Glacier National Park, MT

The weather at Banff became less than ideal on day two with torrential rains that caused flooding in the small town of Lake Louise. Roy and I fled the angry Canadian clouds speeding down the winding roads of the transcanada highway 1.

Glacier's frosted peaks

As Glacier's picturesque brown, mauve and green mountains grew on the horizon, I observed a clear transition line about halfway up their slopes where a fresh frost blanketed their needles like powdered sugar on a brownie. Not long thereafter, I shivered in the frigid Glacier winds while I wet Roy's whistle with some exceptionally cheap unleaded at $3.73 per gallon. I had planned on camping while in the park, but with the recent drop in temperature, I was forced to check in to the only hostel in the area called Brownies.

Brownies' tilted main hallway

Brownies, a one-of-a-kind hostel/bakery combination, was by far one of the oddest places my travels had taken me. The second story, which held the hostel, seemed like it was going to fall apart at any minute. I'm guessing the construction workers didn't have a level when the erected the building because almost all of the walls protruded at different angles. In addition, the shoddy wooden construction left gaps in the seems joining every surface letting air and sound leak in. To compliment the poor craftsmanship, Brownies also sported an array of furniture that could only have been stolen from the set of That 70's Show. I couldn't complain because any four walls would have been better than my tent at protecting me from the snow flurry outside.

Nuff said

The next morning, I investigated the Brownies' bakery and ordered a glazed huckleberry bear claw - scrumptious! Roy and I rode into Glacier National Park where I purchased an annual pass, trail maps, and chatted with the park rangers who recommended a trip up to scenic point, the only non snow locked trail. A large red sign cautioned us that were entering "bear country" as we continued on to the trailhead.




Following the park ranger's suggestion I hiked the trail clapping every 15 feet alerting any bears in the area of my presence. Luckily the only wildlife I ran into were wind scarred trees, fluffy chipmunks and a pleasant group of mountain goats. Scenic point and its neighboring mountain peaks offered spectacular views which I tried my best to capture with my camera. I even managed to snap a self-timer shot from a vantage point on one of the mountain tops. I had to scramble across the rocks to get into the proper part of the frame before the shutter clicked. As you can tell my writing style is slipping into dribble, so I will let the pictures speak for themselves again. If you want to see all of my pictures from Glacier you can find them here:

The wind burnt trees

Frozen needles

Mountain Goats