OffBeat Pathfinder Basecamp

Just spent five days wandering Glacier National Park and I’m still not convinced it wasn’t a dream. If you want to feel tiny in the best possible way, hike the Highline Trail—every switchback is a screensaver.


We lucked out with sun and wildflowers, but saw three different people wearing bear bells like cowbells. Spoiler: the bears don’t care.


Ate lunch by Lake McDonald (rainbow rocks: real, not a filter). Got yelled at by a marmot.


Anyone else have tips for getting those elusive backcountry permits? Or wild bear stories? (I’ll trade for mine…)

My group tried to do Grinnell Glacier trail in June and, shocker, there was still snow halfway up. Slid down part of it on my butt and called it “glacier surfing.”


We never saw a bear, but my cousin swears she heard one snoring outside the tent. Bring an eye mask—the sun rises EARLY up there.

Took my tiny camper van all the way from Texas just for this park and have no regrets. The Going-to-the-Sun Road is as wild as they say—hairpin turns, waterfalls, and that moment you wonder if your brakes have opinions.


Stopped at Apgar Village for huckleberry ice cream. 10/10 would drive cross-country again for another scoop.


Side note: do NOT try to selfie with mountain goats. Trust me.

Glacier is the only place I’ve ever seen a moose and a bear on the same hike—Iceberg Lake trail. Bring binoculars!


If you’re camping, book ahead. And if you fish, bring your rod—the cutthroat trout are huge.

Anyone else take the Red Bus Tour? The drivers are half comedians, half park historians—I left with a new respect for both suspension bridges and dad jokes.


Favorite memory: sharing trail mix with a group of hikers from Norway and accidentally picking up the wrong pack. Surprise wasabi peas, anyone?


If you had to pick one can’t-miss sunrise spot in the park, where would you go?