We left Bighorn Canyon on Wednesday and drove to Red Lodge. We found a free campground with great reviews online and wanted to spend the next night there before heading to Glacier National Park. When we got to Red Lodge, lots of roads were closed, and several houses and bridges were broken due to the recent floods that closed Yellowstone National Park. Also, the bridge to our campground was gone, so we had to find a different place to sleep. For lunch, we shared a pizza at a restaurant and ordered a cookie with ice cream for dessert. They brought a pan with one giant warm cookie and two scoops of ice cream. It was amazing!
In the late afternoon, we decided to go on a short hike that the waiter at the restaurant suggested. There were lots of signs warning people that bears frequent the area. We took the bear spray with us and tried to always talk loudly during the hike. However, instead of a bear, we had a very close encounter with a moose and its baby. We suddenly ran into them during the hike. They were only about 2 meters from us. When we saw them, we immediately backed away to a safe distance. Moose are most dangerous when they are with a baby, and this was our first encounter, so we were very cautious. Vinz had his bear spray ready just in case, which apparently is also effective for moose. We tried to take some pictures from far away and then decided to cut the hike short and go back.
The following morning we drove back to Billings to pick up our new camera stand. Then we continued towards Glacier National Park. The drive through Montana was beautiful. After a quick stop in Bozeman, we drove to Freezout Lake and slept at another free campground.
The next day we drove to Glacier National Park. We researched campgrounds beforehand and decided on Many Glaciers Campground because it has lots of first-come-first-serve sites. Because they had bears in the campground recently, only hard-sided camping was allowed, so we thought we could easily get a spot if we arrived in the morning. When we got there, however, the sign said FULL. We decided to ask the ranger at the entrance, and he told us we were in luck: Someone had just left, and we could have their spot!
We cooked lunch at the campground and then went on a 2-hour hike to Lake Josephine.
In the evening, we walked to Fishercap Lake, hoping to see a moose. After some waiting, we saw a young moose on the other side of the lake. Then we went for a short drive to see more wildlife. It was easy to spot them because there were always lots of cars on the side of the road whenever there was an animal. We were lucky to see a Grizzly bear, more black bears, and more moose.
The night was freezing cold. We had bought another duvet in preparation for Glacier National Park, but I was still freezing during the night. The next day we wanted to go on a more challenging hike in the national park. Unfortunately, it was still too early in the year, and most hikes were closed due to snow and ice. We hiked to Ptarmigan Falls and Iceberg Lake. We only brought running shoes for hiking and were completely unprepared for the snow fields.
After the hike, we returned to Fishercap Lake. A moose was walking in the water along the shore. He got out of the water about 50 meters from where we were sitting and disappeared into the forest. A few minutes later, we heard something behind us, and it was the moose who wanted to enter the lake exactly where we were sitting. Vinz and I immediately got up and tried to get out of the way. We must have also startled him because he stared at us and then ran back into the forest. We then saw him enter the lake further away. This was already the second close encounter with a moose. We are just glad we haven’t had a close encounter with a bear!
For the last day at Glacier National Park, we drove to Saint Mary Entrance and visited another part of the park. We walked to Saint Mary Falls and Virginia Falls. In the afternoon, we left Glacier National Park and crossed the border back to Canada.
Now we’re in an Airbnb in Calgary, where we will stay four nights. Then we will continue to Banff and Jasper National Park!