Re: Crypt Lake, Waterton-Glacier Park

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(Transferred from Yellowstone Park Old Faithful Trespass Thread)

........ I am always somewhere between delighted/amazed and aghast at how accessible most US attractions are. In Europe and other places I have been, many of the attractions are as they were 1000 years ago; wheelchair access be damned! Mountain ledges are as dangerous as they really ARE, with no fancy railings et al (occasionally, there are cables that you can hook up to if the ledges are, say, less than a foot wide..ha ha.)

Perhaps this is a more European style day trip not too far away (put this on your list of hikes to do if you get to visit Glacier-Waterton):


http://www.watertonpark.com/activities/h_crypt.htm

Hiking at Waterton Lakes National Park

Elevation Gain: 700 m / 2297'
Crypt Lake
Distance: 17.2 km / 10.7 mi (return)
Time: 6 - 8 hours (plan a full day)
An awe-inspiring full day hike involving a boat taxi across Waterton Lake, and a gradual climb of over 2300 feet.
Experience a 600 foot cascading waterfall, natural tunnel and cliff traverse. (cut)
A short ways away from the Lake, you will be treated to a tunnel you will have to crawl through. Nearly 100 feet long,
this natural tunnel was carved out of the rock by erosion.



After the tunnel, you'll climb over and around a ledge. On one side is a sheer rock face, going up, on the other side is another sheer rock face, going down!
A steel cable is bolted into the rock face for you to hold on to.



A short walk later, and you will be treated to a gorgeous view of a pristine alpine lake.

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

This was voted "Canada's Best Hike" in a poll taken in 1981. It requires traversing a narrow ledge, then crawling through a 50-foot natural tunnel (which has been enlarged by humans) and then negotiating a short section of cliff with the help of cables. So that part of it is not for the faint-of-heart. But it leads to a Shangri-La which sits right on the U.S.-Canada border. The lake itself is in Canada, but the wall behind it is in Montana.

Crypt Lake:



Shots of the hike: Crypt Lake hike

Youtube: Crypt Lake hike and related videos

Cool... Makes me really want to go back to Glacier...! Eh?

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bill-e-g
Cool... Makes me really want to go back to Glacier...! Eh?

You betcha!

Don't forget your passport.

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RobE
Don't forget your passport.

Customs and Border Protection is now putting out these odd commercials advising people that they need different documents now, including passports or trusted traveler cards. They're kind of odd commercials which show a group at a ski lodge in Canada as well as on a golf course in Mexico. The people holding the proper ID are framed with large versions of these cards surrounding them. They've also got the new Passport Card.



http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3926.html

I can't find links to the ads I've seen, but this one seems a little less lighthearted ( it's 9.3 MB ) :

http://nemo.cbp.gov/opa/AmerBeautiful_English.avi

I haven't been to the Waterton-Glacier park, but my understanding is that they have tight restrictions, such that you must have a passport.

This is the only place within US borders where this is required. It is both American and Canadian territory.

The passport card looks like the National ID Card that congress has been resisting.

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RobE
I haven't been to the Waterton-Glacier park, but my understanding is that they have tight restrictions, such that you must have a passport.

This is the only place within US borders where this is required. It is both American and Canadian territory.

The passport card looks like the National ID Card that congress has been resisting.

One is not required to carry it. It's just a limited use passport (not for international air travel).

All I could find out about Waterton-Glacier was that only US or Canadian citizens and permanent residents could cross Goat Haunt. It sounds like the only restriction is for any actual border crossing.

http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/trailstatusreports.htm

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Entry and Exit Information for Goat Haunt
The northern access to Glacier’s backcountry from Canada is through Goat Haunt, a Class B Port of Entry into the United States at the southern end of Waterton Lake. As such, only U.S. and Canadian Legal Residents may enter and exit through Goat Haunt. Foreign Nationals may not enter the U.S. through Goat Haunt. All hikers entering the U.S. through this part of Glacier must check in with the Port of Entry staff at the Goat Haunt Ranger Station. Goat Haunt Port of Entry is open from 0900 to 1730 hours each day. All individuals arriving at Goat Haunt and applying for admission to the United States must possess proof of US or Canadian citizenship. United States Resident Aliens must be in possession of their Resident Alien Card. Passports, naturalization certificates or birth certificates are acceptable proof of citizenship but must be presented with a government issued photo ID card. Any person arriving at Goat Haunt, either by foot or by boat, who does not have proper proof of citizenship will immediately be sent back to Canada by the Immigration/Park Rangers.

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RobE
I haven't been to the Waterton-Glacier park, but my understanding is that they have tight restrictions, such that you must have a passport.

This is the only place within US borders where this is required. It is both American and Canadian territory.

The passport card looks like the National ID Card that congress has been resisting.

If the implication in this thread is that there is a restricting on travel to Glacier, that is not correct. There are no special documents required to enter Glacier from USA. One can get to Waterton by car or by hiking. There are no different regulations to get to Waterton by car than to any other Canadian city. If you want to return to USA via Goat Haunt, apparently the above regulations apply. Returning to USA from Canada via road Ports of Entry would be easier with documents like a passport. Need to check the exact regulations on that.

The biggest concerns of Canadians used to be whether you were carrying guns or firewood.

As a bit of history: For a year or two after 911, passage across the border at Goat Haunt, even to walk around the limited area accessible for day use into the USA was restricted to American citizens. The Canadian Customs allowed Americans to enter from the south, but the Americans would not allow entry the other direction to Canadians or any other nationals. There is not much to see at Goat Haunt and hikers could have been searched, but the American custums were emphatic and it was a rather rude an unnecessary restriction that limited non-american boat travellers to a small area around the dock. For the "International Peace Park", it was not a friendly thing to do. Reflection of the xenophobic paranoia that infected the country after 911. Good to see that things have changed somewhat.

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

June 1st deadline (extension of 2007 air requirement to land/sea travel)

travel document requirements to return by land or sea to the US:

http://www.cbp.gov/

http://www.getyouhome.gov/html/lang_eng/index.html

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan