Backpacking Glacier National Park? MUST-KNOW Tips Before You Go!
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2024
- Join me as I dive deep into the heart of Glacier National Park, sharing invaluable tips and insights from my personal experience backpacking the Northern Loop. With 25 years of backpacking experience and visits to 24 national parks under my belt, I offer a unique perspective on what makes Glacier's backcountry stand out. This video is a must-watch for anyone considering their first backpacking adventure in Glacier National Park.
What You'll Discover:
Unique Challenges of Glacier: Learn about the park's strict camping policies, including tent restrictions and the no-hammock rule. I share firsthand observations on the importance of adhering to these guidelines.
Bear Safety: Get crucial advice on navigating areas populated by both black and grizzly bears, including tips on bear hangs, lockers, and where to find affordable bear spray.
Hiking vs. Camping: Understand why Glacier might appeal more to hiking enthusiasts than those looking for a leisurely camping experience.
Permit Process and Filming Regulations: Avoid my headaches with permits and filming in the park by learning from my experience, including how to navigate the commercial filming permit process.
Preparation and Planning: Tips on how to get your permit, choose the right side of the park for your entry, and why it's essential to stay informed about campground closures and reroutes.
Whether you're an experienced backpacker or planning your first trip, my insights can help you navigate the unique challenges of Glacier National Park, ensuring a safer and more enjoyable experience.
Gear mentioned:
Fire Maple Gas Lantern: amzn.to/3TozX7v
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:05 - Uniqueness of Backpacking Glacier
01:57 - 2 Tents per Site
02:55 - What about Hammocks?
03:31 - Do they actually enforce it?
03:57 - Bear Policies
06:30 - How the bear policies impact the feel trip
08:29 - One more thing about the bears - Coffee
09:04 - Another thing about the bears - Toilets
10:00 - Last thing about the bears (I promise) - Bear Spray
12:00 - Hiking vs Camping
14:45 - Risk of Rerouting
16:58 - Filming Permit
18:50 - Getting into the park
21:49 - Ask me questions!
#GlacierNationalPark #BackpackingTips #BearSafety #HikingGlacier #OutdoorAdventures #FamilyCamping #DadCamps #NationalParks #BackcountryCamping #WildernessExploration - Sport
Thank you! I'm going there the first week of August to do some backpacking. This was very helpful.
Didn’t realize you weren’t over a thousand already….thats crazy! This channel is in my top ten
Wow, really appreciate that! That's one of the most encouraging comments I've gotten.
Really enjoyed this, thank you! Subscribed. 👍
Thank you! I’m glad it was helpful. Welcome to the channel!
Super helpful. We have gone twice to Glacier and we’re planning a trip in 2 weeks with front country camping on both sides. Thanks for the bear spray info.
Glad I could help! Sounds like fun. Enjoy!
Thank you dadd ycamps!!!
You’re welcome - thanks for watching! Planning a Glacier trip?
Thank you for your important tips for this National Park. I was thinking about giving it a visit. But I may have a better time going to another park. I am going to try to see some of your other videos.
Glad it was helpful. And I’d hate for this info to deter anyone. Wasn’t really my reason, was more hoping to just inform so you know what it’s like before going. Despite the challenges, it truly is a gem.
That being said though, there are lots of other amazing parks to explore if you’re looking for a different experience. What’s the driving factor behind your decision? Solitude? Beauty? Or something else?
Good tips here! Given the compressed natural of the backpacking season due to weather and the popularity of the place, I have to wonder, how there are camp spots for the rerouted hikers. Seems to me all the spots are immediately filled well before the season starts. I guess there are some that are available via walk up each day which may help and you did use the word canceled.
Thanks! I know it’s pretty mind boggling that they are able to accommodate but yeah I think sometimes the trip has to completely change to a walk up that’s available.
Super helpful! Thank you! Would you share how where you able to book your campgrounds? We even won a lottery but still weren't able to book a Northshore Loop
Thanks! Glad it was helpful. Yeah, so my buddy and I both got on the moment they opened and we both targeted the same route on different weeks to see if one of us could get it. You gotta know exactly where to go and what you’re going to be selecting when it opens. It helps to watch a video about making the selections so you’re familiar with it before it opens. I think it also helped a little bit that we were targeting dates in September after schools start back up.
Thank you for all these tips! I especially found your tips about bear spray and finding the permit office helpful. My friend and I have a backcountry permit for a week in July. We’re thinking about doing this without renting a car by taking Amtrak or a shuttle from Whitefish. That part doesn’t look too difficult but shuttles or a way to get from a hotel in St Mary to our first day (near granite peak) seems a little harder to find info on. Did you meet anyone who took public transportation? Any tips? It just seems crazy to pay for a rental to let it sit there for 7 days. Also I love taking public transport to not clog the roads and for the environment.
I’m so glad it was helpful! We ended up biting the bullet on the rental. With 3 of us splitting it, the cost wasn’t too much. I’d say just build in lots of extra time if you’re going shuttle. We did meet one guy up on Logan pass who seemed nervous about the shuttle not coming as it was like an hour past due. But he was going the opposite way so we couldn’t offer him a ride.
Stop by just about any hotel, motel, etc.. they usually have loads of free bear spray left behind by people who fly in/out.
They're not supposed to just chuck it in the trash, so it kinda piles up.
Glacier is much much better for day hikes imo.. the risk, regs, permits, etc etc.. make the in-park backcountry a hard pass for me.
Hey, Planning on doing this in August, I was able to secure just one campground for the week of our trip. The rest are labeled as walkup...My question is if we arrive to the permit office early, im talking 4am the day before our planned start day, do you think we will be able to secure our route?
Awesome. Hard for me to answer, I didn’t have to get walk-ups. But if I were to guess I would say the chance of getting your ideal route in August is probably low but I would think you’d have a good chance of getting something similar to what you want. If I were you I’d try calling the rangers up there and they can probably give you some advice. They were very helpful with my questions.
What do you need a back country permit for? I thought to get into the park you need a pass and vehicle registration only? Once you hav them I thought you can hike, drive, and access the park?
That’s correct. You only need a backcountry permit if you’re planning to camp overnight in the backcountry.
Do you have any recommendations for physically preparing for these longer hikes w/ elevation? I'm headed for Glacier this fall and have hiked in the Smokies and canoe camped the Boundary Waters since I was a kid, but understand this will be very different! Any insights would be appreciated - thanks!
It’s great that you’re already thinking about this. Yes it will be very different! If you don’t have a lot of elevation change around you to train on I would say to find some stairs, like a stadium or tall building or a stair master at the gym. Training like that will help you immensely! And beyond that just have a good cardio base will be huge. My buddy did the Tetons with me a few years ago only worked out at orange theory classes before we went and he was burning us up the hills! 😂
what time of year you guys went?
Early September of 2023 - Here's the link to the trip video if you're interested! czcams.com/video/oZQUKgHjEWg/video.html
Hey my Name is Zach and I am wilderness camping in Glacier in July and I was considering using a hammock but I do have a tent that I could use and I was just wanting to know which one you would recommend. Thanks any info you could give would be greatly appreciated
Hey Zach - congrats on getting permits for Glacier! You’re gonna love it. Not sure if you caught it but I talk about this some in this video. I would not recommend hammock camping in Glacier. And they strongly recommend against it as well. The way the tent sites are set up you’ll often find it hard to have the trees in the right place to hang your hammock over the tent pad (which they require). And also the tent pads are so nice it is easy to use a tent. Hope you have an awesome trip!
Thanks for the info it was very helpful
The permit rules are ridiculous especially to just be able to get into the park, and to drive around The great outdoors is suppose to be about freedom as its the only part of life where it still truly still exist, Glacier has taken that away there are luckily still some places we can go without big brother long arm around us.
Yeah it definitely had an extremely regimented feel which I’ve not experienced in any other backcountry (even Yosemite!). But yeah there are so many other places to go where you can still find that freedom.
There is too many rules to really enjoy this camping trip.
It definitely had that feel, but I don’t regret going. It was an amazing place, just got to know it’s going to be a different style trip.