and the cost of running it high, eventually the place closed.  No buyer could be found, so they torched the place and pushed the ashes and charred remains into the lake!  Further up the lake, the boat docked and gave us time to hike the short distance to Baring Falls.  A highlight of the return boat trip was getting a brief glimpse of Sexton Glacier.  In order to be classified as a glacier, it must be at least 0.1 square kilometer (about 25 acres), at least 50 meters (about 164 feet) deep and moving.  With the glaciers in the park melting at the rate they currently are, it’s expected that, within the next decade, the glaciers will no longer meet the requirements to be classified as glaciers anymore.

Pops would love how we continue to see the world through his binoculars!

During our boat tour of Saint Mary Lake, the captain of the boat tour mentioned some of the filming for the movie Forest Gump was shot in Glacier NP.  The only scene that made the cut was when Forest was on his three years, two months, 14 days and 16 hour run.  Well, as obsessed as I am with quilt shops, Josh is obsessed with running.  He is on both the XC and track teams at West High School and makes an impressive amount of effort to get his daily run in, even while we are vacationing!  The scene of Forest running in Glacier was of him running across The Saint Mary Bridge on the east side of GNP.  We knew instantly where this was and couldn't resist Josh reenacting this run across this bridge!  

Our picnic lunch spot was at the Saint Mary Visitor Center where we also watched a video on the history of Glacier NP.  The video may be slightly dated by signs of the times (fashion styles, cell phones, haircuts…), but the information in the film was very informative!

Our afternoon was spent driving to Sun Point on Going-to-the-Sun Road where we waited out a small rain squall before hiking to Saint Mary Falls and Virginia Falls.  The stunning blue glacier water with the sun shining on it set against the pine forest is a feast for the eyes!  This was another four-and-a-half-mile hike – with Zoe on Anne’s back this time.  I know I couldn’t do it.  I guess my age is showing!

Dinner was pizza at Rising Sun Pizza, a popular spot for all the tourists.  Crowds on the east side are minimal when compared to the west side, but we still had quite the wait for a table.  It was totally worth it, as the pizza was delicious.  We had worked up quite an appetite as the seven of us demolished three, 16-inch pizzas!  (The Huckleberry Honey pitcher of beer disappeared even faster!)

Up Next:  West Glacier!