Let’s jump back to October, please.
Back in the prime days of autumn, we took a little vacation to Montana. When I told co-workers where we were going, literally every response was, “Montana? Do you have family there?” As if there would be no reason to visit this particular state without the pull of family ties. No family there for us; just mountains, empty trails, and (supposedly) a lot of bears. (It doesn’t hurt that my family has a little lifelong “who has visited the most states?” competition going, and I got to check another one off the list.)
I was a little nervous about traveling to Montana in October, since I’d been warned that it could already be mid-winter when we arrived. Somehow, we hit PEAK FALL, which we all know is the most beautiful time to be anywhere. Clear blue skies, zero rain, crisp temperatures, and snow in the mountains made for a pretty spectacular visit.
We started our trip in Missoula, a delightful college town tucked between endless mountains. Eric and I are suckers for a college towns (we love you, Lexington and Eugene), so it seemed like the best introduction to the state. We spent our time there running, eating, and hiking. In the few days we were in Missoula, we ate at the same two restaurants twice because they were so delicious (Caffe Dolce and Biga Pizza). We strolled the University of Montana’s campus and hiked the super steep Mount Sentinel trail behind it.
Missoula is surrounded by mountains, so we drove down the valley to hike Trapper Peak in the Bitterroot Mountains. Trapper Peak is the tallest mountain in the range at just over 10,000 feet. And what we discovered/remembered is that hiking straight up a mountain starting at 6,000 feet will make you feel very out of shape. I think Eric and I are what you would call “sea-level fit,” where we are perfectly capable of doing normal athletic things where we live, at approximately 100 feet above sea level. When you throw us onto a trail that starts 6,000 feet higher, we get a little out of breath. Add 4,000 feet of elevation gain in 4 miles, plus snow deep enough to reach my knees, and you’ve got yourself a very slow slog up a mountain.
We were hoping to reach the summit, but the last 1/4-mile or so of the trail was just giant boulders covered in snow, and we didn’t feel super safe guessing what was a rock and what was simply some snow covering empty space (leading to our plummet down the mountainside), so we stopped just a bit short of the top. As you can see, the view was still pretty nice.
After leaving Missoula, we visited the National Bison Range, where we drove a big loop in search of bison. We *think* we spotted a bear from very, very far away (far away enough that even zooming in all the way with my real camera basically revealed a slow-moving brown blob). We saw quite a few bison from a distance, and then we came upon this big guy, perfectly placed for a photo op and a slightly unnerving drive-by.
Our next stop was Glacier National Park. We knew we were in a bit of a weather-risk window, since snow had already closed a portion of the famous Going to the Sun Road. What we didn’t realize is that during that brief season between tourist time and massive snow time, Glacier National Park does all of its maintenance/construction, closing down even more of the park. We had to scrap plans for one hike, since it was closed for maintenance, but we had moderate success with another.
We went to the east side of the park (supposedly the most beautiful side, but I feel I cannot judge fairly until I actually see the whole place not under construction) to hike the trail to Grinnell Glacier. Now, if you know anything about Montana (and Glacier National Park), it’s that there are tons of animals. Big, man-eating animals, like bears, moose, wolves, cougars, etc. Once we planned our trip, I immediately started picturing all of the terrifying animal encounters we might have (my main source of wild animal fear comes from watching “Wild America” a million times as a child, thanks to my love for JTT). And because apparently no one goes on vacation to Montana in October, we had the entire trail to ourselves, which would thrill me in Oregon, but made me super nervous that we would be grizzly dinner in Glacier. To add to the giant ball of fear in my stomach, there was a sign at the start of our hike warning that the last 1/2 mile of the trail would be closed DUE TO GRIZZLY BEAR ACTIVITY. I hoped so hard that the grizzlies would be respectful of this trail closure and stay on the other side of the “trail closed” rope. But we carried on. So we (and by “we”, I mean “I”) spent the entire hike singing boy band hits, which appears to be very effective in keeping wildlife away, as we didn’t see anything bigger than a chipmunk.
From Glacier, we headed to the Great White North for a few days in Waterton Lakes National Park (the windiest place on earth, from our experience). We got a message from our Airbnb hosts when we booked, warning us that most of the town would probably be closed when we arrived, so we should bring anything we need with us. Apparently Waterton is a summer boom town, but in October, windows and doors are literally boarded up, and, you guessed it, everything is in construction/maintenance mode. It was like a weird ghost town, except that it was full of construction workers. There are two restaurants open year-round, and we ate at one of them three times during our visit (after our snacks ran out). A lot of the park was closed due to wildfire damage, so our hiking options were a little limited. We hiked to Bertha Falls and Bertha Lake, where we didn’t see any animals, but did see a bunch of tracks in the snow.
Eric really wanted to see some wildlife, so we drove around the park roads looking for anything exciting. Eventually, we found a huge herd of elk, just hanging out in a field, presumably staring at the giant mountains around them.
After a few days in Canada, we drove back down to Flathead Lake, where we stayed at the greatest Airbnb of all time. It was like an adult summer camp. As soon as we arrived, our hosts sent us out on the lake with kayaks. There’s a private island in the middle of the lake with a mansion on it that happens to be for sale, if anyone wants to fund our future vacations. And that water. Holy moly. Crystal clear and so calm.
Montana, you’re the bomb. Thanks for keeping the bears away.
-Ally
Anita & John Smith says
Beautiful pictures!
Cheryl says
The mansion just sold! Wasn’t me though… great pictures and text as always!
Ally says
Oh man! I guess we just missed it. So close!