4th of July is the Independence day of the United States. The whole country decks in red-blue-white decorations, there are celebrations with fireworks, and parades. I had some independence as I had the whole week off because of a planned shutdown for maintenance at work. With this free time on-hand, my friend and I spent the whole week visiting three national parks: Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Grand Teton National Park.
The closest major airport to these three parks is Salt Lake City, Utah. So we booked the 5 hour return flight from the East Coast to SLC and then rented a car for all the onward park travel. The 9 hour drive on day 1 to Kalispell, Montana, a city outside our first destination was beautiful. The sky was blue with sparse cotton clouds, the straight highways plunged into the horizon flanked by flat green meadows on either sides. The first stop was Glacier National Park (GNP).
As the name suggest, this national park is known for its glaciers. The following description of the park on the NPS website captures the essence of the park more than I ever could.
A showcase of melting glaciers, alpine meadows, carved valleys, and spectacular lakes. With over 700 miles of trails, Glacier is a paradise for adventurous visitors seeking wilderness steeped in human history.
Being in the mountains, we had planned to hike up to one of the glaciers in the park. We reached the trailhead parking lot at 5 in the morning, with 3 hours of sleep and veins full of excitement. We started the hike once the daylight streamed in. As we climbed higher and higher, the views of the green valley with the river started to clear and we stopped to take pictures. Some parts of the trail were narrow, with vertical rockface to the right and plunging valley to it’s left. It was slightly intimidating. Majority of the trail seemed moderate with steady incline as it goes though trees and then some patches of snow.
But then came the last 0.8 mile. This was the most brutal section. It messed me. The incline was so steep my legs were shaking, my calf muscles had given up and were begging for rest. I was bullying them with my mental whip to keep my body moving forward. I was literally counting every 50 steps before the lactic acid building in my legs forced me to stop. It took me an hour to conquer the last 0.8 mile and the reward was worth it.
As I sat on the rock, overlooking the glacial snow and the blue lake underneath. It was stunning. The breeze was cool, the sky sunny and fantastic views till the horizon. I was at peace. The exhaustion was masked as I tried to take the view in. If I could, I would have sat in that spot forever. I guess, the efforts to get to the top made the glacier views worth it. A visit to Glacier confirmed my mountains over beaches preference.
Yellowstone National Park was the first national park in the United States. Built in the late 1800s. It is located in the caldera of a super volcano that blew up about a millennia ago so it is fairly flat. But this park is popular for the thermal activity. There are geysers of hot water that are heated by the volcanic magma and erupt predictably every hour. There are mud volcanoes, there are sulphur fumaroles and so much more. It is surreal to see patches of barren white thermal basins in the middle of green trees.
The wildlife at Yellowstone is at another level. The day we entered the National Park we drove through a herd of Bison. The majestic cousins of buffalos grazing in their pastures. Before we entered Yellowstone, we were ready to squeeze all our luck to be able to have one sighting of a bear. It didn’t matter if it was a black bear or a grizzly bear, we just wanted to see one. The next morning we spotted a bear casually crossing the road on its morning walk. During our 3 day stay, we spotted bears 5 different times, some close, some far, some solo, some with their cubs. It was beyond our imagination. We also saw deer, antelopes, elks, mountain goats, rams, and other critters. It is wild for a city boy like me to be able to witness this wildlife out in the open.
There is a hotel built in 1892 on the banks of the Yellowstone lake that we were fortunate enough to stay at. Although renovated with modern amenities, its antique charm is still preserved. The travelers who came to visit Yellowstone 100 years ago, stayed in the same rooms that we stayed in, dined in the same hall that we dined in. It was surreal to experience this.
The Grand Teton National Park is 50 miles south of Yellowstone. It was on our way to SLC. Once we left Yellowstone, it did not take a lot of time for the scenery to change. Beyond the geysers were the meadows, and beyond the meadows, the towering snow-clad Teton mountains. We drove from the the flatlands of the Yellowstone, and saw the Grand Teton range rising and coming towards us. The majestic peaks of the Grand Teton were mesmerizing to say the least.
Although we spent a day at this park, I wouldn’t call it an actual visit. It was a drive by. I would love to hike here and camp by the lakes. Someday for sure.
Reflections
At GNP, the hike was brutal. I remember, back in college, I would be doing hikes like these without any hassle. And although I had “prepared” for this trip with some local hikes, my sore body told a different story. It was a reality check on my lack of fitness. I have heard older people complain about their fitness, the possibility of joining their team at 28 is scary. Something has to change. I kind of have a plan, I’m going to start and see where it leads.
These National Parks barely have any cellular connectivity. I was without my dopamine apps for a majority of the trip. It was very annoying in the beginning, I would open my phone for dopamine and the app couldn’t load so I put my phone back in my pocket. Having no connectivity forced me to be present with the things around me rather than run to the sweet comfort of my screen. It forced me to talk to people, listen to their stories, to stare out the window and take the scenery in. When I did have some connectivity, I noticed that I hadn’t really missed anything.
We met park rangers, tour guides, and other folks who worked in these parks. Their passion for the national parks was gushing out of them though their stories. They kept coming back every season. I googled the average salaries some of these people could be making, and they make significantly less than an engineer. But they were brimming with excitement and enthusiasm about their work. My friend and I tried to guess their motivations to come here and work for the fun of it. They operate in a universe parallel to ours. I envy their passion.
Trips like these are necessary every once in a while. They are the reset needed from the routine. It shocks the system and hits the reset button. I was so engrossed in the going to the next spot, the next bear sighting, the next geyse, the next hike, that for a while I forgot the life I have back home. I wanted the trip to keep on going. But then, we all have bills to pay. This trip to the National Parks was truly awesome and it has set a really high bar for all the future trips.
Itinerary
For anyone curious, here is the itinerary that we followed for our 8 day trip.
Day 1: Fly into Salt Lake City, UT from Newark, NJ.
Day 2: Rent a car and drive to Kalispell, MT.
Day 3: Leave Kalispell at 4am to reach Logan Pass visitor center (leaving early ensures you get parking and skip the traffic). Hike Highline trail, the last 0.8 mile will suck but the views are worth it.
Day 4: Chill day. Drive around the park on going to the sun road. Look at Glacier Outlooks. Scenece drives and short hikes to waterfalls.
Day 5: Drive to Yellowstone National Park though the north entrance. Visit Mammoth Hot Springs, Roosevelt Arch and reach Lake Yellowstone hotel.
Day 6: Visit Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic overlook, Mud Volcano, Hayden Valley. Dinner at Lake Yellowstone hotel.
Day 7: Drive to Tower Falls, Drive through Lamar valley. Detour at Slough Creek for wildlife sightings. Experience a ranger led program at the visitor center.
Day 8: Drive through Grand Teton National Park. Stop by Jenny Lake overlook, stop by visitor centers. Drive back to Salt Lake City.
Nice!
Beautiful ! Hiking at Yellowstone is on my bucket list.