Thursday, December 10, 2009

Glacier National Park - Hikers Paradise

If hiking is your forte, Glacier National Park is the place for you. Located in beautiful Northwest Montana, the views and natural beauty of the park are hard to beat anywhere in the United States. With over 700 mikes of trails, Glacier National Park offers opportunities for not only short hikes, but extended backpacking trips as well. Although the park is open all year long, because of weather considerations, the best time for hikers to visit the park is from late May to early September.
Glacier National Park offers hikers some of the best mountains scenery that can be found anywhere in the world. Plenty of waterfalls, streams, and lakes make finding water to cool off in a breeze. As a matter of fact, there are more than 120 named lakes within the parks boundaries. How many glaciers are in Glacier National Park? As of 2005, only 27 actual glaciers remain in Glacier National Park.
The chances of seeing wildlife while hiking is very good in Glacier National Park. With the remote nature of the park, wildlife abounds. Some of the wildlife that is encountered on a fairly regular basis would include: Mountain goats, bighorn sheep, white tailed & mule deer, moose, elk, black bear, and even the occasional grizzly bear. Most hikers choose to carry bear spray, just in case they startle a grizzly bear. Obviously smaller mammals such as squirrels and gophers abound as well. Many species of birds can be found as well for those hikers interested in bird watching.
For the hiker, Glacier National Park is literally a paradise. Offering everything hikers looks for as far as terrain is concerned. The park is also home to Lake Macdonald. A very large, cold, and pristine mountain lake that is as gorgeous as anything that you've ever laid your eyes on. A couple hors worth of hiking can result is some incredible views of this and other beautiful lakes. It's important to be honest with yourself before heading out on a trail within the park. A trail that has 2000 vertical feet of elevation gain is not an easy trail. It may be nearly impossible for those out of shape or who is not use to hiking. You'll have a much better time hiking in Glacier National Park by knowing your limits. Pat attention to the degree of difficulty of the trails you choose to hike. There are many easy, scenic hikes in Glacier Park that are not much more difficult that walking down the block so there is no reason to put yourself in any danger.
The bottom line is that if you're a hiker, Glacier National Park is the place for you. For the avid or even beginning hiker, Glacier National Park will resemble heaven on earth in more ways than one. Our national parks are truly a treasure, and in many ways Glacier is the crowned jewel.
Trevor Kugler is co-founder of http://www.JRWfishing.com He has more than 15 years of business experience and 25 years of fishing experience. He currently raises his 3 year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana.
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