This loop is located in Glacier National Park and comprises approximately 17 miles of well-maintained trail and 19 miles of off-trail scrambling. It starts from the Triple Divide Cut Bank Trailhead and follows trail to Triple Divide Pass. From here, the off-trail portion of the route begins, first climbing Mt. James and then Triple Divide Peak, a smaller summit geographically notable for water draining off its flanks into the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Hudson Bay. From Triple Divide Peak, the route follows the Continental Divide south to Mount Morgan, tagging all the high points in between: Norris Mountain, Razoredge Mountain, McClintock Peak and Tinkham Mountain. After summiting Mount Morgan, the Pitamakin Pass/Continental Divide Scenic Trail is followed down past Atlantic Falls, where it joins up with the Triple Divide Trail and then back to the trailhead.
The majority of the off-trail portion of this route is class 2 and 3 scrambling. A few short sections of class 4 will be encountered en route, most notably the north face of McClintock. The named summit of Medicine Grizzly Peak was omitted from this adventure as it is customary to climb the mountain from Medicine Grizzly Lake and I did not have the time nor energy to ascertain whether it was possible to follow the ridgeline from the Continental Divide down to its summit. It looked to be class 4 at a minimum and likely class 5 in spots. The high point of the Medicine Grizzly ridgeline is located on the Continental Divide and is climbed, but it's not considered the true summit for some reason.
This route has all the ingredients of a classic backcountry Glacier adventure: beautiful scenery, interesting scrambling, ridge running, abundant wildlife, alpine lakes and solitude! I went car to car in a bit under 17 hours. I am not a particularly fast runner and I stopped often to take pictures and enjoy the views so this FKT should be fairly attainable for a fit endurance athlete looking to try hard. It is well worth the effort!
