Triple Divide
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- A fantastic hike that leads from the St. Mary valley to the Cutbank area goes over a fantastic pass called Triple Divide Pass*. While it seemed that most people started at the St. Mary side, I started at the Cutbank trailhead. You start out walking in meadows on either side. The Cutbank side is more of a pine forest as it follows the north fork of Cutbank Creek and begins gaining elevation at the turnoff for Medicine Grizzly Lake. You can break your trip up by camping at Atlantic Creek campground if you wish, but it's really just a campsite in trees. Once you begin climbing, you leave the trees and have views that just keep getting better as you look down on Medicine Grizzly Lake.
Once at the Pass, you have your pick of amazing views looking in each direction. Keep your eye out for bighorn sheep and make sure the local residents (marmots and ground squirrels) don't make a meal out of sweaty pack straps and poles. From there you descend into more flowers, waterfalls and breathtaking views. Keep your eyes up on the cliffs for mountain goats.
When you cross over Red Eagle Creek, you are close to the head of the beautiful Red Eagle Lake. I think you'll have a better chance of seeing big game at the head of the lake, but the foot of the lake is a prettier site as you're looking into the mountains. Midsummer is fantastic with wildflowers and there are an amazing variety of birds. I was fortunate enough to watch an enormous moose frolicking in the water.
The walk out to St. Mary, by the old 1913 Ranger Station, is fairly level with burnt areas, flower meadows and aspen groves intermixed creating great habitat for a variety of animals.
Overall I loved this trip. It has all the things I love about Glacier National Park. Big game, birds, beautiful flowers, waterfalls and lakes, fantastic views and wonderful alpine settings.
*Named so because water that lands on the peak there will end up in the Pacific, the Atlantic or the Arctic Oceans depending upon which face it lands.
Full Blog here: www.hike734.com...
Great video. you are much more knowledgeable about the plants and animals of Glacier NP than the typical videographer who just shoots video without knowing what they are seeing in Glacier NP.
It's part of who I am! I've been curious about the natural world since I was a kid and love to share.
Your maps and photos and descriptions of wild flowers are wonderful.
What is your personal history and educational background? You seem young - any
long term plans? I visited Glacier with my family back in July 1947 - got carsick on Going-to-the Sun Hwy but then had great hike with ranger party to Iceberg Lake - didn't know there were so many bears there.
thank you for this wonderful video -- I was looking for another Triple Divide in the Northeast of USA at the plateau of the Allegheny Mountains in Potter County Pa specifically at Ulysses, Pa and the State is considering a waste water treatment plant sited of all places THERE!!!! people have organized and made a movie called Tripple Divide our world premier is March 9 in Coudersport Pa
I absolutely love your videos. They helped me with the advance registration process and I got my permit for July. I will be in this area and was curious how long it took you (days?) to do this particular hike? We did not get our exact route we wanted but was hoping to make a day hike out to Triple Divide Pass.
I just realized that I'd not responded to your comment! Sorry!! I am in my mid thirties and grew up in MT loving Ranger Rick and the outdoors. I recently quit my corporate job and, through some events, making my living doing this. You'll have to visit my site to see some longer term plans. Just came out with a guide for Going-to-the-Sun Road that I'm pretty happy about!
the rivrs go to Ontario Lake in Rochester, the Mississippi and Chesapeake Bay .
the waste water is planned to be trucked in from the fracked hydrofracked wells all over Pa and will contain radium dissolved in water and can contaminate drinking water which is a cancer risk and it is shameful -- I am a cancer nurse and my patients are calling me to object..
Great video! What are you using for a camera?
I'm using a Canon 7D for the body with a few other lenses. I've blogged about the whole shebang right here: www.hike734.com/educational/backpacking-dslr-setup/
Great video as always. I'm a new subscriber and have probably watched over 20 of your videos. Anyways, I like to consider this route as a backup. I'm doing a two nighter this August. 1. I'm curious, how did you arrange transportation? Did you have a friend drop and pick you up. Or did you park at St. Mary's and hitch it to Cut Bank? I don't believe there's a shuttle for these two end points right. 2. Did you camp at Atlantic Creek Campground? If so, do you have any videos or images? Thanks for all that you're doing!
Kong Vang I did have a ride dropping me off. There is a shuttle from St. Mary to the turnoff for the Cutbank Road, so you'd only need to walk that... but even then, you could probably hitch that as well. Atlantic Creek is what I call a "utility campsite". It's in the trees and nothing super special. The nice thing is that it gives you a nice place to do an evening or morning day hike to Medicine Grizzly Lake.
amazing vid and info...thankyou...subbed you!
Whoa! Does that triple divide enter into three different oceans as well?! I've been wondering if another existed!
Water treatment plant?! Ugh. People. Seriously.