Hello!
I am planning on a camping trip with my boyfriend that currently has us at Glacier National Park 7/13 through 7/18. We are staying at a campsite right outside GNP on the west side. Once figuring out the travel time for shuttles to reach some of the hikes I had originally thought we could do (Highline Trail and Grinnell Glacier), we pivoted because of the long travel time it seemed would be necessary to access the trailheads from where we are planning to be. So now, I identified the Mount Brown Hike, Avalanche Lake, and Huckleberry Lookout Hike (maybe).
But Highline and Grinnell Glacier seem like cool hikes, and being big hikers, we like to be challenged. Do you think I should try to extend our trip and try to get some walk-up wilderness permits? I've seen people on this page suggest it and asking a ranger for advice on routes once there. I don't want to get out there and then leave feeling like we didn't have enough time, but I don't want to also spend time waiting in lines and on shuttles.
If you've read this far - thank you! Any (kind) advice is welcome on what to do - whether to keep the trip short or extend it for more challenging hiking and exploration. If you have other recommendations, please share those too! This will be our first time at this particular National Park.