Quick update here if you're thinking of going to Glacier National Park in the next week or so. We hiked up to Apgar Lookout on Thursday under cloudless skies. In the past we've hiked up to the lookout in early spring and spent much of the time post-holing or trying to side-hill with snowshoes.
Imagine our surprise when we found that enough people had hiked up it to have a decent "trail" all the way up! Due to its southern exposure and our cooler nights, the snow was stable enough to hold us up (for the most part) all the way up to the top!
Note that you have to hike 1.9 miles on the road to get to the trailhead making it an 11 mile day.
Three recommendations: 1. These conditions won't last long, so do the hike sooner rather than later (or wait until the trail dries out). It is going to melt to a point where it's going to be a nasty mix of soft slushy snow and mud. 2. Start earlier in the day when it's more consolidated and crusty. The afternoon with sun beating down makes it soft and "punchy". 3. We picked up some Kahtoola EXOspikes last year and love them! If you don't have a set of them, we highly recommend them for icy and mixed conditions.
That's all we have for today. Enjoy the Apgar Lookout Spring 2023 blog and hope it leads to your own adventures!
the trail awaits...
Jake and Kristen
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