Trail: Marion Lake Trail #150
Location: Great Bear Wilderness Area, Flatthead National Forrest, Montana (near Glacier National Park)
Distance: 7 miles round trip
We experimented with taking the Amtrak, Empire Builder Train from Fargo ND to Essex MT in order to explore hiking options in Glacier National Park and the Great Bear Wilderness Area. The good news is that it is entirely possible to use the train service to deposit one’s self on the doorstep of the wilderness. The train was about an 18 hour trip that left at 3:30am and had us arrive at 7:30pm. Our reservations at the Issak Walton Inn included a van pick up at the train stop. I would suggest to anyone to stay at the Inn for at least a night to get clean and rested and ready to hit the trail in the morning.
With the kids (5, 8, and 10) in tow we set out for the Lake Marion Trail #150 from the Inn for a day hike to take the kids into a wilderness area for the first time. Take the bridge over the railroad tracks, follow the fire road left, and you will find the trailhead a ways up (roughly a half mile-mile) on the right. You immediately begin to ascend and spend most of the time to the lake marching upwards.
The trail has you wading through huckleberry bushes, and raspberries and blueberries along with the pine forest all around. The total elevation gain is about 2,000 feet which leads to ever increasing mountain views peek-a-booing through the trees. Since it is a heavily berried path, it is advised to carry bear-spray. We had ours but saw surprisingly little evidence of recent bear activity. From doorstop to lake the hike was right about 3.5 miles. The stream runs along your left for the majority of the way and you can hear it, but since you are climbing the side of the mountain don’t expect to be able to fill your water bottle until you are nearly at the lake. The overgrown nature of the trail left us with fairly damp clothes that picked up the rainwater gathered on the bush leaves.
Once there, the lake is perfect for a day of picnicking and fly fishing. The water was shallow and still, only broken by the little fingerling trout fly feasting. We saw leeches swimming along the shallows from the shore so I don’t know if I would do much swimming myself. The calm grandeur of the mountainsides sweeping down and the lakes surface reflecting the billowy clouds, blue sky and mountains green makes it a worthy prize after a long uphill hike. With the kids we landed there late in the day and had to start back too quickly, in the future I would definitely bring the tents and fly rod and spend a night or two just soaking it in.
With the downhill nature of the return hike, we were back snug in our warm beds much quicker than the time it took to venture in. Gear must-haves would be lays of clothes and enough rain gear to weather an unexpected shower as the mountains hide gray clouds that sweep in quickly. An excellent first venture for the kids into a wilderness area.
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