We love to go camping and hiking in Glacier. So, spending three days and nights in the park with zero distractions from the outside world was exactly what we needed. It can be hard and stressful but the adventure is so worth it in the end.
Our campsite in Two Medicine was perfect for us. It was large enough for the boys to run and play without going beyond our area.
Half of our time is spent at our campsite, which is just in the morning and then through the night. Making our campsite feel like home is important. We try to make our tent as comfortable as possible. We all sleep on air mattresses. We have a rug, so it's easier to be barefoot and adds an extra level of comfort and coziness. We have lots of lanterns and lights, so no one ever feels like it's too dark. We keep all of our clothing in the tent.
Outside of our tent we have a screen tent that we set as close to the tent as possible to create a larger vestibule area. The floor is a tarp and this is where we keep our extra things needed for camping. All of the kitchen utensils, the toys we bring for the kids, the storage containers we use to haul everything and our chairs.
We use our car to store all of our food and toiletries because of bears. Although, I have never seen a bear in our camp grounds we still take all precautions. I know it can happen, the ranger station had a list of bear sightings and last month one was in the camp ground. So, I will follow directions because I want to keep it that we don't see any bears at our tent!
We let the boys get as dirty as they want when we camp. In Glacier, the dirt is black like soot. This isn't even as bad as it got!
The main reason why we love Glacier so much is for the great hiking. The views, the water, the mountains, the sky, the plants, the animals, they are all amazing.
This trip we had hiking restrictions due to a fire but the South Shoreline trail was open and our goal was to hike the entire thing. We sat out three different times and it wasn't until the third try that we made it all the way. The first two attempts ended because we forgot to do something that required making a phone call and then a super small rain shower.
When we had to make a phone call we had to drive out of the park. This actually worked out because we headed to the Going to the Sun Road to see the damage of the massive fire that was still burning, yet contained and to check out Logan Pass.
This is what both side of the road looked like for miles in all directions.
The day it rained. We walked through two small showers and then a third one that didn't seem to be letting up, so I called quits. When we made it to the trailhead I felt so bad about calling quits because the sun was out and the day was beautiful that I felt I wasted our day. I came up with the idea to head back to camp eat a snack change the boys into their trunks and head down to the water to play.
Seriously, this was the best idea I had!
The boys loved throwing rocks into the water, finding sticks to use as swords and stacking rocks. Eric and I enjoyed the sun sinking lower into the sky while sitting on the shore watching the boys. It was the super peaceful, easy feeling that we all hope to experience on vacation.
When we were finally able to hike the South Shoreline trail in it's entirety we finally had the great sense of accomplishment that we needed.
The trail is 11.2 miles round trip from the trailhead to Cobalt Lake and 1450 foot elevation gain. We busted out this hike in 6 hours. I carried Rhys the entire time and Eric carried Emerson for half of our overall 12 mile hike (from our camp site round trip).
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| These are from the second attempt to make it to the end of the trail. |
Emerson hiked six miles on his own. Half of that was at the beginning of the hike and then at the start of our return trip out. I was amazed he loved it!
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| Rockwell Falls |
The trail had many interesting vignettes. There are beaver ponds, shore access, two waterfalls, dense woods, a suspension bridge, super steep uphill climbs, clear as glass mountain streams, a blue as blue can be lake,and lots of hope to see moose.
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| Cobalt Lake |
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| Cobalt Lake |
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| Moose! The female moose we saw. |
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| Emerson had to hike back to this suspension bridge. He wanted to cross it on his own. |
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| Aster Falls |
This hike was a great adventure for us. We started out with great expectations and had little struggle with our beginning obstacles. As we got closer and closer to Cobalt Lake the struggle became real. I wanted to quit because the last mile, mile and a half has a pretty steep grade. Rhys was hungry, thirsty and crying to get out. Not too mention, it was so much colder, the weather was drastically different than the first couple of days. It was maybe 50 degrees at the top.
A sense of relief was felt when we finally got to the lake but a very brief stay happened. The boys were cold and we had to get moving to get them warmed back up. Emerson was sad because he wanted to play hot wheels so bad.
The descent down was fantastic with feeling great about making it to the top, greetings and congratulations from other hikers making their way up, and us giving words of encouragement of almost there and it's worth it!
Even though, we didn't hike with a large group we were apart of a larger group. I feel that everyone we meet while out shares the same sentiment that, we are all in this together. It's a great community to be a part of.
The journey back comes with smaller accomplishments and smaller struggles. We were lucky enough to see a bull moose and a female moose, maybe a mother and son. We were wore out because caring 32+ pounds of the cutest little guy, really is heavy.
The best parts of finishing this adventure are having enough courage to begin and the sense of accomplishment felt at the end.
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