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Ptarmigan Tunnel –
Winter comes early to Glacier National Park. On October 2nd, the park service closed Ptarmigan Tunnel (see photo) in the Many Glacier area of the park for the winter. The tunnel, built in 1930 for hikers and horses only, passes through Ptarmigan Wall at 7,200 feet. (It’s a five-mile hike from the trailhead behind the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn to reach the tunnel.) The park seals the tunnel with heavy steel doors to keep bears from hibernating in it. Before 1975, the tunnel remained open all year and hikers would occasionally get quite a surprise upon seeing a sleeping bear as they passed through. Can you imagine reaching the darkest part of the tunnel, tripping over a furry hump the size of a sofa, and then hearing a grumpy bear groan? Gives me shivers just writing the words.
Last year when we hiked to Ptarmigan Tunnel in late August, it was sunny and warm—almost too warm. A month later, our friends who’d planned to do the same hike texted us saying they were rushing out of the park, trying to outrun a winter storm. The text read, “Apparently they skip fall and go straight to winter out here!”
One of the lessons we learned from visiting the national parks is that there can be a small window of time each year to do many of the prime hikes. With so many of the must-see destinations being in mountainous areas and at high elevations, it takes careful planning—and some luck—to reach them. In addition to snow levels, another element we’re now taking into consideration when planning our travels in the west is wildfires. Let’s hope the last couple of summers of heavy smoke and fire proves to be an anomaly. Until the pattern changes, we’ll keep fire season in mind when choosing our dates.
An example of how tight the window can be: this summer we hiked to Sahale Glacier in North Cascades National Park in late July. The park had just opened the road all the way to the trailhead the morning we set out. Our trek to the glacier and overnight stay were remarkable, both for how strenuous the hike was and for the spectacular views once we got there. A week later, heavy smoke drifting south from fires in British Columbia obscured those views, and the smoke shrouded the park until September.
Old Faithful Inn closed for winter -
Glacier’s neighbor to the south, Yellowstone, also gets a lot of winter-like weather in the fall. The park has already closed Old Faithful Inn for the season. Each year, the inn opens the first week of May and shuts down for the winter the first week of October.
Old Faithful Inn might be our favorite park lodge. Built in 1904 with local logs, the Inn is one of, if not the largest log structure in the world. The four-story lobby, with its massive 500-ton fireplace, is cavernous—and very cool. We were fortunate to stay there last month on our Bison Tour 2018. Usually booked out for a year, we caught a last-minute cancellation. Even though our room didn’t have a bathroom, we were happy to make the trek down the hallway to the public restroom in exchange for the opportunity to stay at this historic hotel again.
My fondest memory of the Inn is sitting on the front deck that extends over the hotel entrance, playing cards with our kids while we waited for Old Faithful Geyser to erupt. Our family was so engrossed in the game that we hardly looked up when it went off. I remember hearing a woman say to us as the last sputters flew into the air, “You’re missing it; you’re missing it!” I thought to myself, we didn’t miss it; this is exactly what we came here to experience: quality time with the kids. Old Faithful will always be there, but our children will be grown and gone way too soon.
When we snowmobiled in Yellowstone years ago, it surprised us that our mid-day destination was the Old Faithful area. We thought that everything there had closed for the season, but many of the facilities at the geyser re-open in mid-December and stay open until early March. While Old Faithful Inn remains closed for the winter, the Visitor Center and Old Faithful Snow Lodge are open for business and bustling with activity during the winter months. The geysers and thermal features along the boardwalks sparkle in the extreme cold. If Karen were to make a top ten list of magical places, this would be the cover photo. (Keep in mind that you can’t drive to the Old Faithful area in the winter. Guests of the Snow Lodge arrive by snowcat or snowmobile.)
It’s also common to see bison in this winter wonderland as they seek out thermal features in the park where it’s easier to find food. The deeper the snow, the harder it becomes for bison to get at the buried vegetation. They clear holes by sweeping the snow away with their massive heads. Moving a couple of feet of snow with their heads takes a lot of energy, so they have to be careful not to expend more calories clearing the snow than what they’ll find at the bottom of the bare patch. As winter progresses, you’ll see more and more of them hanging around the thermal areas and lower elevations where the snowpack is not as thick.
If you’ve always thought of Yellowstone as a summer-only destination, consider going in the winter. It’s an entirely different—and magical—experience.
BYOB, Bear Canister that is -
Bears have an incredible sense of smell; most research suggests they have the most acute sense of smell of any animal, including bloodhounds. So, it makes sense that you need to store your food in a bear-proof container—if bear boxes aren’t available—when camping in areas where bears frequent. What’s more, the park service requires you to keep anything with a scent, such as toothpaste, in a bear-proof container.
I can see their point; once a bear is hooked on Sensodyne, they’ll hassle every hiker on the trail. Maybe in addition to carrying bear spray, we should have an extra tube of toothpaste in our back pockets. If we run into an angry bear, perhaps we could try tossing him some Crest Extra Whitening and a couple of miniature bottles of Scope to buy some time while we read the microscopic directions on the side of our bear spray.
When backpacking now, Karen and I each carry bear canisters. Before last year, we had no idea what a bear canister was. There are at least a couple of different types ; ours look like over-sized, clear plastic mason jars with black lids. They are seven liters in volume and hold three to four days’ worth of food—and scented items—for one person. (Except for Karen’s canister, which she fills with lotions and toiletries, and then tries to sneak her granola bars into mine.) Unscrewing the lid requires pushing in a couple of tabs while turning the tight lid. I often have trouble getting mine open, especially when it’s cold, or I’ve had a nip or two of whiskey around the campfire. I’m not alone; it seems most people we talk to about these canisters have trouble opening them. Which makes the stories I’ve read about bears being able to figure how to open this particular type of canister a little more curious. Of course, they weren’t drinking whiskey, so it’s not a fair comparison.
Last summer, while getting a backcountry permit to camp in Olympic National Park, we noticed several groups of backpackers hanging out at the Visitor Center. Many of them were leaning against the back wall eyeing the visitors in line at the permit desk. When I asked the ranger what they were doing, she said they were waiting for other backpackers to return the bear canisters they’d borrowed from the park. The park will loan you a canister, but often they are all out in the backcountry being used.
Sometimes it’s harder to borrow a bear canister from the park than to get a backcountry permit. The solution is to bring your own. Bear canisters aren’t expensive relative to the amount of time and expense most people put into preparing for a backpacking trip anyway. Having one also gives you the added benefit of being able to practice pack at home, so you’ll know if you’ll have enough room for your Vanicream—whatever that is.
Instagram Feature Photo -
Yellowstone's Old Faithful Inn
(from 10/16/18)
Click on the photo to go to our Instagram account.