The Mini-Glaciers of Many Glacier

I really want to visit Many Glacier campground during the second half of my week-long vacation in Glacier National Park.   It is considered to be the “heart” of Glacier, and also the only way for an RV of my size (over 21 ft long, 8 ft wide) to be able to camp in the interior of the park, as the Winnie is not allowed on the only road that crosses the interior, the Going to the Sun Road.   Having come from Washington, I am on the west side the park.  That means I must drive all the way around the bottom perimeter via Highway 2.   According to the Ranger at Apgar Visitor’s Center, due to some construction, I will need to allow three hours.

Many Glacier Campground is also the most popular campground in the park.  With only 99 sites, and not all of those suited for RVs, it fills up every single day during the summer.   It’s first come, first served, and there are tales of people circling the park, watching for campers packing up to swoop in and claim the space before it’s even vacated.

The National Park Service has a great website tracker that shows the exact time of day that the campground fills, both for this year, as well as historical years.   This information is also posted on an information board at every Visitor’s Center.  I have been watching this source of information for a couple of weeks now, and consistently, Many Glacier is the first to fill, and usually by 9:00am.   That would mean a departure of 5:00am from Apgar, a good two hours before sunrise here on the far western reaches of the Mountain Daylight Timezone.    I don’t want to drive this scenic, curvy road supposedly fraught with wildlife just waiting to leap into my oncoming headlight beams in the dark.

So I consult my Allstays App, and see the Glacier Peaks Casino in Browning offers overnight parking.   I can move into the Visitor’s Center parking lot for my hike to Hidden Lake, saving twenty bucks, then drive on to the casino after the hike, and be over halfway to Many Glacier for an early run on a campsite by sunrise the next morning.

I share this plan with the Going to the Sun Shuttle Driver on my way back from Hidden Lake.  He warns, “Watch yourself in Browning.   Don’t go out after dark.  It’s pretty rough there.”   I explain, “I only plan on parking in the Casino parking lot, and don’t plan to get out of my rig.  Is there still a danger?”    “No, you should be okay.  Just don’t go out drinking at night.  That’s Blackfeet Country.   Blackfeet were the most feared Indian Nation in the Northwest, and some of these guys never left the reservation, if you know what I mean.  Just stay inside, you should be safe.” 

Sunrise over Blackfeet Nation

Sunrise over Blackfeet Nation

Espresso Teepee

Espresso Teepee

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That night in the Casino parking lot, I endured the most violent winds yet in my 18 months of full timing.   Turning the rig into the wind didn’t help.  Water was shaking in the toilet bowl.  At 4:00am, I was starting to consider leaving the rig to seek shelter.   I once again pondered the irony of the question, “What is safe?”  Safe from WHAT?

After a fitful night, I leave the Casino at morning’s first light, and make the remaining drive toward Many Glacier.  The Ranger has recommended that I take the straight-shot Hwy 464 into Babb, rather than the curvy Hwy 89, as it will be faster and easier while towing.   It is just a gorgeous morning with the sun rising over the golden grasses of Blackfeet Nation, reflecting on the distant dark mountains.   Everywhere I look in Montana looks like a magnificent painting.IMG_0861

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Many Glacier is up a long, pot-holed, bumpy 12 mile dead-end road, some of which is gravel due to current construction.   The road runs along SwiftCurrent Creek, the Lake Sherberne Dam and Reservoir, and finally, Swiftcurrent Lake itself.

Many Glacier Hotel, with Grinnell Peak in the background

Many Glacier Hotel, with Grinnell Peak in the background

View of Many Glacier Lodge from Swiftcurrent Lake

View of Many Glacier Lodge from Swiftcurrent Lake

On the shore of Swiftcurrent Lake sits Many Glacier Lodge, built in 1915 as part of the Great Northern Railway’s eastern gateway to Glacier National Park.   It is built in the style of a Swiss Chalet, and still preserves that old chalet charm, with exposed beams and a roaring fire, right down to excluding TVs in the guest rooms.  The lodge exudes that feeling of understated opulence.  The Great Northern Railway exibit in the lobby makes it easy to imagine one has just stepped off a historic cross-country railway journey.

Many Glacier Lodge, built 1915

Many Glacier Lodge, built 1915

View from my breakfast splurge

View from my breakfast splurge

Boat tours are available across Swiftcurrent Lake

Boat tours are available across Swiftcurrent Lake

Another less comforting exhibit in the Many Glacier Lodge is the “Losing a Legacy” exhibit in the hallways.  NOROCK (Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center) scientists have paired early 1900’s photographs to those same angles from 2008 of 13 glaciers to show dynamic changes as the glaciers retreat.   A very sobering picture story.  When the park first opened, there were 150 named glaciers.  Now, there are 25.  They expect by 2030, Many Glacier will be in name only, information which I will share more about in a later post.

Sperry Glacier, circa 1920 - 2008

Sperry Glacier, circa 1920 – 2008

Grinnell Glacier, circa 1920 - 2008

Grinnell Glacier, circa 1920 – 2008

I make it to the campground a little after 8:00am.  I slowly circle the loop, and spot two young girls already packing up.   One just bought a Tracker, the other drives a Honda CRV, both cars which I own, so we chat for a while about cars and car camping.   I ask how they liked their campsite.  “It was perfect.   Sunny  but private.  And the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn is just down the path.  Their flush toilets are actually closer and a whole lot warmer than those in the campground.”   It is a nice long pull-through, no visibility to neighbors,  with lots of shade yet  a perfect opening overhead to keep my solar panels happy.  It is so serene, I think I could stay here until first snowfall.  Serendipity is my travel companion once again…

Nice view, with plenty of solar

Nice view, with plenty of solar

View out the door...

View out the door…

Wildlife sightings bigger than a breadbox = 0, Total = 1 Goat

5 thoughts on “The Mini-Glaciers of Many Glacier

  1. I love the way your Plans are written in Butter. Just leave them out in the sun for a minute and start over. RVing is one continuous puzzle…a problem solver’s delight, not for the risk averse types.
    I tagged Browning “The Broken Beer Bottle Capital of the World.” If I was a young Blackfoot Buck I would get the hell out of there and never look back. It is spooky to camp alone anywhere in that area…
    Box Canyon Mark

  2. Glacier park has always been high on my bucket list and it cannot move higher but your article has reinforced its place.

    I laughed at your wondering of when is enough wind enough. I know the answer on a ship, but cannot help you on an RV.

    loved it, the giggle factor was met as well as the beauty factor.

  3. yes… Browning was depressing as hell ~ well, as I’ve heard hell is … couldn’t wait to move on out … but that gorgeous surround area! what a contrast… and wonder why … I asked a few people and well … as when I wrote my post about it … what happened to the naturalness of our Native Americans … the pride … the caring… nary a plant did a see …

    oh my Glacier … how I love you! 😉

  4. BC Mark — I was dinged on an annual review once for not being more of a
    “risk taker.” I guess compared to people like you and Boonie who blaze your own trail, that’s true. Like everything else, risk is relative, right?

    Jim & Gayle — Yes, I would chose that one all over again. It was more private than the ones on either end of me. Site #12.

    Allen — Thanks. Been wonderin’ where ya been! Yes, here I was losing sleep worried if I was “safe” from the injuns, and then I am almost blown away! Safe is also relative.

    Carolyn, — I think in some cases, they were deeded land that was not their original location. But not so, the Blackfeet. They are on their original reservation, so it is disappointing to see, I agree. I am looking for a good book to read about the history… Thanks for stopping by!

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