The one must do hike in Glacier National Park

I loved the incredible views looking down at Grinnell Glacier; it was definitely worth the steep hike up the mountain!

The big horn sheep were right on the trail!; it was so cool to see them up close as they seemed more curious than threatened by us

I loved the scenery all day on the hike and can see why it's the top rated hike in Glacier and incredibly popular; the hike starts at Logan Pass which is on the Continental Divide

In the wild Rocky Mountain goats can live 12-15 years; despite its name, these goats don't belong to the genus that includes all other goats

Grinnell Glacier is the largest and most accessible glacier in the park; this is the narrowest point (35 miles) in the Rocky Mountain range

The red-tailed chipmunk is found at altitudes between 2,360 and 7,870 ft in coniferous forests and was a common sight in the park; they live primarily on the ground but we saw some climbing trees

Lewis and Clark came within 50 miles of the park in 1805; it would be another 45 years before a series of expeditions led to what is now known as Glacier National Park

Between 1910 and 1913, the Great Northern Railway built 9 chalets; visitors would travel by horseback from one chalet to another to see the park, which took several weeks to accomplish

The Highline Trail follows the Continental Divide for most of its route; I took much more PowerAde than I ended up needing but better safe than sorry

This mule deer had to be wondering if we knew what we were getting ourselves into; he was the only deer we saw all day

Lee is turning the corner on a section of the trail called The Wall which is 6-8 ft wide and cut into the cliff; there is a hose available for those wanting a handrail along the section

Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep almost went extinct in the early 1900s; males can exceed 500 lbs and females 200 lbs with mountain lions being their main predator

The trails we took were all easy to follow; I was surprised at the number of people wearing masks while hiking (maybe half)

The views of the Flathead River illustrate the U-shaped valleys indicative of past glacial activity; from Triple Divide Peak, water can flow into the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans

View of 10 mile long Lake McDonald which is the largest lake in the park; it is home to numerous native species of trout but the lake is nutrient-poor and is not considered a prime fishing destination

The Highline Trail is the top rated hike in Glacier and required us to leave our hotel at 5am in order to get a parking spot; still plenty of snow on the trail from 2 days ago

These mountain goats were below us then showed us their climbing ability as they traveled up and over the trail; the juvenile had trouble in places but stayed with the adults

The parking area for the Highline Trail tends to fill up before 7am so late arrivals are forced to park a long way from the trailhead making the hike that much longer

In 1850, Grinnell Glacier measured 710 acres but now is less than 200 acres; most of the glacier lies about 7000 ft. above sea level