hiking the Pitamakan Dawson loop in Glacier National Park
Pitamakan Dawson is the only real long loop hike in Glacier National Park. I did two hikes here: (1) the real loop hike, and (2) a hike up to Pitamakan Pass and down to Pitamakan Lake.
The loop hike goes through two mountain passes and the views are amazing. The first great view is when you start gaining elevation to reach Pitamakan Pass and have Oldman Lake to your left.
The Loop
The first hard part is the elevation gain starting at Oldman Lake and then reaching the first pass. It is very windy, be prepared, no joke.
Once you reach the pass you get views of the valley below and immediately you start another hike up to start getting on the way to Dawson Pass. Great views of the valley below.
You will hike with this view and lots of wind until you reach Dawson Pass.
On top of Dawson Pass you start getting views of Two Medicine Lake.
Once at lake level the hike can be shortened by getting on the boat ride that traverses the lake. It is about 3-4 miles extra without the boat ride.
Pitamakan Lake
The day I hiked to Pitamakan Pass and then down to the lake was quite eventful. I started running into backpackers coming from the opposite direction and all of them were telling me that it was incredibly windy at the top. I started noticing it once I was getting in elevation at Oldman Lake. I then ran into a couple of girls and talked a bit: the day before they were at the top and people were getting blown off to the ground by the wind. It was so bad that the rangers closed the pass !!! Backpackers had to find refuge at Oldman Lake.
Well, once I got to the pass the wind was powerful and I was being blown to the ground.
To the right, Pitamakan Lake. I decided to get all the way down (getting pushed to the ground by the wind) and it was rewarding.
I was going to try to get to the other pass, Cut Bank Pass, but I was going to have to hike on an icefield and the wind was so strong that I kept slipping. Too dangerous.
On the way back, I hiked to Oldman Lake and rested.