Gunsight Pass and Lake McDonald – Glacier National Park (22 mile point-to-point)

Permits: Glacier National Park is one of the most popular backpacking and hiking destinations in the United States, so permits are required for overnight camping and the number of permits issued for each day is limited. You will want to secure a permit as early as possible to do this hike if going in July, August, or early September. The peak hiking season is generally mid July through early September and many trailhead quotas fill up very early for these dates.

Approximately half of the wilderness permits for each backcountry campground are available for advanced reservation and the remaining half are saved for first-come, first-serve walk ups (you may line up at the permit station starting at 4:00am the day before your hike). If you are lucky enough to get a walk up wilderness permit, you will pay $7 per person per night in camping fees. To see available walk-up availability for today check here. Note that dispersed backcountry camping is not allowed in most areas of Glacier National Park, so your permit will specify your camping location for each night of your trip.

The best way to secure a wilderness permit is to submit a wilderness permit application for the permit lottery. Advanced reservations are available for itineraries with start dates between June 15 – September 30. To be considered in the permit lottery, you must submit your permit application between 12:00am MST and 11:59pm MST on March 15 (this was the date for 2019, but it may change slightly for future years). All applications submitted within that time frame are processed in a random order. Any applications submitted after the lottery window are processed in the order they are received. Permit applications must be submitted online (info here) and there is a non-refundable $10 administrative fee and $30 fulfilled trip request fee (refunded if you do not receive a permit). Standard group sizes are limited to 1-8 campers and for advanced reservations you are limited to hiking less than 16 miles on any given day of your proposed itinerary (this distance limit does not apply to people seeking walk-up permits).

On your application you will list your proposed trip date, entry/exit trailheads, and campsites for each night. You are encouraged to submit an alternative itinerary in case your first choice is not available. For the specific itinerary described in this report, you will enter the wilderness at the Saint Mary Falls shuttle stop. Your first night of wilderness camping is spent at the Gunsight Lake Campground (GUN). The second night of camping is at the Sperry Campground (SPE) and then you exit the route at the Lake McDonald Lodge. A map showing the names and locations of the backcountry campsites is found here.

If you are able to reserve a permit and pay your fee, the next step is to pick up the physical permit the day before or the morning of your hike. You can get the permit at the Apgar Backcountry Permit Center or at one of the various Glacier National Park ranger stations. These are typically open daily from late May to late September. If you are delayed and cannot pick up your permit the morning of your hike, call the ranger station and see if they can hold your permit for you. Otherwise, your permit will be released to the general public and will likely be taken by a walk-up permit seeker. It is typically wise to plan to arrive the day before your trek is schedule to start so that you have ample time to pick up your permit at the ranger station.

Logistics: To get to Glacier National Park, it is most common to drive. Visitors either road trip all the way to the park or fly into a nearby airport, rent a car, and drive to the park. Flights into Kalispell Glacier Park International Airport (FCA) or Great Falls International Airport (GTF) are typically available with one stop from most major airports. Many Glacier Campground is a ~3 hour drive from both airports. Once you are inside the park, there is a shuttle system that can be utilized.

If you would like to camp at one of the developed campsites within Glacier National Park the night before your trek, you will need to either get an advanced reservation or arrive early in the morning to try to secure a walk-up spot. There are several campgrounds in Glacier and more info on each can be found here. Note that all the campgrounds are popular in the summer, so you may need to reserve sites well (>6 months) in advance. Unfortunately this means you may need to reserve a campsite before you know whether or not you have received a wilderness permit.

The easiest way to complete the Gunsight Pass to Lake McDonald route is to take advantage of the Glacier National Park shuttle system. More information about the shuttle routes can be found here. You can choose to either take the shuttle the morning before starting your backpacking trek (park at the Lake McDonald Lodge and shuttle to Saint Mary Lake before setting off) or to take the shuttle once you finish the route (park at Saint Mary Lake and take the shuttle from Lake McDonald back to Saint Mary Lake after finishing). The advantage of taking the shuttle at the start is that your vehicle is waiting for you at the end of the route and you can immediately drive off. The disadvantage of taking the shuttle before your trek is that the shuttle schedule will likely cause you to have a later start to your hike than you may prefer. Luckily you do not cross any mountain passes on the first day of this trek, so a late start is not too problematic.

Weather and Trail Conditions: It is important to check the trail conditions before taking off on this trek.  You can find reports on trail and wilderness conditions here.  The main concerns for this itinerary are the status of the seasonal bridges placed along the route. If these are not in place, you will need to speak to the rangers and assess the safety of fording the streams/rivers. You will also want to ensure that the trail is free of snow drifts at the two passes. If conditions are still snowy at high elevation, rangers may recommend that you bring an ice ax and crampons (and know how to use them).

The weather in Glacier National Park during the peak hiking season (July, August, and September) is characterized by warm days, cool nights, and occasional thunderstorms. When a storm rolls in, it is not uncommon for the temperature to drop quickly. Thus, you must be prepared for a wide range of temperatures (32-85 degrees F). Late in the season (late September-October), it is not uncommon for it to snow at high elevation. If you plan to complete the trek in late September or October, you must be prepared for rapidly changing weather and be comfortable hiking in snow. In the prime hiking season (late July through early September), the weather is typically good, but be mindful to avoid exposed, high elevation areas in the afternoon when brief storms frequently occur. Given that weather can change rapidly in the mountains, you should be prepared with different layers of clothing for different conditions.

Difficulty: The Gunsight Pass to Lake McDonald route in Glacier National Park is a moderate trip. When backpacked over the course of 3 days, this route is very manageable for backpackers with some previous experience. The second day where you hike over Gunsight Pass and Lincoln Pass will be the most difficult day with ~3,000 feet of climbing. Note that this assumes the snow has cleared from the trail at high elevation and assumes that all seasonally installed bridges are in place. If you must ford rivers and cross snow fields, the level of difficultly increases.