Got Four hoof Drive? You’ll need it for Divide Mtn!

Original date: 8/1/25

Yeah, it hurts. You’re talking barely a mile off-trail travel, but an unrelenting 1500′ in gain over boulder-hopping terrain. Any way you look at it, that’s called straight up.

The rise and run for Divide Mountain is phenomenally horrible, as the math proves out. You have to put your head down and channel all the anger you can muster in making those legs take the next step. At least the Delica didn’t have any problems getting me within striking distance.

This is known as the favorite peak of J Gordon Edwards, well known to all climbers in the Park as the author of the Climber’s Guide and pretty much the GNP GOAT (in a couple of ways). He even died while climbing it one last time (literally as it turned out) in 2004 at the age of 84.

Edwards must have had some great knees to be humping up this hill at that age. But I can see why out of the 250+ named peaks in the park, he was particularly fond of this one. Because, like me, he really loved the east side of Glacier.

The St Mary Valley stretches far below, and the perspective of St Mary Lake from this vantage point is truly unique.

As I look down, I survey some of my favorite and most beloved peaks in the Park. Many of which I’ve been literally climbing for the last several decades. They hold endless stories and memories.

The Red Eagle Fire of 2006 really gutted the valleys and slopes of once vibrant forests. That was a big burn. Over 34,000 acres, a large portion of which crossed the Park’s imaginary boundary and spread to the Blackfeet Reservation.

These mountains create an exposed and rugged face of the Park. They butt up directly to the northern Great Plains, which are flat for well over 1,000 miles until they suddenly crash into this wall of 10,000 peaks. Specifically known as the Lewis Overthrust.

The summit and its surroundings are open and barren, with a raw kind of beauty you don’t find elsewhere in Glacier. Especially the west side, which receives the lion’s share of precipitation from the coastal storms that are driven from the west.

Although visible from the Going-to-the-Sun Road, not many drivers give commentary on this mountain. But I like to throw it some love when the moment fits my narrative. There is so much history on this side of the continental divide.

The Blackfeet were dependent on the buffalo. It provided food, clothing, and shelter. As such, they mastered these Northern Plains and would travel great distances to hunt. Commonly wintering out on the flatlands, as the mountains were too unforgiving in winter.

But in the summer, the tribes congregate in and around Glacier Park’s valleys and lakes. There was much foraging and trapping to be had in such rich flora and fauna. Lodges were often erected at the same locations year after year, for well over a millennium.

The Blackfeet had a peace with the land, a balance that only a nomadic existence can cultivate and sustain. Never overuse resources, ensuring they remain plentiful for the next cycle of life and generations to come.

I have some seasons when I don’t make it up to Divide. Which is a shame. It’s relatively close to where I’ll be staying for the summer, and it’s not a full-day commitment. Some employees run up the hill several times throughout the season.

My running days are long gone (if I really ever had any). But I can plod along with the best of them. It’s hard to build the inertia of making that first step, then climbing straight up a pile of giant marbles. But most first steps for anything worthwhile are like that.

Divide Mtn is always an enjoyable couple of hours. So I’m going to keep it in the playbook, try to remember the joy of the summit, and forget the pain of the up and down.

GoatBoy out!

And Patrick sucks. Although I will begrudgingly give him kudos for doing the 21k Divide Mtn run, which included this summit as part of the course. Along with Cow Dodging, which was the name of my high school band.