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| Page Type: Route Location: Montana, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 48.79539°N / 113.6556°W Route Type: Hiking, Scrambling Season: Summer, Fall Time Required: A long day Rock Difficulty: Class 3 Difficulty: Strenuous
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| Page By: distressbark Created/Edited: Nov 17, 2008 / Jun 18, 2009 Object ID: 463934 Hits: 1722 Loading... Page Score: 89.49% - 25 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Overview Glacier National Park is world-renowned for its seemingly endless hiking opportunities. There are over 700 miles of maintained trails in the park, which afford visitors the chance to see beautiful glacial lakes, traverse the Continental Divide and many stunning mountain passes, and view a wide array of flora and fauna. I had the pleasure of working in the Many Glacier Hotel during the summer of 2008, which meant that the famous Many Glacier Valley was my backyard for nearly four months. Needless to say, it was the experience of a lifetime. I went to Glacier with intention of hiking as much as possible. After I'd completed a bunch of trail hikes in the valley, I started talking to some of the veteran employees of the hotel about other hiking opportunities. I found out that for all the great trail hikes that Glacier has to offer, there are an equal amount of off-trail hikes, climbs, and scrambles to enjoy. It was a natural progression; I had been hiking a lot and was in great shape, and the prospect of exploring some of places off-the-beaten path in the park that I loved so dearly was more than enticing. That's how I came to find out about the Skyline Experience.
The Skyline Experience is a marvelous, breathtakingly beautiful trail that takes climbers up and over four different peaks, culminating in a summit of Mount Siyeh. At 10,014 feet, it is one of the six "tenners" in Glacier, and it affords some of the most spectacular views in the entire park. The route is highlighted by a 5.5 mile ridge walk where the hiker has an unspoiled look at the Lewis Range for what seems like forever.
It starts at an elevation of approximately 4,900 feet at the Many Glacier Hotel, and is somewhere in the vacinity of 16 to 18 miles, depending on the chosen route of descent. This description describes a route that starts at the Cracker Lake trailhead, climbs to the long, scenic ridge to Mount Siyeh, and ends with a descent down the south face side of Siyeh into Preston Park before ending at the Going-to-the-Sun Road. We completed the hike on 8/4/08 on a hot, clear day, and it took our group 13.5 hours to complete the entire hike.
Getting ThereThis hike is located in the Many Glacier Valley, on the eastern side of the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park. You can get there via car by taking US Highway 89 north through St. Mary to the small, unincorporated town of Babb. From Babb, a rough paved road winds its way through forest and along the shores of Lake Sherburne some 12 miles to the Many Glacier Hotel. The trail starts at the Cracker Lake trailhead, a popular hike that starts from the large parking lot behind the Many Glacier Hotel.
 The historic Many Glacier Hotel sits along the shore of beautiful Swiftcurrent Lake. The small lake is the epicenter of the valley, as four other large valleys confluence here. The massive block that is Mount Gould (9,553 ft.) can be seen in the distance, with craggy Grinnell Point (7,201 ft.) forever looming across the lake from the hotel. Allen Mountain (9,376 ft.), one of the largest in mass in the park, is behind and to the left of the hotel.
Route DescriptionFirst off, J. Gordon Edwards' A Climber's Guide to Glacier National Park is a fantastic resource for climbing and off-trail hiking in the park. It's very informative and easy to follow, and is available at all ranger stations and gift shops for about $15. It truly is a wonderful guide, and I recommend it to anyone.  Snow-covered Wynn Mountain (8,404 ft.) in early June '08. By the time we hiked the Skyline on 8/4/08, the mountain was completely devoid of snow
The Skyline Experience starts from the large parking lot behind the Many Glacier Hotel, where both the Piegan Pass and Cracker Lake trailheads can be found. Take the Cracker Lake trailhead. The trail takes you through thick forest before gracing the western edge of Lake Sherburne, which is actually a large reservoir that serves the area lands east of the park. This part of the trail can be particularly nasty in the summer, as the 2 miles are it jointly acts as a horse trail. Be prepared to walk through some muck and manure, especially after rainy days. After winding around the lake, you come to a small wooden plank that serves as a creek crossing. Immediately after, the horse trail (Cracker Flats) splits to the left, while the trail to Cracker Lake branches off to the right. The trail switchbacks steadily uphill for awhile, until you come to a small ridge that affords a view downhill of Canyon Creek to the left. You follow Canyon Creek for another mile or so, eventually coming to a large bridge crossing approximately 3.5 miles from the trailhead. After crossing the creek, take note of a large, rocky creek bed just to the left of the trail. Leave the maintained trail and make your way up the creek bed. Enjoy bouncing around between large boulders and shelves, taking care to avoid any areas that look particularly slick. After climbing on dry ground for awhile, we encountered some water and slippery rocks that forced us to leave the creek and bushwhack through the shrubs to left (east). We couldn't really find a path here, but after bushing for a few minutes we emerged from the foliage and came upon a large talus field. At this point you're on the western slope of jagged Wynn Mountain (8,404 ft.), the first of four peaks to be summited on the Skyline Trail.
At this point our group discovered a game trail that meandered through the talus to the north, toward Wynn's summit. However, the information we obtained before the hike told us to go farther south before attempting to summit Wynn. So, we traversed the talus to the south, eventually entering a large, barren valley with sparse vegetation. We made our way gradually uphill and followed a gulch until we ran into a well-developed trail that started up the mountain to our left. The trail climbed upward, rather steeply at times, through scree; eventually the trail and scree disappeared and footing became more solid. Here you can take whatever path you desire to get yourself to the top of Wynn Mountain. After the trail faded, it took us about 30-45 minutes to reach the summit. The views from the top are fantastic; we were rewarded with a stunning view of Lake Sherburne and the valley leading to the flatland to the east. Unique Yellow Mountain is directly to the north, and you can even see the Many Glacier Hotel and all of the glorious peaks surrounding it to the west.
 Looking to the south/southwest, you get a great look at the task ahead: the 5.5 mile ridge that leads all the way to Mount Siyeh is clearly visible. Opaque Cracker Lake sits beneath Mount Siyeh.
From Wynn, we just followed the ridge to the south. The footing is pretty solid, and it's really just an enjoyable hike for approximately 1.5 - 2 miles. Eventually we came to the large, red, unnamed peak of 9,180 feet that had been in our sights for the past hour. The route to the top is pretty obvious as the north face of the peak is very steep, and drops a few thousand feet down towards Cracker Lake. Hence, we angled around the base of the peak to the left (south) before we noticed a spot where it looked suitable to climb. Nothing worse than class 3, although the rock was a little loose and care should be taken if you're hiking/climbing with others. From the top, it's an easy descent to the other side, where the ridge is regained.
 Ridge between the unnamed peak (9,180 ft.) and Cracker Peak (9,833 ft.). Enjoy the view!
Follow the ridge across rocky terrain, enjoying stunning vistas on either side. Cracker Lake continues to sit well below you to the right, while to the left is the Boulder Creek Valley. The footing here is solid, and the ridge affords plenty of space, so there's no danger at all. Just unbelievable views! Eventually you'll come to Cracker Peak. At this point, our group was understandably tired, so the summit proved to be the most difficult of the day. However, from a climbing standpoint, it's about 30 minutes worth of scree and ledges; nothing worse than class 3. Just like the unnamed peak before, an easy descent follows, and it's just a short stroll downhill through a saddle before you gradually work back uphill towards Siyeh. There are two ways up Mount Siyeh. If you'd rather not climb, you can angle to the left (south) around the rocky prominence, eventually coming upon a well-worn trail amidst scree. Once you hit the trail, it's an easy walk to the summit. We opted to climb to the top. Like the previous peaks, you can kind of take whatever way suits you. We found a little crack in the mountain, and used all four extremities to shimmy our way about 30 feet up to the top.  Cracker Lake sits at 5,910 feet; Mount Siyeh's summit is 10,014 feet. This sheer face has only been successfully climbed two or three times.
The views from summit are awe-inspiring. I really felt a sense of accomplishment when I looked back to the east and saw the entire ridge we had just traversed. All that hard work truly paid off! To the north, flanking the opposite side of Cracker Lake, is Allen Mountain, with the rounded red top of Appikuni Mountain behind (for another interesting and enjoyable ridge hike, try the Crowfeet/Henkel/Appikuni circuit... it's phenomenal!). All of the peaks in the Many Glacier Valley are visible to the northwest, including Mount Wilbur, Swiftcurrent Mountain, Mount Grinnell, and Grinnell Point. Behind Mount Wilbur is a fantastic bulk of rock and ice that includes Mount Merritt, Old Sun Glacier, Ahern Peak, Ahern Glacier, Ipasha Peak, and Natoas Peak. Behind that, you get a glimpse of the top of massive Mount Cleveland. At 10,466 ft. it is the highest point in Glacier National Park. Immediately to the west of Siyeh is the steep east face of Mount Gould. And to the south one sees the full extension of the Lewis Range, including Mount Jackson (another "tenner"), and Blackfoot Mountain, with each mountain's respective glacier encompassing the space in between. 
Sea of peaks to the northwest |
There are at least three safe routes down from Siyeh, not including a full backtrack down the Skyline Trail. The route we chose is as follows. We found the trail leading through the scree down the south side of the mountain. After winding downhill for awhile, we eventually hit a bifurcation and opted to go to the left (east) towards Preston Park. The descent really did not present any problems. There are a few vague trails that make their way down through the scree, all of which eventually comie to a stop as the scree field runs into a large band of cliffs. Uncertain at first as to which way we should go, we found cairns that helped guide us down what looked like the most navigable coulier. The coulier was a little steep, and loose rock was everywhere, so one-by-one we carefully made our way down through the cliff. After that, there was more scree and a few couliers, none of which were any more difficult or dangerous than the first. Eventually, we made our way out into Preston Park. We found a dried up creek bed and followed it for a short while after leaving the mountain; it eventually brought us right to down into the valley where we ran into the Siyeh Pass Trail. From here, it was about a 0.5 mile walk downhill to where the Siyeh Pass Trail meets up with the Piegan Pass Trail. Bearing left (south), 3.5 miles later we were at the Going-to-the-Sun Road, where we had a car waiting.
Essential GearBring plenty of water! After crossing Canyon Creek 3.5 miles into the journey, there are no more reliable water sources until Preston Park. Considering you have to gain and lose about 5,000 feet of elevation in between (not including all the ups and downs in between all the summits), you're bound to get thirsty. J. Gordon Edwards describes places to get water near the top of Cracker Peak and Mount Siyeh; however, in the heat of summer, there was only a scant amount of snow up top. It's best to plan ahead and make sure you pack in extra water.
Bring bear spray. The Many Glacier Valley, albeit a very popular area with hikers, is still home to lots of dangerous animals, including grizzly bears, black bears, and mountain lions. I hiked the Cracker Lake Trail several times this past summer and saw bear scat on the trail every single time.
Buy the climber's guide, or talk to the bellman at the hotel, before starting off on the hike. The guide has invaluable information and will help you find your way to the top of pretty much every peak in the park. If you don't feel like springing for the guide, talk to the bellman at the Many Glacier Hotel. They're the unofficial hiking experts of the park, and on any given day one of them will likely be able to give you route information, including a print-out of the trail guide/map.
ENJOY!Out of all the hikes/climbs I did this past summer, the Skyline was arguably the most spectacular. The fact that I got to summit four peaks and spend the bulk of the day on top of a marvelous ridge, looking off in the distance at the gorgeous park below, is without a doubt one of the best experiences of my entire life. Get a group of friends, plan ahead, and have fun!
Skyline Experience Map |
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Glacier National Park, MT
