Day 7 - Glacier National Park

Our night in Golden was okay, although we felt a bit uneasy at first. When we arrived, there was hardly a soul on the site, the air was smoky and stuffy, and everything looked a little deserted. Luckily, this changed as more campers gradually started to arrive. 

We began the day as the last one ended... with a thunderstorm and rain. Good for the landscape and hopefully helpful in containing the not-so-far-off wildfire. After a brief discussion about what we wanted to do, we set off in the direction of Revelstoke. 

The decision was made to stop at Glacier National Park and the Great Glacier Trail at Illecillewaet Glacier. According to the internet, one of the TOP hiking trails there - 9 km long and 423 meters of elevation to cover. 

The trail led us through a dense forest, again with warning signs indicating that bears, elk, and similar wildlife were present in the area. We passed an information stand where visitors were supposed to record sightings on a board. The last bear sighting was yesterday... So we 'armed' ourselves with our bear spray and bear bell, we were prepared. But everything remained quiet. 

Regarding the hike:

One of the most beautiful ones we have done in Canada so far! 

Along the dense forest by the Illecillewaet River with roaring water until it went up a rocky path to the mountain ridge with a view of the waterfalls created by the melting caps of the glacier. Wonderfully beautiful! 

Upon reaching the top, we sat down for our little picnic on the rocks with a breathtaking view. Slowly, the mountain ridge filled with more hikers. As luck would have it, we met a lot of Germans there: a couple from Lampertheim, a family from Bonn, and a family from Berlin. We had hardly met any Germans during our entire vacation so far. 

On the way back to the car, we were surprised by another thunderstorm with heavy rain, but luckily we had our 'little house' parked, and we could change immediately. It's incredible how quickly the weather can turn here. 

The thunderstorm followed us to our next camp in Revelstoke. 

But for us, after the first 7 days, laundry was on the agenda...