Published on: 09/15/2025
Description
The Gunsight Pass Trail and Sperry Glacier basin had long been on my to-do list of hikes so when a surprise opportunity to stay at Sperry arose, my wife and I found a dog-sitter for a few days and headed to Jackson Glacier Overlook one recent morning to start the trek.
The Gunsight Pass Trail winds past Deadwood and Florence falls for a few brushy miles until you find yourself crossing a suspension bridge over the outlet of turquoise-colored Gunsight Lake, staring up at the outline of the trail as it zigzags its way up the massive flank of Mount Jackson toward Gunsight Pass.
On the other side of the pass, you abruptly switchback down to Lake Ellen Wilson and skirt to its side before another long but beautiful slog upwards to Lincoln Pass followed by a short descent down to Sperry Chalet.
The next morning we were fortunate to watch a pack string of mules and two horses delivering goods to the chalet. We rested and I iced. The tendinitis in my knee that I developed this summer made almost every step of the 13.7 miles and 3,000-plus feet of elevation gain the day prior feel like a barrage of stabbing hot needles.
The following day brought some relief. I might've considered hopping up to Sperry Glacier on my left leg if it hadn’t. Mountain goats and their bleating kids wandered around Feather Woman and Akaiyan lakes, far outnumbering the human hikers I saw that day. I climbed the stairs up Comeau Pass and weaved my way through the gullies out to the glacier. The whole experience was sublime and otherworldly.
The next day we hiked the 6 miles and change down to Lake McDonald Lodge with the intention of catching a park shuttle back to our vehicle at Jackson Glacier Overlook. In a hilarious-in-hindsight twist, the park had stopped running shuttles the day before on Sept. 1, so our options were to essentially buy tickets for a red bus tour, hitchhike or call a cab company in St. Mary.
We walked back up to the Sperry trailhead and the Going-to-the-Sun Road, slapped smiles on our faces and stuck out our thumbs. Thirty seconds later, the third car that passed us stopped and my new friend Bob Chinn of Coram offered to drop us off anywhere along the road we needed.
Thanks again, Bob!
Mountain goats walk along the Sperry Glacier Trail above Akaiyan Lake in Glacier National Park on Monday, Sept. 1. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
A hiker crosses the suspension bridge on the Gunsight Pass Trail over Gunsight Lake and the Saint Mary River in Glacier National Park on Saturday, Aug. 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Packers unload containers of linens from two mules in a pack string at Sperry Chalet in Glacier National Park on Sunday, Aug. 31. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Mountain goats walk along the Sperry Glacier Trail above Feather Woman Lake in Glacier National Park on Monday, Sept. 1. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Sperry Glacier at the end of the Sperry Glacier Trail in Glacier National Park on Monday, Sept. 1. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
A mountain goat stands on the Gunsight Pass Trail above Gunsight Lake in Glacier National Park on Saturday, Aug. 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
A rider on horseback leads a pack string of mules away from Sperry Chalet on the Gunsight Pass Trail in Glacier National Park on Sunday, Aug. 31. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
The Gunsight Pass shelter on the Gunsight Pass Trail in Glacier National Park on Saturday, Aug. 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
A mountain goat kid near Gunsight Pass in Glacier National Park on Saturday, Aug. 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
A hiker looks out across Mirror Pond with Mount Jackson and Fusillade Mountain in the background along the Gunsight Pass Trail in Glacier National Park on Saturday, Aug. 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Striations in rock leading to Little Matterhorn in the Sperry Glacier Basin in Glacier National Park on Monday, Sept. 1. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Glacial tarns below Sperry Glacier in Glacier National Park on Monday, Aug. 1. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Gunsight Lake from the Gunsight Pass Trail in Glacier National Park on Saturday, Aug. 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
A mountain goat in front of Sperry Chalet in Glacier National Park on Monday, Sept. 1. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Panoramic view of the Sperry Glacier Basin in Glacier National Park on Monday, Sept. 1. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Lake Ellen Wilson from Gunsight Pass in Glacier National Park on Saturday, Aug. 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider 
Sperry Chalet in Glacier National Park on Sunday, Aug. 31. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Akaiyan Lake and Feather Woman Lake below Gunsight Mountain on the Sperry Glacier Trail in Glacier National Park on Monday, Sept. 1. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
A mountain goat in front of Sperry Chalet in Glacier National Park on Monday, Sept. 1. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Mirror Pond and Mount Jackson from the Gunsight Pass Trail in Glacier National Park on Saturday, Aug. 30. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
A mountain goat explores around Sperry Chalet in Glacier National Park on Monday, Sept. 1. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
News Source : https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2025/sep/14/gunsight-pass-trail-and-sperry-glacier-basin/
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