Page 62 - Flathead Beacon // 7.15.15

EXPLORE SWIFTCURRENT MOUNTAIN
BY CLARE MENZEL
SITTING AT 8,400 FEET, GLACIER National Park’s highest look- out crowns Swiftcurrent Moun- tain and has a full 360 degrees of Insta- gram-worthy views. The summit is acces- sible by three different trailheads, two of which come from the south. The first sets off from the Loop on Going-to-the-Sun- Road and follows the Granite Park Trail up past the campsite. The trail is steep but consistent, and cuts through some cool terrain with ghostly dead trees and thriving underbrush. The easier pick, which begins at Logan Pass, overlaps a 9.9-mile portion of the Highline Trail that traverses the Garden Wall. These two trails converge by the Granite Park Chalet, an historic landmark that sits at about 6,500 feet and opens for overnight stays on July 1. From here, they join the Swiftcurrent Pass trail, which drops in from its northeastern trailhead in Many Glacier after running along Swiftcur- rent Creek and climbing sharply up the pass. With “Sound of Music” fields full of alpine lilies below and 1,400 feet still to go, the trail begins switchbacking up Swiftcurrent’s bald, rocky southeastern face to the summit. To the south, Heavens Peak looms larger and closer than any- where else in the park, and to the north- east you can see the tucked-away Swift- current Glacier.
Granite Park Chalet on the way to Swiftcurrent Mountain. CLARE MENZEL | FLATHEAD BEACON
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JULY 15, 2015 | FLATHEADBEACON.COM