Worth A Stop

Grinnell Glacier
          Melts into History

Story and Photos by Becky Lomax

As glaciers worldwide rapidly melt, so goes the ice in Glacier National Park. Even though glaciers etched trademark U-shaped valleys and knife-thin aretes into the landscape, the park's namesake ice fields will thaw into slush, many disappearing entirely, in the next 25 years.

While climatologists from the U.S. Geological Survey clock the approaching extinction of the park's 27 ice fields, hikers can trek to one of the most dramatic-looking glaciers still clinging to the rugged Continental Divide. Grinnell Glacier sits in a sedimentary rock pocket where snows have traditionally dumped large loads into the glacier's accumulation zone. But as more ice melts than is produced, the glacier retreats.

A century ago, Grinnell joined the smaller Salamander Glacier above, but now they are two. Since 1937, Grinnel's swift shrinking produced a lake at its snout, floating with gray glacial silt and icebergs. According to Dr. Dan Fagre of the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center in West Glacier, "Glaciers are the frosting on the cake. They are strong indicators of climatic change."

To see Grinnell Glacier before it melts into oblivion, catch the trailhead in Many Glacier at Swiftcurrent Picnic Area. After passing beaver-gnawed aspens, the 11-mile round-trip trail winds through the thickly timbered Grinnell Valley, passing Swiftcurrent and Josephine lakes before beginning its abrupt ascent up 1600 feet of elevation. The climb itself is worthy - tiptoeing along cliffs, stair-stepping under a waterfall, skittering along rainbow-colored strata of sedimentary bands, and skipping through fields of pink spirea, creamy bear grass, and yellow arnica. And you look straight down on the milky turquoise of Grinnell Lake.

Because of a large steep snowdrift just at tree line below the glacier, the trail is sometimes impassable until mid-July. But once open, it sees an endless stream of hikers grunting uphill into the rocky, sparsely vegetated glacial basin. Mountain goats cavort on the cliffs surrounding the glacier while bighorn sheep browse on Grinnell Peak's flanks. Make noise while hiking, for this is grizzly bear country.

For frequent hikers and ecologists monitoring Grinnell Glacier, its changes are visible. As Fagre says, "The story of our disappearing glaciers is the story of our changing mountains."

When You Go

Pick up the Grinnell Glacier trailhead at the Swiftcurrent Picnic Area 12 miles west of Babb on Many Glacier Road, marked as Glacier Route Three on some maps. Leading to the glacier, a well-marked trail maze wanders through Grinnell Valley; take a right at each of four junctions. You can pick up maps at the ranger station west of the picnic area. Due to trail damage caused by November 2006 storms, call the backcountry number (406-732-7740) for trail conditions.

To chop off mileage, some hikers hop aboard Chief Two Guns and Morning Eagle to cross Swiftcurrent and Josephine lakes (406-257-2426; www.glacierparkboats.com; summer only). Departing from the boat dock behind Many Glacier Hotel, the boats ($15/adult round-trip; kids half price) hew the trek down to 7.6 miles round-trip. A hiker shuttle departs at 8:30 a.m.

Glacier National Park is in northwest Montana on the U.S./Canadian border. It can be accessed from Hwy 2. Park headquarters are located in West Glacier, Montana. (406-888-7800; www.nps.gov/glac)

Northwest Travel Magazine September/October 2007

Above: Grinnell, Gem, and Salamander glaciers sit in a pocket on the Continental Divide’s east rim.
Below: Grinnell Glacier trail winds along cliff faces in a veritable summer garden.