Into the Belly of Glacier

Glacier Park’s Belly River region is one of the most popular backcountry destinations in Glacier. For one, it has great scenic beauty. Secondly, it’s one of the easiest hikes in Glacier — at least to start out. The first mile or so is completely downhill, about 775 feet of downhill.

That makes for an easy start to a hike. But the hike out, isn’t too much fun, because most destinations, save for the Gable Creek camp just outside the Ranger Station, are 8 to 10 miles away. So the last mile of the hike is straight back up that hill. It might be only 775 feet uphill, but it always seems longer.

There are other ways into the Belly River, of course. Ptarmigan Tunnel when it’s open is always fun and Red Gap Pass might be the prettiest in the Park. Lee Ridge is a great hike, too, but Gable Pass is one of the windiest places on the planet. I once crawled a portion of that pass. Not because I wanted to, but because the wind was blowing hard it was tough to stand up.

But most people go into the Belly from Chief Mountain Customs and head down, and back up, the aforementioned hill.

We recently made a trip into Glenns Lake — a 10-plus mile jaunt to do a loon survey. The loons watching was difficult. The wind was howling and the lake was whitecaps. The only loon we saw was one that flew over camp at dawn.

Still, it made for a nice walk, well, except for that hill at the end.