Glacier National Park (July 10) Day 4

View from St. Mary's

Camo and I made a hike altering decision on July 10th. July 11th was Camo's birthday. It also happened to be a day where the ranger made us rent a cabin in Many Glacier because the campground was closed due to grizzly bear activity. We also had a tough 14 mile day to get there which was going to mean that we would have to hike all day, and probably late into the evening before we reached the cabin. That would also mean, very little time to enjoy it, given the cost. As a result, we decided we would leave the trail and the end of the day on the 10th, take a free shuttle to St. Mary's, spend the night there, and then purchase a shuttle from St. Mary's north to Many Glacier on the 11th and therefore get to the cabin midday and enjoy ourselves for Camo's birthday.

First we had 13 miles to do to get to the shuttle stop. Thankfully, it was mostly flat and dry. Unfortunately it was through dense jungle like vegetation and a large section of downed trees along St. Mary's Lake. Once again, it was a perfect sunny day in Glacier and Camo and I began to tackle the mileage. At one point along the trail, I stopped to take a break and accidentally left my grizzly bear spray behind. That was not very comforting realization. "The trail will provide," I reminded myself.

St. Mary's Lake (photo by Camo)

Once we began hiking along St. Mary's Lake, the mosquitoes began to swarm. Miraculously, we only had to suffer a short while. A strong wind soon picked up and we were able to continue hiking mosquito free.

Trail near St. Mary's falls (photo by Camo)

photo by Camo

By afternoon, we passed a couple of fantastic waterfalls, Virginia and St. Mary's falls. The day hiker volume picked up as well. Eventually, Camo and I made it to the side trail that led up to the Going to the Sun Road and to the free shuttle stop. There after waiting 20 minutes or so, we caught a standing room only shuttle to St. Mary's. I was feeling rather filthy at this point and felt bad for my fellow shuttle travelers who had to sit or stand next to me. I had a short conversation with a woman who was working at St. Mary's with the park service.
"We've had a two fold increase in visitors to the park in the last 3 years or so," she informed me.
"Why is that? Do you think it's a result of the Internet?"
"Not necessarily," she responded. "I think there's been more of a cultural shift in recent years of younger people wanting to get outdoors, social media is just a small part of it..."

Once we arrived in St. Mary's, Camo and I hiked over to the campground and asked if there were any campsites left. A ranger we talked to informed us of a hiker/biker site that existed in the campground and told us where to find it. Camo and I wondered around a bit, and for the life of us couldn't find the site. We asked a man camping where it was and he told us it was right behind his campsite. We looked around and still couldn't find it. We saw a small trail that led to a small river and decided to camp along the banks. It didn't seem like the right spot, but it was secluded, private, and away from the campground crowds. Camo and I decided to pitch camp there. It turned out to be an amazingly relaxing spot. We hiked into St. Mary's for dinner and ordered a large pizza. Then picked up a few beers for camp. When we walked back to the campground we finally realized where the hiker biker spot was. It was jam packed with tents which was why we couldn't see the sign. Oh well, our spot was way better. That evening after consuming a few beverages, a mother moose roamed into camp and thankfully kept walking. Stars came out and were simply spectacular. Another great day in Glacier...