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W
E DRIVE THROUGH THE SHUTTERED AND UN-
MANNED ENTRANCE TO GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
EARLY IN THE MORNING, discovering Apgar Village
shrouded in a windless snowfall. Chubby flakes seem to be in
slow motion, falling silently to the snow-covered road, which
seems borderless, stretching before us like a clean slate. The
park appears to be slumbering after a season filled with people,
filled with motion, and the excited, often-noisy anticipation of
exploration. Now the park is nearly silent and empty, as if the
clock has been turned back to an earlier time, following its origi-
nal purpose—to remain wild and wonderful.
Winter is a most elegant time in Glacier Park with a landscape
that appears donned with feathers, furs and jewels. On a sunny
day evergreen trees appear to be cloaked in white sequins and
frost forms a delicate lace on bony branches. An old log draped
over McDonald Creek is adorned with sparkling ice baubles
and a mosaic of colorful stones glistens beneath the water's
surface. Skies are so blue they look freshly painted, contrasting
the jagged line of snow-capped mountains that sit like a head-
board over Lake McDonald. Later in winter you might discover
a frozen Lake McDonald covered with hoarfrost blossoms on
darkly-colored ice.
Wildlife tracks leave hints to which animals are active, where
they are going and where they have been. Bears are normally
hibernating along with squirrels and marmots, but they might
awaken for short periods of time in the winter. Many of the birds
have migrated to a warmer place, but birds such as the black-
capped chickadee and woodpecker can be detected in a veil of
snow as they flit from tree to tree in search of insects and seeds.
