Myer

also, I don't know what stores are available to buy supplies. The only thing we saw between the border and Babb was Thornson's. We bought our bear spray there but it's little.

Just outside the Cargary airport is a Walmart Supercenter.

Just about the only thing you can't bring across the border is citrus. And a few minor things.

We had no problems crossing in either direction.

spirobulldog

I looked and it might work out nicely from Calgary.


Did you like Glacier better than Banf/Jasp?

spirobulldog

Holy cow!! There are flights available every day that month for 12.5K economy on AA. Now, I can't book for another 7 days(i'm still 337 day out-give or take a day), so hopefully that will stay true this time next week!!!

panecott

FTR, the drive from Kallispell to Glacier is easy as pie.

The car rental people just told me to make a left out of the airport and follow the signs. It was that easy. I didn't even need a map, much less a GPS.

Kallispell was convenient to Apgar Village, which was my first stop.

Myer

spiro,
I haven't been to Jasper.

I'm sort of conflicted. I'd like to go the Banff & Jasper. I'd also like to go back to Glacier. I only saw Many Glacier and the east side of GTTS Rd. Also, we really didn't drive the Road and start at most of the viewpoints.

Something to be aware of. When driving GTTS Rd if there's construction somewhere that will really have an impact on you driving. Early one morning I took some photos at Wild Goose Island and then drove west.

I go past Logan Point and a couple of miles past I got to construction. Even about 8AM (maybe even earlier) there were a dozen cars backed up.

I'm not saying they shouldn't do repair work but I would try to avoid it.

When we left GTTS Rd we had a choice. Go to Two Medicine and add 2 hours to the drive or go to Waterton Lakes.

The town had the same feel as Banff. A tourist town with tourist stores. I could do without that.

In Waterton Lakes we stopped to take some photos of the Prince of Wales Hotel, stopped at Cameron Falls and hiked to the top of Bears Hump. Unfortunately, after 4 days of sunny skies it was cloudy when we got to the top.

So I really didn't have a plan or explore Waterton.

For Banff I was better prepared. I had a list of places. I was with my wife so long or many hikes were out.

We hike Bannf Townsite's own mountain, Tunnel Mtn and we hiked to Peyto lake. Peyto Lake isn't very long but I think it's the highest trailhead elevation in the park.

Also, I made a big mistake. I figure that since I was with my wife I wouldn't be out looking for wildlife. Not so. I left my longer lens home. I went out early and late when she was asleep.

One morning I saw a black bear. It was so close I couldn't even zoom with my regular walkaround lens.

One evening I saw a mother and 3 cubs. They were really too far but I took photos anyway and had to do surgery on the photos. Never again.

I can't compare hikes to hikes since I didn't do much in Banff. If I went to Glacier again I might wait until the second day (to get accustomed to the altitude) and go on the Grinnell Glacier hike. We couldn't complete it due to a snowfield on the trail.

They both have great scenery. I saw more wildlife in Glacier but Fishercap Lake had a lot.

You asking which I liked better is the same dilema for me to decide which I rather go back to.

I haven't seen all of Glacier and I haven't been to Jasper which I've read has amazing scenery as well.

I'd love to take 10 days and spend 5 in each. The drive between is only 5 hours. The good part is that Calgary is between so the drive back to the airport is reasonable.

= = = = =
About the 12.5k flights. Is that for Calgary. When I looked for this year there weren't any.

It would be great to get a good flight using minimum air miles.

Good luck.

John

Road to GP from Kalispell airport is approx. 30 miles of straight hiway with some spots at 70 mph. From the airport to Apgar Village should take you 30 to 40 minutes doing the speed limit

spirobulldog

Myer,

Yes, that was from Tulsa to Calgary.

sharondi

Thanks for the great trip report and pictures, Myer. Looks like a fun trip. Can't believe the abundant wildlife! I spent a summer working as a naturalist in Glacier after college. Hiked almost everyday, did most of the parks trails and didn't see one grizz in 4 months and only one moose. How thrilling for you and your daughter to share such an incredible experience. Great trip!

Myer

sharondi,
We saw three grizzlies from a distance up hills off roads.

We saw one in the woods right beside our trail hiking back from Redrock Falls. That was a bit scary as it was about 7PM and getting dim in the woods. Also, we were alone.

We saw another grizzly on the shoreline of Lake Josephine on the way back from the Grinnell Glacier (aborted) hike. That one wasn't as far as those uphill roadside.

And of course, the one who paralleled us on the way back from Iceberg Lake who ended up liking our trail better and then took a bath on the trail for a half hour.

I don't know if Fishercap Lake (maybe I've let out a secret) always has moose and deer around but we went there (only 10-15 minutes from the Swiftcurrent Pass trailhead) three times and each time saw a moose and deer.

Yes, we were very fortunate to see all that.

- - - -
spiro,
I checked out FLL to YYC for next year (a bit early but just to check). The AA flights are not great. From here United has an excellent flight. Leaves 6:30AM, one change and arrives in YYC at noon.

emalloy

Nice report and great pictures. Glacier is on my bucket list, but will have to get some time in the summer to do it.

wtm003

Myer, thanks for the report and the pictures! There have been some great trip reports lately. I just came back from the Pacific NW and was torn between going back next summer or heading to the Canadian Rockies. Now Glacier is also in that mix. I can't believe how many grizzlies you saw! A little too close for me.

monpetit

Swiftcurent pass trai is well known for wildlife.
Everytime we made it, we saw :
- deers, always,
- mooses( 3 times on 4);
- bears(3 times on 4).
Bears are often on trail and mooses often hiden, but not always..The first time we hike swiftcurrent trail 5 years ago we saw moose near Bullhead lake, then on the switchback to the pass.On the way back, one more moose on trail between bulhhead lake and redrock falls.
Fishercap lake is a good spot for wildlife in particular moose or deer.
The problem can be the bears as they like the "brushy" wood between main trail and the fishercap lake but with noise and bearspray and the usual precautions, it's fine.
One have to say on the quality of the pictures of Myer...and effectively on the fact he and his daughter was lucky.
From our experience wildlife have to be expected everywhere...
This year ie, we saw :
a bear while arriving at Grinnel Glacier overlook from Highline trail.He was arriving from Grinnel Glacier...last place I was thinking to see a bear, when you know the park...
It's a challenge even for a bear to do the steep snow corridor from Grinnel Glacier to the overlook.
2 mooses in Cracker Lake!!I don't know if it's usual but that has been a "buzz" in the hikers and coming back we saw an unusual traffic for Cracker lake in afternoon and every hiker asking us : "did you see the mooses??".
Erik

Myer

Erik,
Obviously your hikes are more substantial than ours were.

Then again, I'm probably somewhat older.

Now over to your thread to see if you added more.

123

GREAT pictures. We've been to Yosemite, Banff, Victoria and Vancouver. Your pictures brought back great memories. I do have a question. I have a D-40 Nikon with the 18-55 kit lens. Looking at your pictures I think you had a nice zoom. Any suggestions on a lens? I'm thinking about the 55-200 Nikkor. Would love to know what you use.

Myer

123,
I'm a Canon person so I don't know the Nikon line of lenses.

I do have a moderate zoom lens which I used on some bears. But really, it's way under-powered for distance. Some of the photos were shot way too far for a 55-250 lens.

I believe the D40 has a crop factor of 1.5 which is similar to my T2i at 1.6. That means your lenses would magnify about the same as mine.

Interesting lenses when comparing mine to my daughter's.

I have an excellent 15-85 travel lens that's sharp throughout the range. I have a 55-250 for a bit more distance.

My daughter has an 18-200 for a general lense and a 10-22 for wide shots.

So I'm fine at one end and have to change at the other end that's opposite from what my daughter did.

I had never changed lenses on the fly before. I tried several ways to carry the lens and then practiced changing before the trip. It worked out fine.

If you look at the Banff trip, the photos of the mother and three cubs it was taken with the 15-85. Then required major surgery. I vowed never to get caught like that again. The 55-250 would have been great to have.

One last thing. As I get older I'm getting less and less steady. My daughter is rock solid. I've started carrying a tripod more for sunrise, sunset and waterfalls. I switched to a light Manfrotto travel tripod but I don't think it's steady enough. I think the breeze fuzzed the longer exposures so I only used those faster than 1/20th sec.

I was concerned about getting on a plane with a tripod hanging from my backpack. My current travel tripod fits into my carry-on suitcase. I have to work on that as I might have done better using a tripod on the distance limit.

I also quickly learned (on the first day a bear above the road and quite far) to use a higher ISO, faster shutter speed and smaller (higher number) aperture to get usable photos.

With less depth of field and a small subject in the viewer it doesn't take much to misfocus the subject and get a bad shot.

Personally, if you're looking at distsnt wildlife 200mm isn't enough. When I got back I looked at the Canon line. Maybe 300mm or more. But I don't want to lug around a heavy lens that I can't easily carry.

Always a compromise.

Thanks for the comments.

123

Enjoyed your response. We're looking forward to the trip. We are trying to go late enough to catch the aspens in full color, and hope for the best on the weather. We'll approach Glacier from the east, go to Waterton first, then drop by Swiftcurrent before going in the east gate and see if we can get through.

After GNP we plan the scenic loop through the Bitterroots to Sandpoint, then to Coeur D'Alene back to Butte on I-90, then south to Idaho Falls and take Rte 22 to Jackson, then north through the Tetons and YSNP before going out the north entrance back to Billings. We really loved your TNP and YSNP pictures and hope to see some of the same sights.

Myer

Unless you're coming from far away. try not to do too much on one trip as you don't want it to become a blurr.

Can I assume TNP and YSNP are Grand Tetons & Yellowstone?

I didn't go to any place that was difficult to go to. If there are any photos that you're not sure of location, just ask and I'll give you instructions.

spirobulldog

Of course, AA isn't offering the flights now for the lower mileage award. Just through July 18 it appears. I can fly on United directly into Kalispell, but I can fly to Hawaii or Alaska for less $$. lol.

Myer

spiro,

I checked for this year and got fed up with AA for Calgary.

Actually, we had very good flights from FLL to Calgary. Arrived a little after noon.

The drive to Glacier is very smooth and there's a Walmart Supercenter just outside the airport.

Also, there's a Delta Hotel inside the airport right next to the car rental. It's right across the street from the terminal.

We had a 7AM flight so we just walked out of the hotel and into the terminal.

spirobulldog

I'm seriously thinking about using my miles and just go to Everglades/Keys over Christmas Break. If I'm gonna use my anytime miles, I'm gonna stick to AA for as much as I can. LOL.

I think I will just fly into Kalispell(tickets around $800pp), but the flight times are perfect. Of course, I expect some crazy delay or something. I just think it issn't in my cards to see Glacier NP or something.