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  1. #1
    Registered User backtrack213's Avatar
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    Default Glacier National Park section

    What are the permit requirements for the Glacier section of the CDT? Is it just campsite permits and can you obtain permits ahead of time or are they walk up?

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    If you know exactly where you want to camp, I think you can reserve on line before hand. Depending on when you start, some sites or trails may not be available. If you start in early July, you'll probably have to start on the Chief mountain side instead of the most northern end.

    When I went there we just did walk up. That was for the most part okay, but one site we wanted was already full so we had to work around that. The other problem was I was in a group of 5 and campsites are set up for groups of 2. Most sites have four tent platforms (cleared areas) big enough for 2 tents. They would only give us at most 2 sites, so that meant trying to squeeze three tents in a spot made for two. That ended up causing a lot of conflict, as I was with four woman. But that's another story...
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    https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvis...CP_JUMP_850358 Pay attention to conditions. A heavy snow year can change everything.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

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    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    New rules for 2019. I saw the news recently. Don’t recall the particulars. Sorry. Check the Glacier NP Backcountry pages.
    They are going to a lottery system for early applications this year.
    Smaller groups work best. Flexible dates and flexible daily mileage works best. If you try for a walk up permit, a list of campsite vacancies for coming days is posted at the ranger stations issuing walk up permits at 4 pm daily. The list is also available online. Don’t count on cell service in the Park to find the list.
    Good luck!
    Wayne

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    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Backcountry availability list. Changes daily during the hiking season.
    https://home.nps.gov/applications/gl...escgstatus.cfm
    Backcountry site map.
    https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvis...p-Web-2018.pdf
    Good luck and have fun!
    Wayne

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    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Demand for Backcountry permits in Glacier starts to decline in mid August. Demand really drops off after Labor. By mid September weather can be a problem and the park begins shutting down.
    People who were trying to complete a CDT thru hike in late September last year were forced to road walk up to the Canadian border.
    Wayne

  7. #7
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    The new lottery system for 2019:
    https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvis...servations.htm
    Wayne

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    Registered User backtrack213's Avatar
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    Thanks gonna give the lottery system a shot. I'm going alone so mileage and campsites are super flexible for me.

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    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Good luck! Standing by for the trip report and photos.
    Wayne

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by backtrack213 View Post
    What are the permit requirements for the Glacier section of the CDT? Is it just campsite permits and can you obtain permits ahead of time or are they walk up?
    Maybe already known but it's worth saying there can be more than one G NP CDT route. Some maps like the TI NG G NP maps depict two CDT routes. This shouldn't be ignored making the necessary mindset adjustment from how the AT and LT are typically rigidly depicted, a perspective that tends to prevail among anal eastern trail enthusiasts - here's the AT/LT - and all the hoopla that can surround that "Official"/non- Official perspective, especially the AT, to a more relaxed and accepted one on other trails like the CDT, PCT, PNWT, NCT, Ice Age Tr, Buckeye Tr, American Discovery Tr, AZT, etc of different alternatives. Even the Sheltoweee trace and Foothills Tr have alternates although in both cases many choose to only perceive them as having only one possible choice of starting and destination pts. Preachy but worth saying IMHO we should not impose only one mindset - a cookie cutter one perspective for all - to all hikes. We should adapt to different trails and conditions. We might want to more fully embrace an effort to HYOH. It makes us better, more diverse, wider still set acquired backpackers. Soapbox aside.

    Specific season and times and if one is a CDT thru hiker can heavily impact choice of G NP CDT route and what one experiences including obtaining permits. FWIW, NP Rangers tend to be more flexible and accommodating to thru hikers...AND WHEN approached respectfully and having already understood and prepared for different NP concerns and permit processes. There is no one cookie cutter personal answer correct for all all the time what one will experience

    As a CDT SOBO thru, G NP non solely CDT hiker early in the season, and with slightly later PNWT WEBO LASH starts I've always easily been able to obtain walk up permits. YES, I had to state intended CS's but in the backcountry I never competed with anyone or saw anyone at a CS. Some CS's were still under snow so it was similar to somewhat dispersed LNT camping. Understand early for G NP backcountry areas can be as late as late June. On all these earlier for G NP seasonal visits I never experienced any NP Ranger in the backcountry. As one example, in 2010 started a June 23 CDT SOBO with the Going to the Sun Rd opening 4th wk of June. At Logan Pass Visitor Center the snow depth was still higher than the height of the building, some 22 ft of snow. Walkways and the GTTS Rd was akin to traveling through 20ft deep canyons. I had to change my route from starting at Waterton Provincial Park in Canada wanting to take the somewhat CDT "Official"(I don't rigidly play that inane circle jerk of a game though) Highline Tr, over still closed Goat Haunt( NP Rangers would have allowed me to camp there though as CDT thru, don't know if they still allow that) and go through the Ptarmigan Tunnel which was still snowed in and closed to starting at the Belly River TH at the US/Can border station taking a different route that involved a few days of consistent snow travel and "winter like" navigation and crossing snow bridges across ravines and water. I was dependent on myself. I only saw people at road crossings or CG's. Different CDT SOBOers of which I knew of about 13 that yr took different routes including starting from St Marys and Many Glacier. The one person who started around my time who did take the Highline Tr said he had full instep crampons and two genuine ice axes who stated had he made one slip he likely would have died or been seriously hurt in several spots.

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    Also need to consider unpredictable closing due to bears and fires. We were at GNP early last Aug (not backpacking, stayed at Many Glacier). But while we were there all the trails NOBO from MG were closed due to bear activity and and the entire west side of the park was closed due to fire. In these cases, you may need to cobble together multiple permits to get a hike that goes through. The trail system at GNP is not laid out to accommodate thru hikers. In fact there is only one trail that connects the north half and the southern half of the parks, so any all-trail thru hike in the park would have to use this section. You could jump from one route to another using a road walk or shuttle, but I'm not sure if they would let you do this on one permit.

  12. #12

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    Things are freer early in the season. Later in the season areas are liable to be closed because of grizzly problems. Especially Ptarmigan Pass, Two Medicine Lake areas.

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    Current snowpack in Glacier is a bit below the mean. There are at least two month's for this to change, maybe drastically. When my daughter worked at Many Glacier several years ago, high elevation trails didn't open until August. Can't have a bad hike in Glacier, though. Not if you are careful.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  14. #14
    Registered User backtrack213's Avatar
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    Thanks everyone for the insight! I plan on heading out there at the beginning of July, so maybe I should just try for walk up permits and see how it goes. Decisions, decisions

  15. #15

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    G NP gets some snow in May too. Like the Sierra, what one experiences annually, seasonally, and monthly as far as snowpack depends on not only snowfall amts but how fast melt out occurs. Know too west and east G NP has somewhat different weather because of the rain shadow effect on the east side which factors into why some(many?) CDT SOBOs start their thrus on Glacier's east side. It's not just high elev that changes snowpack experiences. That's why I started PNWT WEBO LASHes later on the west side.

    If you want to avoid the G NP hubbub including permit and CS competition avoid July and Aug. I've heard it said but haven't corroborated those two months account for more visitation than the other 10 months combined.

    All this shared is not because I'm some kind of G NP know it all or highly G NP experienced. I'm not! I've only been there several times for hikes. I'm mostly regurgitating from memory what is clearly shared info from the NPS G NP website and through personal CDT thru hiker accounts including CDT Trail Journals as might be similar to my timeframes. Nothing intended as anti WB but I truly don't know why folks come to sites like WB for second or third hand info when they can go directly to more informed NPS or CDT sources for info that is often more accurate? Why not get on the phone to G NP and ask questions directly to G NP Backcountry Hiking Rangers(best accounts if recently out on trails IMO) or contact through an G NP NPS eMail no more difficult than asking at WB?


    Happy trails.

  16. #16
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Venchka View Post
    Backcountry availability list. Changes daily during the hiking season.
    https://home.nps.gov/applications/gl...escgstatus.cfm
    Backcountry site map.
    https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvis...p-Web-2018.pdf
    Good luck and have fun!
    Wayne
    The Backcountry Site Map (link above) includes the first date that any particular campsite may be reserved. As shown in the INFO column.
    For some campsites, this date is August 1.
    Wayne

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