CENTRAL BRITISH COLUMBIA - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 514

TIME ZONES
Glacier National Park falls within two time zones. If you pass through the park west-
bound, turn your watch back one hour to Pacific time. If you're eastbound, turn it
forward one hour to Mountain time.
HIKING
The park's 21 hiking trails cover 140 kilometers (87 miles) and range from short interpret-
ive walks to long, steep, difficult climbs. Aside from the interpretive trails, most gain a
lot of elevation, rewarding the energetic hiker with outstanding views. Along flat ground,
reasonably fit hikers can usually cover four kilometers in an hour, but on Glacier National
Park's steep trails, up to double that time should be allowed.
The two most popular interpretive trails are the Abandoned Rails Interpretive Trail
(one kilometer/0.6 mile; 20 minutes round-trip), which starts to the west of the information
center, and the Meeting of the Waters Trail (one kilometer/0.6 mile; 25 minutes round-
trip), which starts behind Illecillewaet Campground, four kilometers (2.5 miles) south of
the information center.
Of the trails beginning from the Illecillewaet Campground, the 4.8-kilometer (three-
mile) Great Glacier Trail has the least elevation gain. But hard-core hikers will get the
opportunity to scramble up rocky slopes to the toe of the Illecillewaet Glacier, 340 vertical
meters (1,110 feet) higher, on the Avalanche Crest Trail, which begins behind the Illecille-
waet Campground, climbing 800 vertical meters (2,620 feet) in 4.2 kilometers (2.5 miles).
As you face the campground's information board. The trail leads off to your left, climbing
steeply through a subalpine forest for the first three kilometers (1.9 miles), then leveling
out and providing stunning views below to Rogers Pass and south to the Illecillewaet and
Asulkan Glaciers. While elevation gain on the Asulkan Valley Trail is similar to that of
others in the steep-sided Illecillewaet River Valley, it is gained over a longer distance (6.5
kilometers/4 miles), meaning a less-strenuous outing. Nevertheless, a full day should be
allowed round-trip. The trail follows Asulkan Brook through a valley of dense subalpine
forest. Whereas other trails lead to panoramic overlooks, the highlight of this trail's final
destination is a view of the immense ice field rising high above you.
From the park information center, the five-kilometer (3.1-mile) Balu Pass Trail climbs
a gut-wrenching 1,020 vertical meters (3,350 feet) between Mount Cheops to the south and
a ridge of 2,700-meter (8,860-foot) peaks to the north. As elevation is gained, the valley