Planning Ahead, Best Flower Season @ Glacier?

Hi,

I'm planning my 2008 calendar and I'm trying to leave open a week in the summer for a trip to Glacier NP for some "flower & mtn." and waterfall photos.

Could someone please advise a general Month and Week time-frame that they would choose for the best chance at a good window for the flower season? I realize it depends on the weather and other factors, but an educated guess by someone here based on prior experience would sure beat an uneducated no-experience guess by me! (Nothing I'd hold anyone to in case weather or flowers don't co-operate).

Also, since I understand that the flower season varies according to elevation and distance in the backcountry, for us max. hiking distances will probably be 2mi or so each way, so we'll probably be shooting in the areas that are somewhat near the roads, if possible.

I'd appreciate any advice on the "best time" to be there and perhaps some "must do" areas to go for good "flower & mtn" and waterfall shots this summer within that suggested time frame.

Many thanks in advance,

C.A. Fields

http://cafields.com

CA, welcome to the site. I've posted miles of help on glacier park both on this board and on photo.net. You can search photo.net.

check this site for more info, some may have been lost in a crash many months ago.

Anyhow.

there is no best time, there is no optimum time there only are trade offs. You have to decide what you want to shoot and go for that but be willing to completely change plans.

for a ballpark, plan for the first week august, but never before July 4th. Keep in mind that three are lots of photo tours and other's doing what you propose. You will find 10-50 people at Wild Goose Island every morning the first week of august. The days are VERY long so yours will start at 3-4am if you want to get optimum light.

Keep in mind that the east side is the best in the am, with the west side the best in the pm.

do some more reading as I suggest and then get back to me with more specific questions.

Right now it's 20 degrees, light snow, couple feet on the ground, and th forecast is for 8-10 inches by saterday night! Glacier Park is the center of the universe!

Thanks, Tony for the info as this will help in my planning. I'll be blocking out the 1st week of August on my calendar and I'll try to leave a week on both sides flexible for changes just in case, if possible.

By the time August comes around my goal is to have a fairly good idea as to where to go and when. I'm a firm believer in researching an area on the web prior to going there as I've found that a tremendous amount of wasted "thrashing around" time can be avoided. I'll check out photo.net for some prior posts.

We visited Arches and Canyonlands for a week last year and through similar research I had assembled a printout of all the "must do" sites and many "lesser known" sites complete with optimum times and sun exposure data for photo ops. This really made the trip for us as we knew exactly where to go at a particular time of day for the best light.

Thanks again, and we're looking forward to traveling to the "Center of the Universe"!

C.A.Fields

http://cafields.com

I looked at your site, you've got some nice stuff. Where are you from?

Also, if you want waterfalls, you wont get the stuff youre after in august, you need to bee here in june and july for that. There are some opportunities but the water goes fast now a days. . .

Thanks for your comments on my site. I'm in the process of completely overhauling it with larger versions of the photos and less prominent watermarks, in addition to some other improvements. I also have a year's worth of photos to add from 2007.

I'm in Kennewick, WA where the Columbia and Snake Rivers meet.

Thanks for the tips on the waterfalls, that's very helpful.

C.A. Fields

http://cafields.com

I was raised in walla walla. . . .

Tony,

Greetings from Washington State!

I've been enjoying your blog and your photos, very well done!

We are tentatively leaving for Glacier NP on Sunday July 27th and are planning on being in the area for a good part of the week.

I noticed on your blog that you wrote "The clouds moved in and so did the smoke which helped to degrade the mountains".

Are there fires burning in the area now?

Also, with regard to wildflowers, would you estimate that the week mentioned above could be successful for photos, or would you wait another week or two (if flexibility allows)?

Any suggestions or other information would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.