Trusted Gear

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1970. We're approaching Gunsight Pass, and Mom's carrying her gold, vinyl knitting bag.

Dwarfed Reunion

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1970. Mom captures a still of me and Dad as we approach Gunsight Pass.

We reach Gunsight Pass.

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1970. We're on our way to Sperry Chalet.

Gunsight Pass, in Three Takes

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Glacier National Park, Montana, 1970. We make our way up through the Gunsight Pass trail.

Let's stop here and eat.

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1970. Mom, Dad, and I hiked the Gunsight Pass trail to our destination, Sperry Park Chalet. We stayed overnight at the chalet before heading up to Sperry Glacier. The chalet's kitchen staff packed sack lunches for our glacier hike. The sandwiches were memorable: roast turkey with mayonnaise on soft, white bread.

Narrow

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1970. Dad captures me and Mom as we head out on our unguided tour of Sperry Glacier.

We pause.

Glacier National Park, July 1970. We take a break as we hike the Gunsight Pass Trail from the trail head on Going-to-the-Sun Road to Sperry Park Chalet.

The view from around the bend.

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1972. We're moving forward along the Gunsight Pass trail on our way to Sperry Park Chalet.

Look for the best view.

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1970. My Dad surveys the view from the top of the Gunsight Pass Trail. He's probably looking for the best vantage for a photo. He's got his camera bag, and he looks ready to shoot.

General Manners: Mind your manners in the "Back Country."

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1968. A Hoary Marmot sets out the guidelines for back-country hikers.

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Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1987. Sperry Park Chalet is a 22 kilometer hike. Woot!

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Glacier National Park, Montana, 1987. Be alert.

Negotiating Sperry Glacier

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1970. My Mom and I walk on Sperry Glacier. Mom wears the nose guard.

An Unexpected Hike

In July 1968, we returned to Glacier National Park, Montana, after a short trip through the Canadian Rockies. The family had a "no place like home" sensation when we returned to Glacier because we'd seen nothing like it along our way up the Alaskan Highway. It probably felt that way because we were more familiar with Glacier than with any other place.

When we visited Glacier, we usually stayed at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. The Swiftcurrent was the cheaper cousin of the Many Glacier Hotel; it offered the same access to the best hiking in the park.

We weren't able to get rooms again at Swiftcurrent Motor Inn when we returned from Canada that summer. We instead found lodging at the Rising Sun Motor Inn. The accommodations were fine, but the access to hiking trails wasn't nearly as good as it had been near Many Glacier.

We spent a lot of time in the cabin, reading books and knitting.

My Dad joined a group to pursue the challenging Sperry Chalet Trail from the Lake McDonald area. My Parents decided that he should make that hike without us because the trail would be too rigorous. The guided tour up to Sperry Chalet also involved going part of the way by horseback. I'd taken a bad fall off a horse the previous summer on a cliffside when we had visited Rocky Mountain National Park. My Parents rightly concluded that I'd be a little shy about getting on a horse again—especially in the mountains.

While Dad was off on the Sperry hike, Mom and I decided to wander a bit from the Rising Sun Motor Lodge. We planned to take a short hike in the area. Our "short hike" turned into a day-long adventure right through bear territory.

Fortunately, I had my new camera to record our hike:

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I also was equipped with a bear bell—hung from my belt—to discourage any unwanted visitors:
 

 

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Mom and I wandered through spectacular trails, lined with Bear Grass:

 

 

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It turned out to be a most memorable day. I remember it as the occasion on which Mom and I truly started to bond:
 

 
The next time we visited Glacier, in 1970, Mom, Dad, and I took the longer Gunsight Pass Trail up to Sperry Glacier and the Sperry Park Chalet.

Do you think we'll blend in if we wear stripes?

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1970. Mom and I take a rest after we reach Sperry Glacier. I remember her top; it was white with beige and black stripes. That top logged many miles.

Glacier Park

Our family took a month-long vacation every summer. We usually traveled by car, and we usually drove west. The best vacations of my childhood took place in Glacier National Park, Montana. We made five trips to that destination. We always stayed in the Many Glacier area because the best hiking trails launched from that spot.

Although we wore "bear bells," I don't remember anyone being really concerned about running into a Grizzly Bear. We hiked many miles without guides or a group.

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1970. My Parents stand atop Sperry Glacier. The three of us were on one of our day-long hikes, and I took this snapshot when we paused for lunch.