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Author:
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Duluth06ChE
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Activity:
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Backpacking
ActivitySearchBackpacking
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State:
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Montana (MT)
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Distance:
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37.64 mi
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Average Speed:
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1.5 mph
0:39:50/mi
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Duration:
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1d 1:00:00
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Difficulty:
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7 / 10
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Rating:
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 2 rating(s)
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 9pt">This trip in Glacier Park begins and ends at Many Glacier (Swiftcurrent). We stayed at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn the night before we started to make for an easier start. Day 1 was over Ptarmigan Pass (through the tunnel) and down to Elizabeth Lake. Since you can't stay at the foot 2 consecutive nights, we continued on to the head for our first night. We spotted our first bears on our hike along the lake shore: a momma Black Bear with her two cubs! The Camp at the lake head was excellent. Backcountry rangers were in the camp working on improvements as we arrived. The lake head camp had 4 great tent spots and a bear wire. The next day we hauled our gear to the lake foot and set up camp early, ditched most of our gear and made up a day pack for a loop through the Belly River drainage. Highlights included Dawn Mist Falls, Cosley Backcountry Ranger Station, a large suspension span, Gros Ventre Falls and a 100' ford across the Cosley Lake drainage. Camp at Elizabeth Lake Foot was the best of our 3 nights. 4 tent pads with outstanding views of the Lake, Red Gap and Ptarmigan Wall and a bear locker instead of the wires. Day 3 was up and out of the valley and up to Red Gap Pass. This was by far the hardest day of hiking with 2500’ ascent from Elizabeth Lake to Red Gap Pass in 3.5 trail miles. The views on the way up were stunning and topped only by the view from the top! We ate lunch at the pass with a herd of mountain goats on the north side and big horn sheep on the south side! The descent down to Poia lake was pretty easy, but the long flat stretch down the valley was rather depressing considering the relative lack of scenery when compared to the region we had just left. Camp at Poia Lake was nothing special. There was a lot of scrub along the lake shore, so access was somewhat difficult. None of the 4 tent pads had a view of the lake. The food prep area was lacking of large benches like the sites at Elizabeth, but hey, it’s a backcountry site! Day 4 was a sad day having to leave the backcountry. The first few miles had nice views with a large boulder field on the north side of Swiftcurrent Ridge, but most of the day was spent slowly descending to Many Glacier Road through large stands of timber. Once we got to the road, we had a 2.5 miles hike back to our car at the Ptarmigan Trail head. We were fortunate enough to hitch a ride back to our car. Our reward was 2 cold Leinekugel’s Oktoberfests and some German Chocolate Cake!</span></div>
TO TRAILHEAD: Drive to the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn at Many Glacier. turn right out of the parking lot near the Inn Restaurant. Turn left onto the loop road that goes around the cabins. Park in the Ptarmigan Trailhead parking lot.
| Position Format: |
Datum: |
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Day 1
| Dist: 10.92 mi |
Points: 77 |
Calories: none |
| Time: none |
Speed: 0.0 mph |
Pace: 0:00 / mi |
Ptarmigan Trail head to Elizabeth Lake (Foot)
Day 2
| Dist: 10.83 mi |
Points: 110 |
Calories: none |
| Time: none |
Speed: 0.0 mph |
Pace: 0:00 / mi |
Belly River Drainage - Cosley Lake Loop from Elizabeth Lake
Day 3
| Dist: 9.77 mi |
Points: 99 |
Calories: none |
| Time: none |
Speed: 0.0 mph |
Pace: 0:00 / mi |
Elizabeth Lake Foot to Poia Lake via Red Gap Pass
Day 4
| Dist: 6.12 mi |
Points: 80 |
Calories: none |
| Time: none |
Speed: 0.0 mph |
Pace: 0:00 / mi |
Poia Lake to Many Glacier Road
Ptarmigan Trail Head.JPG
Location: 48.799910°, -113.679056°
Begin at the Ptarmigan Tunnel trail marker just NW of the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn
Ptarmigan Falls.JPG
Location: 48.821417°, -113.711414°
Ptarmigan Falls
Iceberg Lake Trail Junction
Location: 48.822208°, -113.713045°
Follow the trail signs toward Ptarmigan Tunnel
Ptarmigan Tunnel.JPG
Location: 48.849496°, -113.707595°
Ptarmigan Tunnel
Elizabeth Lake from Ptarmigan.JPG
Location: 48.850202°, -113.706479°
First View of Elizabeth Lake
ELF Camp.jpg
Location: 48.873692°, -113.728065°
Food Prep at Elizabeth Lake Foot Camp Ground
Dawn Mist Falls.jpg
Location: 48.908483°, -113.722315°
View of Dawn Mist Falls from the end of the spur trail
Trail Junction
Location: 48.912403°, -113.724632°
Junction with the parallel trail leading down to the horse ford.
Trail Junction
Location: 48.915111°, -113.726692°
Trail from the horse ford rejoins the foot trail.
Cosley Backcountry Ranger Station.JPG
Location: 48.930451°, -113.713431°
First view of the Cosley Backcountry Ranger Station after breaking through the forest.
Cosley Backcountry Ranger Station
Location: 48.931268°, -113.712230°
According to one of the Backcountry Rangers, this building actually predates the park itself!
Belly River Suspension Bridge.jpg
Location: 48.934539°, -113.714547°
A large suspension foot bridge over the Belly River.
Spur Junction
Location: 48.931906°, -113.738784°
A spur trail down to Gros Ventre Falls is somewhere in this area. It's worth the short side hike.
Gros Ventre Falls.jpg
Location: 48.930687°, -113.740323°
View fo Gros Ventre Falls from the end of the spur trail
Mokowanis River Ford.JPG
Location: 48.927631°, -113.745918°
We took our shoes off to make the crossing. It was COLD!
ELH Sunset.jpg
Location: 48.891471°, -113.726864°
Fly fisherman hauling in Greylings on Elizabeth Lake
Trail Junction
Location: 48.881820°, -113.703690°
Ptarmigan Trail and Red Gap Pass Trails join here.
Water Source
Location: 48.864595°, -113.691925°
There is a spring that flows from near the top of the pass. It is a reliable source of water even during dry summers. Use this source to lighten your pack a few pounds!
Elizabeth Lake from Red Gap.JPG
Location: 48.862908°, -113.688412°
View back towards Elizabeth Lake from the top of Red Gap Pass
Seasonal Water Source
Location: 48.864150°, -113.681159°
This stream runs during spring melts and after heavy rain. It is not a reliable source during dry months.
Water Source
Location: 48.857572°, -113.673091°
This is a reliable source of water even during dry times. The water runs down a slope of granite and is a great place to stop and rest.
Beware of Moose!
Location: 48.853167°, -113.635025°
We jumped a bull moose out of the creek bottom, so be ready to quickly hop off trail if you startle one!
POI Camp.jpg
Location: 48.850004°, -113.606486°
Food Prep area at Poia Lake Campground
Poia Sunrise.jpg
Location: 48.850908°, -113.605585°
Sunrise at Poia Lake. Be sure to snap some pictures from the lake shore. There are also some busy beavers that call this lake home!
Boulder Field
Location: 48.848451°, -113.601208°
Since this is such a short day of hiking out, take some time to do a little bouldering!
Water Source
Location: 48.841221°, -113.585243°
If you can bush-whack your way down to the lake this is a good place to fill up on water if need be.
Trail Junction
Location: 48.835035°, -113.590651°
A cut-off trail from the road joins up here. It's insanely steep, so we took the long way down.
Water Source
Location: 48.821672°, -113.610091°
Windy Creek (or is it Windy Creek?) is a reliable source of water.
Red Gap Pass Trail Head
Location: 48.805620°, -113.633137°
There is a parking lot and trail markers for Poia Lake / Red Gap Pass Trail. We were lucky enough to hitch a ride back to our car. If you would rather hoof it, there is a network of trails that lead back to Many Glacier, or you can opt for the road.
