We hiked trails to ice-covered lakes, frothy waterfalls and viewpoints with eye-popping vistas of rivers, lakes and glacier-carved valleys. We rafted the seemingly benign Middle Fork of the Flathead River where—surprise—two paddlers on one raft took an impromptu swim.

But during our six-day, five-night Great Glacier Adventure we also traveled stylishly and graciously in Red Jammer buses, the roof uncovered as we motored along the snow-lined "Going to the Sun Highway." Nights were spent at four of Glacier’s classically rustic lodges, with dinners ranging from an outdoor cowboy barbecue to scrumptious gourmet feasts.

A little bit wild, a little bit mild.

My favorite hike was a snow-shortened walk to Grinnell Glacier. The trail passes along Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine before gradually and deceptively climbing nearly 1,600 feet. The rewards were many, including aerie-like views of Swiftcurrent, Josephine and, more spectacularly, Grinnell Lake, along with countless waterfalls that tumble off Mount Siyeh, Cataract Mountain and other surrounding peaks. We viewed a trio of glaciers—Salamander (so named because it looks like the creature), Grinnell and tiny Gem. The wildflower count increased with such additions as sword and maidenhair ferns, yellow violets, cinquefoil, desert parsley, bog orchid, elk and bull thistle, alpine daisy, blue clematis, Lyall’s and Alberta penstemon and yellow paintbrush.

A planned hike along the Highline Trail was cancelled because it remained covered by lingering snow. I made the 12-mile, mostly downhill walk decades ago with my then pre-teen daughters. We viewed so many bighorn sheep and mountain goats that we stopped counting, and made a pie and ice cream stop at the Granite Chalet. An old scrapbook has photos of my daughters sitting on rocks with preening bighorn sheep in the background.

Our final “adventure” day featured a two-hour paddle-raft trip down the John Steven’s Canyon of the Middle Fork of the Flathead, along the park‘s southern boundary. It’s an easy beginner’s float, although some of its rapids, with names like “Bone Crusher,” “Jaws” and “Pumphouse” revved the adrenalin for first-timers. The trip generated genuine excitement when a whirlpool sucked in two paddlers, Phil Foss and Cathy Mazella. Foss, who was wearing an operating video camera strapped on his arm, recorded it all: his sudden submersion—and the video gives the viewer a sense of being doused in a flushed toilet—and retrieval back onto the raft.

Although thoroughly soaked, Phil and Cathy, and several of us others who voluntarily jumped into a calmer stretch of the river for cooling swims, no one’s spirit was dampened. The night before the group split up, we celebrated with a farewell dinner at Russell’s Fireside Dining Room at the McDonald Lodge. (Recommendations include the tantalizing wild Alaskan sockeye salmon and, for those seeking comfort food, Indiana pot roast.) The wine and the beer—I literally salivate for Montana’s own Moose Drool—probably helped, too.

The day, like the trip, had been a little bit wild. But the kick-back finale made it comfortably mellow and mild.

If You Go

Information about Great Glacier Adventure tours is available from GPI (Glacier Park, Inc.) Tours, PO Box 2025, Columbia Falls, MT 59912, telephone 406-892-2525, [email protected] or www.glacierparkinc.com .

Several books offer insight into better appreciating Glacier National Park visits, including a wide variety of hiking books. Some are geared for day hikes or overnight backpacks.

For identifying wildflowers, trees and ferns, I nightly referred to “Wildflowers of Glacier National Park” by Shannon Fitzpartick Kimball and Peter Lesica, $19.95, Trillium Press.

To gain a rudimentary understanding of geology I used, “The Totally Out There Guide to Glacier National Park” by Donna Love and Joyce Mihran Turley, $15, Mountain Press Publishing Company.

For understanding the role passengers played at Glacier and other western parks, I read selections from “Trains of Discovery: Railroads and the Legacy of Our National Parks, Fifth Edition,” by Alfred Runte, $24.95, Rowan & Littlefield Publishing Group.

And, before leaving and after returning home, I appreciated the paintings and photographs of various artists in “The Call of the Mountains: The Artists of Glacier National Park,” by Larry Len Peterson, $32.95, Settlers West Galleries.