Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Concessioner Selected to Provide Backcountry Lodging in Glacier National Park

The National Park Service has selected Belton Chalets, Inc. to provide backcountry lodging, food and beverage, and other services at Glacier National Park under concession contract CC-GLAC004-26. The new contract will begin on Jan. 1, 2026, and has a term of 10 years.

Belton Chalets, Inc. previously served as the concessioner under a contract that was effective Jan. 1, 2015 to Dec. 31, 2025. The public is not expected to experience any interruptions in services.

“Belton Chalets, Inc. has provided park visitors with exceptional and unique services at Granite Park and Sperry chalets for years. We know that their passion for the chalets and their experience will serve the public and the park well,” said Dave Roemer, superintendent of Glacier National Park.

Solicitation of concession business opportunities within NPS sites and the selection of best proposals are routine processes for the NPS, dictated by the 1998 Concessions Management Improvement Act. By law, all contracts are issued through a fully open and competitive process, awarding contracts to those with the best proposal. Additional information about the law, regulation, and policy governing the National Park Service’s Commercial Services Program can be found online at the NPS Concessions webpage.

Concessioners fill a vital role in helping the NPS carry out its mission by operating publicly owned facilities and offering high-quality, commercial visitor services at reasonable rates. Glacier National Park has six concession contracts that provide a variety of visitor services in the park.



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Glacier National Park preserves more than a million acres of some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth. With more than 740 miles of trails meandering throughout this vast park, how will you find and choose the most scenic and rewarding hikes?

Exploring Glacier National Park takes all the guesswork out by focusing on the most amazing hikes, and provides you with handpicked recommendations that will allow you to make the most of your trip to Glacier:


Sunday, January 4, 2026

Update: Three hikers found dead on Mount Baldy in California

Because of the strange circumstances surrounding the deaths of three hikers on Mount Baldy in Southern California last week, I thought it was important to provide an update. Yesterday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department provided this bit of information on their website:
On Friday, January 2, 2026, the Sheriff’s Coroner Division positively identified Juan Sarat Lopez and Bayron Pedro Ramos Garcia, two Guatemalan Nationals residing in Los Angeles, were among the three deceased males located at Mt. Baldy. Investigators believe Lopez and Ramos Garcia fell from the Devil’s Backbone Trail the same day they were found.

Additional updates will be provided as they become available.
Also, ABC7 out of LA added this piece of information:
Authorities said Lopez and Garcia were not hiking with Casanova at the time of the incident, but they believe they fell from the same Devil's Backbone trail.




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Saturday, January 3, 2026

Can Pole Walking Help With Weight Loss?

It's a new year, and if past is prologue, then we can probably assume that many of us are trying to figure out how we're going to lose all that weight we gained over the holidays. The solution might already be in our closets. Did you know that Nordic walking, or walking with poles, can burn as much as 20% more calories during the same amount of time that you normally spend walking or hiking? Honestly, this came as a bit of a revelation to me recently, but it makes complete sense. Using trekking poles while walking also gives your upper body a workout. Apparently, scientific research has confirmed this:



For more information, you can click here, here and here.



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