The HighLine Trail in Glacier National Park - part 1

I've learned we’ll be enjoying the Waterton-Glacier International Park.  After our introductory raft trip, we settle in for dinner and get to know each other.  Next morning-- ready for our first hike.

In Glacier National Park,  the temperature can vary from 30 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit and most of us dress in layers so we can adjust as we hike.  When someone asks me how the weather is in the park, my answer has to be ‘ it depends...’.  In the course of my trip we had a little snow,  some 70-degree weather, and everything in between.  It was August

This day started cool, cloudy,  and dry.  Our first hike is the stunning Highline Trail, and our initial destination is the Granite Park Chalet, where we will take a break, and from there continue to the end of the Trail.  After that, we’ll leave Montana and go to the Canadian side and Waterton Park.

The trail is fairly level...in the beginning.  I take this in and think, ‘I can do this!’  

That flat start is deceptive.  First of all, we’re at an altitude of about 7,000 feet and this sea-level dweller finds it takes a little more effort to move way up here than it does down there.  At an altitude of about 7,000 feet.  I ain’t runnin’, but the hike is manageable and the views are spectacular from the start.

Highline Trail

Less than half a mile from the trailhead, we arrive at the first major challenge.  The trail becomes a narrow ledge barely four feet wide.  To my right, a steep rock wall (the Garden Wall, I think).  To my left, a 100-foot drop.  Pictures are worth a thousand words

HighLine Trail, continues

The above picture shows how steep the drop is, but  I think the cable in the rock (see below) really makes the point.  The Park Service provided this cable for people less sure-footed than mountain goats.  You will notice many of those with me are staying *very* close to that cable.

Highline trail cable 

Fortunately the narrow ledge of a trail is only about one-fourth of a mile long.  And more fortunately, I become so enthralled with the view I forget to be afraid.

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