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By Root 3250 0

to stand back and let someone else make all the arrangements, leaving themselves free to concentrate on the hiking experience. If this seems like your kind of trip, then you may wish to consider the services of the exclusive backpacking guide service in Glacier National Park, Glacier Wilderness Guides, P.O. Box 330, West Glacier, MT 59936 (☎ 800/521-RAFT for reservations, or 406/387-5555; www.glacier guides.com). For a price, the company will put together any kind of trip; it has several regularly scheduled throughout the season, from the end of June through the beginning of September. These include a 3-day "taste" of the park for about $350 per person, and an entire week in the wilderness for about $700 per person. Add $15 per day if you want the company to provide a backpack, tent, sleeping bag, and pad. Custom trips run $140 a day per person, with a four-person minimum. Glacier Wilderness Guides will even organize a trip that lets you spend the day hiking and the night cuddled in a comfy inn inside the park or in the Granite Park Chalet (see "Camping," below).

The main office is 1½ miles west of West Glacier on U.S. 2. (A second office is in West Glacier itself, behind the Glacier Highland Motel, across from the Amtrak depot.) For information and reservations, contact the company.

KINTLA LAKE AREA

Kintla Lake to Upper Kintla Lake

12 miles one-way. Moderate. Access: Kintla Lake Campground.

Skirting the north shore of Kintla Lake above Polebridge for about 7 miles, before climbing a couple of hundred feet, this stretch of the Boulder Pass hike is a breeze. However, once you hit Kintla Creek, you may want to reconsider going farther. With 12 miles under your belt at this point, climbing 3,000 feet may not seem like a great idea. The trail, once it breaks into the clear, offers views of several peaks, including Kinnerly Peak to the south of Upper Kintla Lake.

POLEBRIDGE AREA

Bowman Lake

7.1 miles one-way. Moderate. Access: Bowman Lake Campground; follow Glacier Rte. 7 to Bowman Lake Rd., just north of Polebridge, then follow signs to Bowman Lake Campground.

This trail (14 miles to Brown Pass) is similar to the Kintla Lake hike in difficulty, and, like the Kintla Lake Trail, passes the lake on the north. After a hike through rolling hills sheathed in foliage, the trail climbs out of reach for anyone not in top shape, ascending 2,000 feet in less than 3 miles to join the Kintla Lake Trail at Brown Pass. A left turn takes you back to Kintla Lake (23 miles), and a right takes you to Goat Haunt at the foot of Waterton Lake (9 miles).

Quartz Lake

12 miles RT. Moderate. Access: Bowman Lake Picnic Area; cross the bridge over Bowman Creek and you're on your way.

The loop runs up and over an 1,800-foot ridge and down to the south end of Lower Quartz Lake. From there it's a level 3-mile hike to the west end of Quartz Lake, then 6 miles back over the ridge farther north (and higher up) before dropping back to Bowman Lake. An interesting aspect of this trail is evidence of the Red Bench Fire of 1988, which took a chunk out of the North Fork area.

LOGAN PASS AREA

Highline Trail

11.9 miles one-way (including The Loop). Moderate. Access: Granite Park Chalet.

This relatively easy hike gains a mere 200 feet in elevation over 7.6 miles. It begins at the Logan Pass Visitor Center and skirts the Garden Wall at heights of over 6,000 feet to Granite Park Chalet. Give yourself plenty of time for the return hike to Logan Pass. Or, rather than retracing your steps, continue from the chalet to The Loop, the aptly named section of Going-to-the-Sun Road. The trail actually terminates here (an additional 3.5 miles), although you'll need to plan for a shuttle back to your car. (It's also possible to continue all the way to Upper Waterton Lake, but if you do, you should allow 3 days for the trip.)

TWO MEDICINE AREA

Pitamakan Pass Trail

6.9 miles one-way. Moderate. Access: Two Medicine Campground.

This trail presents several options: You can take one or two