Maps: Mount Grant USGS Quad, Flathead National Forest Map, and Bob Marshall, Great Bear, and Scapegoat Wilderness Complex Map.

Finding the trailhead: From Columbia Falls, drive east on U.S. Highway 2 through Hungry Horse. Turn right 0.9 mile past Hungry Horse, heading south on East Side Hungry Horse Reservoir Road. Drive south through Martin City until 8.7 miles past the Emery Bay turnoff, then turn left, heading east on Forest Road 1048 for 0.5 mile to a parking area before the bridge over Hungry Horse Creek.

Parking & trailhead facilities: Ample parking and filterable water in Hungry Horse Creek.

Key points

1.0 Summit south side of Hungry Horse Creek ridge
2.0 Reach knob above Dudley Bowl
3.0 Summit ridge junction
4.0 Great Northern summit

Remember to stock up on water before the climb. You may find water in Dudley Creek Basin before the last climb, but do not count on it.

Look south of the bridge over Hungry Horse Creek and notice the impenetrable thickets of brush and small trees. After briefly considering whether the whole idea is worthwhile, charge into these thickets. They do not last long and are the hardest part of the climb. Climb the ascending ridge on the southern side of Hungry Horse Creek. Pick your way straight up the hill, following game trails to help escape this jungle. Initially, work to the south, climbing and contouring to get out of the brush and windfalls on the northern side of the ridge. In early August, be careful not to delay too long in the massive huckleberry patches.

After a very steep mile, top out on the ridge, where a faint trail develops. Follow this ridge for another mile to where it peaks out at timberline. From a knob, just before dropping into Dudley Bowl, you get a view of marshy meadows, a small timbered saddle, and Great Northern.

From here, you have a choice of two routes. Note the rocky, open spur ascending to the right of the bowl along a ridgeline directly to the peak. Save this route for the descent. It is loose scree, and with great care and concentration, you can make a fast descent. Now note another ascending spur to the left (north) of the main peak, with clumps of gnarled trees reaching almost to the summit ridge.

After deciding to follow the left route up, you may want to consider a trip down into the bowl to filter water. When we did this hike in September of a dry year, there was still water in the creek.

After getting water, head up and into the trees along the left (northern ridge) to the top of the ridge. The going is steep and involves some nontechnical rock climbing. Once on top of the ridge, pick up a trail from the Stanton Lake basin and follow cairns south along the face toward the summit. Remember, if you have a choice, stay high rather than low, the final rock face is easiest at the top of the ridge and gets steeper down the face.

By now, you have noticed 120-acre Stanton Glacier, which reaches all the way to the summit ridge on the eastern side. Although much receded in recent years, Stanton Glacier still has hard, slippery ice and deep crevasses, so stay off it unless you're properly equipped.

To the east is the Middle Fork of the Flathead River and across it the usually unseen array of peaks of southern Glacier Park. One unusually monstrous-looking peak sticks up above the others. The southern portion of this peak is pyramid shaped, with a chopped-off ridge to the north. This is Mount Stimson, at 10,142 feet the second highest peak and the most exhausting (but not most technically challenging) climb in the park. It is just north of Church Butte, a flat-topped rectangle. St. Nicholas, a few miles south of Mount Stimson, is easy to spot because, quite literally, it sticks out like a sore thumb. Moreover, it appears impossible to climb. Despite all these impressive peaks, Great Northern maintains its own magic lure.

After summitting, head down the southern ridge toward Dudley Bowl. The scree is uneven, so rapid travel may be difficult, but it is surely faster than the way you came. Once back down in the bowl, climb the knob back on the ridge and follow the ridge down. One note on the return bushwhack; err to the north (your right) as you head down and remember your baselines, Hungry Horse Creek and Forest Road 1048. If you find yourself on flat ground, even though you didn't cross flat ground on the way up, you have drifted too far south and should head north to the road and your vehicle.

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