Pitamakan Pass

Starting from the Two Medicine trailhead, you'll follow the south shore of Two Medicine Lake before the trail turns serious and begins its relentless climb toward the Continental Divide. The first couple miles lull you into a false sense of comfort — flat lakeshore walking through lodgepole pine — before the switchbacks start stacking up with nearly half a mile of vertical gain. The trail cuts through alpine meadows that explode with beargrass and Indian paintbrush in midsummer, then transitions to exposed rocky terrain where the wind has real opinions about your hat. At the pass itself, you're standing on the spine of the continent with views that stretch across the Two Medicine valley in one direction and the headwaters of the Middle Fork in the other. Most hikers combine this with Dawson Pass for the full loop — arguably the best day hike in Glacier that doesn't require a lottery. Strong hikers with a taste for big alpine days will be in their element here.