[Cdt-l] Glacier NP snow conditions

[Jonathan Ley]

Just a quick note... Be sure to take all trail condition snow reports with a bit of skepticism. Sometimes they're dead-on, but often they're not. A foot of rapidly-melting snow on a short section of trail can get interpreted to "snow; trail is closed and impassible". Sometimes this kind of thing is due to miscommunication, sometimes due to an overabundance of caution on the part of park rangers, etc, who usually formulate their reports for the lowest common denominator... I.e. "Joe tourist", who's outdoor experience is mostly comprised of mowing the lawn. 
Even reports from hikers can be quite subjective... It just depends on the perspective of both the reporter and reader. For example, if there was 5ft of snow covering the trail for about 4 miles on either side of passes in GNP, I might report that as no big deal. Others might report that as an impassible condition.
Good luck out there regardless!  


On Jun 9, 2010, at 9:41 AM, Trekker4 at aol.com wrote:

>     I'm a section hiker, so I have the luxury to pick and choose times, places, etc - for weather and conditions. I have a place to leave my car in Helena, and, amazingly, a 75 mi ride from that person to Augusta, the town 30 mi down an unpaved road from Benchmark Ranch.
>     From there I'll either hitch 85 mi on to E Glacier Park, or hitch uphill to B R. I'm hoping that the lower elevation trail from E G P is or would be open in 2-3 weeks. My gut feel is that it will be. That'd still get me 3 weeks Sbound to Anaconda, where I have to hitch back to Helena, and head to WA to finish the PCT from Trout Lake to Canada, basically in August.
>     Right now, I plan to leave Big Bend TX about 20 Jun, drive 1,620 mi to Helena over a leisurely 4 days, and finally get to stumbling south. I assume your husband is delivering all'a y'all (the proper plural) to G N P, but where are you driving from?  
>     I have a call in to Kyle Johnson (406-888-7838), the G N P Backcountry Supervisory Ranger, to check on my E G P south plan, so I'll not send this until I talk to him. BTW, don't just take my word for the G N P conditions, even though I've basically had them confirmed by 3 people: Johnson, Shannon Freix - CDTA MT/ID person, and a G N P Ranger stationed at Many Glacier -  whom I met in the Pie-O-Neer Cafe in Pie Town NP. I'm also going to call the Nat'l Forests south of G N P to check on conditions, as Shannon said they might be okay south of G N P. 
>     I just talked to Kyle J: he says E G P south is probably doable now, as it's lower and south facing, w/a couple creek crossing cautions. With my after 20 Jun start, all should be okay. I should call Lewis & Clark, Flathead, and Helena N Fs - at least L & C, since it's just south of G N P.
>     I just talked to Nancy (406-466-5341, ext 104) in the Rocky Mtn R D of L & C N F. On the L & C N F site is a memo stating that a bit over 2 weeks ago there was snow above 6,500 ft. She says their trail people are just now starting to get out, and presumably check the trails. She asked me to call back on the 18th, but I'll call on the 15th or 16th.
>  
> Bob "Trekker"
> Big Bend Desert Denizen, and...
> Naturalized Citizen - Republic of Texas
> 
>  
> In a message dated 6/9/2010 1:22:10 A.M. Central Daylight Time, tomteresa89 at gmail.com writes:
> PS Thanks for the GNP snow info. We may rethink our plans as a result and may wind up on hte same plan as you.
> T-
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