A View Inside Glacier National Park: 100 Years, 100 Stories

Published: April 26, 2010

This unique compilation of stories ranges from first-hand experiences, to memories passed down to friends and family members by those who lived in, or traveled to, Glacier Park in years past. One of the standout stories in the collection, gleaned from a contest sponsored by the Glacier Centennial Program Committee, is an excerpt from a woman’s journal, written in 1903.  

She tells about a group of hikers, six women and four men, who traveled from McDonald Creek, up the Garden Wall to Granite Park, and over Swiftcurrent Pass. There were horses along to pack the goods, but the ladies walked, as it was not proper to straddle a horse, even when chaperoned!

Upon arriving at Granite Park, the ladies were told that they were the first females to visit this spot. They were also the first women to scale Mount Grinnell, and probably the first to have a co-ed snowball fight on Grinnell Glacier. And they accomplished it all in “short skirts,” bloomers and hob-nailed shoes!

The book opens with a selection of stories from visitors to the trails and campgrounds, followed by a section devoted to the inhabitants of the area – those hardy folks who lived within or near the park boundaries, attending small schools in the area, and living through the fires and record snow years.

There are tales from both year-round and seasonal employees, and a group of stories and poems celebrating Glacier and looking to the future of this unique and much-loved landscape.

Above all, this collection of remembrances and reflections reinforces the feeling that Glacier Park is a place “easy to love and hard to forget.”

The book was compiled and edited by the Glacier Centennial Program Committee and published by the Glacier Association; order online at www.glacierassociation.org.

– Judy Shafter