2054 MDT 14 July 2007
We took U.S. Route 2 from East Glacier Park to Apgar Village this afternoon. There were five geocaches along the route, so we stopped by to find all five.
We made it to West Glacier Park in one piece. There's a lot in the way of services at West Glacier -- river rafting, souvenir shopping, lodging. There's a gasoline station, a shaved ice place, and a coin-operated laundromat. We bought a few groceries (and a can of white gas for $10 [wow]), then hit the road to Apgar Village.
One of the challenges of going to a new place is not knowing what to expect. Each of the National Parks has a different structure with respect to concessionaires and inholdings, so there's no uniformity. Glacier National Park has a considerable operation at Apgar Village that's intent on getting you everything you need (and a lot you don't). In addition to the Visitor's Center, there's a general store (with a fair supply of Wal-Mart-grade "camping" equipment, beer, wine, and souvenirs), an ice cream store (with a very long line for the entire time we were in Apgar Village), a motel, and the Backcounty office (the place where you register for backcounty permits). The Backcounty office was our last stop in Apgar Village before heading up the road to Kintla Lake.
The road to Kintla Lake can, apparently, be somewhat difficult to find. I wound up taking a slightly longer (and much better conditioned) road to Kintla Lake. Part pavement and part gravel, it's a long road -- most of it is a one-lane gravel road. There are 13 campsites, and we got the last one of the day -- another stroke of luck. The mosquitos and flies aren't too bad, and the heat of the day will cool off quickly.
Tomorrow, we're off to the campsites on the upper end of Kintla Lake for a little backcounty camping experience. It's only a six-mile hike, and it's mostly level, but it's a good way to get the kids into the experience. It's a lot less fun if you're going in for four days and several thousand feet up and down each day for your first backcountry trip in a few years (the last big backpacking trip was in 2003, the year we went to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks).
2048 MDT 14 July 2007
East Glacier Park is the logical point of entry to the park when traveling by train from the east. The obvious reason is that it's the first place near the park at which you arrive. The real reason is, though, the fact that it has a rental car agency. In addition to the Avis counter, East Glacier Park has a general store (just the essentials, but that's all you should need on a trip like this) and a Mexican Restaurant (open from 1700 to 2200).
Once you get all the rental car and general store stuff out of the way, it's on to the lodge. The lodge was very nice, though characteristically pricey. The lodge had a restaurant (which we didn't try), a bar (also, which we didn't try), and a large gift shop. One of the selling points of the lodge is the 18-hole golf course (we're not golfers, so can't remark on the adequacy of the golf course). By the number of people at the golf course, it is a major draw for the resort.
0812 MDT
We arrived at East Glacier Park, MT last night shortly before 2100, which was a little later than planed. We got all of our gear off the train safely, then Joe and I went over to the Avis agent, which is located at the Glacier Park Trading Company (immediately across the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe tracks from the train station). We were lucky to look just lost enough to get a store employee out of her car and over knocking on the door to the store to get us inside.
The store was broiling inside. It had been 95 deg F during the day, and the building retained every bit of that heat. We rented a Chevrolet Tahoe, then drove it around to the train station to pick up Lorraine and Emily, along with all of our gear. From the train station, it was another 300m or so to the lodge.
We got checked into the lodge, then did a little scouting around. the temperature was dropping nicely between 2200 and midnight, so sleeping wasn't a problem.
I woke up about 0700 really parched. the lower humidity and the temperature overnight really dried me out.
We stayed in room 317 in their "annex" building. The room is enormous, and not bad for a historic facility. I'm up on the third floor veranda, facing the train station and the rest of East Glacier Park. It's pretty quiet on this side of the building; there's a diesel bus running on the front of the building which I can do without.
We'll probably be headed to West Glacier Park and Apgar later this morning.
