What to Expect Glacier 2023 – Current Update

It is hard to believe I am only four weeks out from starting the Red Bus 2023 summer season at Glacier Park.  But I got some updates on what to expect.

No more 14 hours days.  The Eastern double-Alpine tour was brutal.  From Many Glacier to Logan Pass TWICE on the same day.  A total of 200 driving miles.  On a horrible stretch of road. By the time I washed, fueled, and put the bus to bed, I was never able to do it in under 14 hours.  And once I had two of them in back-to-back days.

As promised, that trip has been changed.  No more Many Glacier pick-ups.  Instead, the tours will start from St. Mary, right at the entrance to the park. Most likely a 9-hour day.  What’s better than saving 5 hours on the clock?  The fact I have shown in prior posts is that people tip the same whether they start at MGH or SML.

Fully staffed on the East Side.  Last summer we had all of the work and tours spread over 10 drivers.  This year we are at capacity with 15 drivers.  No more six/seven day weeks with random days off.  Wow.  To be able to schedule a hike!  Maybe even with people!

More people!  Last summer we weren’t able to sell the front seat next to the driver.  I loved that.  I had a place to put my driving stuff AND there was no one to block my passenger mirror.  Well, Hmmmmm.  Sorry to all those tourists out there, but on my bus, this will NOT be a seat you can tip your way into. 

It’s going to be about … well … body type.  The passenger seat is fixed and doesn’t slide back.  So if I can’t see my mirror, you are getting stacked like firewood with all of the other tubbies in the back.

Tours didn’t go on sale until late February, which is late.  BUT…. They are already 99% sold out for July and August!   Better yet, you might recall how much I said I loved those private multi-Red Bus tours ($$$$$).  Well, the current pre-sale is ABOVE pre-pandemic numbers.  AND the East Side gets the lion’s share of them.  So I am looking forward to a very fun summer and some very real $$$$ without doing 60-hour weeks.  Win/win/win.

Hiking!  The last couple of summers the park has been plagued with lots and lot of overdue and deferred road construction.   And it is not done yet.  There will still be night closures between Apgar and Lake McDonald this summer.  Which is AWESOME, if you hike from the East side.  This means I won’t have to be up at 3 am to try and get a parking spot at Logan Pass!

Although I’m getting my training out of the way in May, I won’t start touring until I finish the school year in early June.  But it is starting to get real.  Time to start sorting gear and packing tubs for the summer now.   It will come and go before I know it.