Running in Glacier National Park

Their first hike was on a trail leading to Iceberg Lake. The photo to the left shows the cirque formation which is like an amphitheater at the end of a valley. The white flowers are called "Bear Grass." They were named by Lewis and Clark who saw bears roaming in a field of the blossoms.

At that time, Frieda & Norm knew little about an important aspect of running in Glacier Park.

"We started our hike to Iceberg Lake in the afternoon and since we wanted to get back before dark, we ran most of the 5 miles back to the trailhead." This could have lead to disaster because grizzlies don't like to be surprised and will frequently attack under that circumstance.

As we now know, Frieda and Norm weren't eaten by a bear but thereafter they followed the rule of walking on the trails and making lots of noise so the bears know you are coming.

This photo shows the array of colorful flowers like Indian Paintbrush. "We often would spend time searching the cliffs for mountain goats and big-horn sheep."

There are three main entrances into the park and a few others that are less-traveled. The one called "Many Glacier" had some of the best hiking trails and the most wildlife.

"For one month in 1997, we served as Campground Hosts in the Two Medicine section of the park which was in one of the more remote sections.

While there, we learned the perils of hiking for the unprepared. An employee of one of the park concessions went off one afternoon to climb one of the mountains and never returned. His disregard of warnings about hiking alone led to a fatal conclusion.

We saw lots of wildlife every time we did that hike.

The park has shuttle buses so you can do a point-to-point hike or run and get transportation back to the place you started.

Glacier Park is in a rather remote section of the country but you should try to go there at least once. You'll remember it as a truly beautiful and memorable place.

For information about Glacier National Park, click here.