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My wife took a group of Girl Scouts to Glacier Ntl Park for a few days. They planned for a packed couple days with Ranger led programs. My son and I tagged along (mainly because I had to drive our truck and truck camper for my wife to use ) and then the two of us peeled off and stayed nearby at a place called Big Creek campgrounds nestled along the North Fork of the Flathead river. Very close to Apgar and West Glacier- maybe 20 minutes drive. We wanted to venture out on our own in search of quiet time. Most of the summer has been spent with scouting activities, projects and week long camps (for him). We needed a little down time, just the two of us.
My son is learning to drive and I already bought a car for him and we've been busy getting it ready for his upcoming adventures. My son is very much into the out of doors and spends a lot of time in pretty rugged country as it is, so it's fitting he will be driving a 1998 Jeep Cherokee-
Pretty stout rig. We have to add a leaf pack to the rear because we installed a HEAVY swing out rear tire carrier and put on a full size 31" spare. It sags the rear a bit too much, so gotta beef that up. We did a trail ride prior to Glacier and took up a Jeep trail to a place called Tizer Lake. 6 miles took us 2 hours.. Boulder scrambling, water, mud, and rocks, rocks, rocks.. 2 miles were barely passable. Most people use 4 wheelers- but the Jeep made it well!
Here was our campsite at Big Creek just outside Glacier NP-
Very nice, not crowded and very close to where we wanted to hike. MUCH saner than actually staying in a campground in the Park. (Ssssshhhh! Don't tell anybody- it's a secret!)
We hiked a very nice interpretive nature trail that winds through a section of park that was burned in 1988. The regenerative growth creates an ecosystem that is very rich in wildlife and plant life. You can see how beneficial fire really is to the west.
You can see the spruce and aspen just exploding all around-
Here you can make out the remnants of the older trees standing sentry over the younger plants coming to life.
It's not uncommon to see moose and bear in this section. Here you can see the lower part of the burn and the North Fork Flathead river
Later that morning we headed up north 20 miles to a small place called Polebridge MT. Polebridge has one store called the 'Polebridge Mercantile'. It's a funky little store that has fresh baked goods, coffee, beer, small groceries, sandwiches, camping and fishing gear and some touristy stuff. The old building has been there since the early 1900's. I grab a coffee and my son get's a huge cinnamon bun and we head off across the bridge, back into Glacier Park then head south about 10 miles on a single lane road to a trailhead called Hidden Meadow. Very seldom hiked, not one human soul did we pass on the road there. Solitude. Ahhhhh....
Not far into our hike we felt a presence as if being watched.. Not many hikers on this trail but lot's of deep forest critters... We turned and spied this little lady intently watching us along the trail!
She was only 10-15 yards from us perched on a log- watching us, then looking up the trail, then back to us... then up the trail.. We wondered what she was watching out for....
Her babies! 6-8 little grouse went bounding across the trail in front of us to join up with mom. When she had them all accounted for, they slowly walked under the grasses into the deep forest.
We continued on about 1.5- 2miles through the forest. It was once a homestead and most of the forest was field until abandoned sometime in the 30's. We came across old plowshares, timbers and chains here and there- evidence of a period in time when very rugged people eeked out a living in some of the countries harshest climate.
However at the end of the hike you pop out into this gorgeous meadow with a small lake (Hidden meadow). It was a lush oasis with deer, ducks, and occasional eagle flying over head- it is a wonderful place.
Standing alone just near the meadows edge was a HUGE spruce tree..
How big? Here is my son next to it!
It was an awesome place to sit under and eat our lunch while watching the diver ducks in the water and the deer eating in the meadow. We were hoping to see a moose, but no such luck today.. We pondered how many people may have sat under this tree during it's life...
So we hike back to the Jeep and then head back out to the crossroads. Here is the view of some of the huge homes across from Polebridge-
That one is a whopper.. Kinda weird cause if you stay year round, the only way in and out of Polebridge is a snowmobile to Columbia Falls- 35 or so miles away. The road is basically snowed shut in the winter.
Here's the bridge crossing-
Instead of heading back to the Mercantile, we headed up the mountain northeast to one of my favorite places- Bowman Lake. We put the kayak in and my son spent a few hours paddling in clear, cold glacial water. You can see Browns Pass off into the distance.
I whittled the rest of my time by napping under a tree by the lake simply for the heck of it. When my son returns, we pack it up and drive back to the campsite and sit by the fire, eat a small dinner and then off to bed. The campsite was stone quiet by 10:00p.m.
Here's a little lifestyle shot of my husband shaving, ha ha. this was taken in Costa Rica on a beach in the town of Cahuita. A bit of a drive to get there but we camped with our toddlers along the way. Magical trip!
My favorite camping spot a few miles from my home at about 9,500 feet at the base of a 14,000ft mountain. A beautiful quiet area.
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) and then the two of us peeled off and stayed nearby at a place called Big Creek campgrounds nestled along the North Fork of the Flathead river. Very close to Apgar and West Glacier- maybe 20 minutes drive. We wanted to venture out on our own in search of quiet time. Most of the summer has been spent with scouting activities, projects and week long camps (for him). We needed a little down time, just the two of us. 
