During September 2009, will there be shuttle service from Swiftcurrent lodge to Logan Pass? My plan is to
hike Highline Trail to Granite Chalet and then back to Swiftcurrent lodge via the swiftcurrent valley trail. Also, does anybody know if this route from Granite Chalet would be mostly downhill?
Shuttle service from Swiftcurrent
You will need to take two separate shuttles I believe. The first is the East side shuttle which will take you to from Swiftcurrent to St. Mary%26#39;s and from there you can catch the Hiker%26#39;s shuttle on the GTTS to Logan Pass.
They have closed the shuttle Labor Day the last few years (which this year is September 7th).
I did this hike last September and it is 15.2 miles with the chalet being right about the mid-point of the hike. The hike to the chalet has no real significant elevation change except a 300-400 foot ascent to Haystack Butte.
The hike from the chalet starts with the most strenuous part of the whole hike. You ascend around 600-700 feet to Swiftcurrent Pass in the first mile from the chalet. After this you switchback down about 2,300 feet to the Swiftcurrent Valley floor and then have around 5 miles of level hike to the Swiftcurrent area.
Shuttle service from Swiftcurrent
Thank you Toddnick. It would be on Sept. 3 if I decide to go for it.(hopefully the shuttles will still be running)It sounds like a good idea. This would be my most challenging hike during my week in the park. I just purchased a new pair of hiking shoes yesterday to start breaking in. Thanks again for your response.
Good luck!!! This was my favorite hike of the eight I did in the Park. Highlights include the ';exposed'; rimrock section at the start of the hike, lots of mountain goats in the Logan Pass area at the beginning of the hike, incredible vistas, great views of Heaven%26#39;s Peak, a chalet tour (it will be open until the 7th of September this year so you can grab a snack/water as well), the spectacular view from the top of Swiftcurrent Pass looking down across the whole valley, and moose in the lakes that you pass as you traverse the valley back to Swiftcurrent.
(I%26#39;ll probably be doing the Highline to the chalet and up to Grinnell Glacier Overlook and back to Logan Pass this year in mid-September as the shuttles will have stopped)
consider (if you have the energy) the grinnell overlook mentioned above. 2/3 mi straight up (about 1/2 mi b 4 the chalet) but well worth it. A better overlook is 1/4 mile south along the ridge from where most people stop to look down. Bullhead lake is the lake most often populated with moose as you come down off of the pass, though posters last year were commenting on fishercap lake just b 4 the end of the trip at Swiftcurrent.
toddnick, I was checking out your itinerary and photos from your trip last year. (the mosse shot was my favorite!) Your entire trip must have been amazing. I%26#39;m very psyched to attempt this hike now in Sept. It sounds like I will be missing you on the trail by just a few days this year. I%26#39;m trying not to let all the bear talk on these forums stress me out to bad. Although your encounter with the Grizzly on the swiftcurrent trail has encouraged me to get bear spray and a few bells especially since I%26#39;ll be hiking solo also. In your Glacier travels did you ever do any hiking in Waterton? The Crypt Lake hike sounds interesting or perhaps just the shorline trail.
Kskelley, thanks for the good ideas. I will need to get out my map now and rethink this. Perhaps, I could hike to the Grinnell Lookout,Chalet, and proosibly the Swiftcurrent valley Lookout and then head back the the Loop and shuttle back to Swiftcurrent Lodge. Then if I can squeeze it in I could do a seperate hike to the Fishercap lake on a different day. So many hikes, so many options, never enough time. This Glacier thing may turn out to be an annual event for me. Last year I fell in love with Yosemite, this year it will be Glacier!
I did 8 hikes in 10 days my first time at Glacier last year and am planning on doing 13 hikes (10 new ones and 3 repeats including Highline) in 16 full days at Glacier this year and that is without doing Waterton. My third trip to Glacier I might take the time to drive up to Waterton and do a few hikes because I have heard very good things about the Crypt Lake hike.
I consider bear spray a must at Glacier (and make sure that you attach it to you where can grab it and take off the safety quickly) and I did lots of singing and talking while solo hiking as well.
I have heard negative things about the Loop hike so I would either go over Swiftcurrent and enjoy the nice views as you descend the switchbacks or do what I%26#39;m doing this year and do a 16 mile out and back (including Grinnell Glacier overlook) from Logan Pass on the Highline.
You will have lots of options, the park is diverse. The bear spray is a must, I put it in my front pocket as I find it easier (more importantly, quicker) to access. That said, in 30 years in the park I have never used it and only drawn it once. Make a lot of noise, keep your eys and ears open and you should be fine.
I found a great description of this hike on this thread. I also looked at hiker shuttle schedules, says hiker shuttle leaves swiftcurrent at 7:30am.
glacierparkchat.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php鈥?/a>
Thanks Qino2! The link was just what i needed to confirm my plan. This sounds like the perfect hike for me. Do you know if the 7:30am departure shuttle from SwiftCurrent Lodge is for this season in Sept.? I%26#39;ve been checking the nps.gov site for the 2009 schedule and nothing is posted yet. I%26#39;m also waiting and hopeful to view the ';Glacier Explorer'; publication for Sept. 2009 but I guess it will not come until later in the summer. Thanks again for your help.
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