Glacier’s Highline Trail is for the bold in spirit
Glacier National Park, Montana – Though I have Parkinson’s disease, I tend to push my limits on hiking. Or maybe it’s because I have PD: I feel the need to do the tougher trails while I still can.
The Highline Trail at Glacier is one of those treks. It’s an out-and back variety, 11 miles each way, but many hikers go one way and take the shuttle back.
I’ve rated it difficult, not because I didn’t go all the way to the end, but because of its bigtime exposure to falls. That’s a psychological challenge, and it counts for something. (Click here for hike stats.)
If you have a fear of heights that goes beyond healthy, consider a different hike.
And there are plenty of good excursions in the park to choose from.
Glacier was made for hiking. It’s pretty much what people do in this national park. The scenery is breathtaking everywhere you turn.
It was July, and Mr. Unshakable and I got an early start to avoid crowds. Apparently everyone else had the same idea; the Logan Pass visitor lot was almost filled by 7:30 a.m. Luckily, we were able to nab a space. By afternoon, roadside parking stretched well over a mile from the trailhead!
Parkinson’s tip
If you’re worried about parking and the potential for extra walking, park in a less popular lot and take the park shuttle to the Logan Pass stop. You’ll save your energy for the hike.
Once on the trail, it becomes clear why it’s called the “Highline.” Much of the first mile consists of a high-up, “don’t look down” path. And when viewed from far away, the trail appears to be a line carved into the face of the mountain, aka the massive “Garden Wall.” (See arrows in photo.)
Within the first mile, you have a 4- to 6-foot wide path, with a bolted cable to hold on your right, and a drop-off of a couple hundred feet to the park road on your left.
Remarkably, some younger folks passed us – meaning they had to let go of the cable and walk to our left. Braver souls than I.
Parkinson’s tip
If you are not comfortable about your balance or steps, especially when in high elevations (trail starts at 6,600 feet), you may want to reconsider this hike.
Once off the cabled portion, we went up and down the trail, farther away from the wall and without the huge drop-offs next to us.
A little after two miles we spotted a trio of bighorn sheep. They seemed unimpressed by the two-legged creatures clicking cameras at them from fairly close up.
The Highline trail has a little bit of everything, including snow – even in July. Walking through the snowfield would’ve been easier if I had used poles, but I crossed it mostly without slippage.
The next challenge was a massive switchback. It was definitely a slog going up.
That brought us to Haystack Pass, an area where boulders randomly dotted a wide saddle.
It looked like a giant toddler had dumped out her toy box and toys were strewn all over the playroom.
Some people like to rest and eat lunch at Haystack. For others it’s a good place to turn around and go back, for a total distance of about 7.5 miles.
We chose to go up another half hour or so. At about 5 miles we stopped to marvel at (and photograph) the beautiful vistas, then turned around. There looked to be a lot more upward trekking ahead of us, and we were ready to go back.
Parkinson’s tip
Always listen to what your body is telling you. It’s easy to get summit fever, or to want to hike a trail in its entirety. “Mind over matter” isn’t the best mantra for hikers dealing with a movement disorder.
Here is the view we enjoyed at our turn-around point.
Had we continued, we would have walked past the Granite Park Chalet at 7.5 miles, where you can grab a packaged snack and take a load off for a while. Then at mile 11 is the “Loop,” where you can catch a shuttle back to your car. Most of what we missed was downhill.
Our return hike took a little less time than the outbound jaunt. The crowds had thinned, and we were familiar with the route and could pace ourselves.
More fauna. We saw several pikas, which waited for our snack crumbs to hit the ground.
Scenery on this hike is off-the-charts gorgeous. It’s the Rocky Mountains at their best, classic postcard material. Thank heavens that the U.S. government in 1910 preserved this chunk of western Montana as a national park.
Hike info
PD difficulty level (see chart): difficult
Distance: 11 miles one way
Elevation gain: about 1,300 feet
Trailhead location: across from Logan Pass visitors center
Bathrooms: in the visitors center
Emergency medical support: medical clinic in West Glacier outside park
Costs: Entry fee to park is $20-$35 (varies by season)
Road access to trailhead: Park in lot or along roadside
Insider tip: Glacier has been experimenting with ways to handle crowds, including use of timed and limited entries. Become familiar with the process of getting passes, and have a recreation.gov account ready to go when it’s time to “strike.”
(Go back to top.)
Other posts about hikes in Glacier National Park
Man! Glacier is on our bucket list. You have such good luck: mountain goats in Beartooth (southern Montana), bighorn sheep in northern Montana…
Sometimes fortune does indeed smile on us. Those times are more pleasant to write about, too. 😉