Hike Glacier Park – in your pj’s

Forget those clunky boots. No need for bug spray or bear spray or loud jangly bells.

If you want to get up close with nature, to see and hear the wilds of Glacier National Park in the 21st century, all you need is a good chair and a personal computer.
Add the rest of the sensory experience for the everyday low price of an aromatic pine sprig, a granola bar and a pair of wet socks.

The brave new world of electronic hiking came online this week, with an interactive stroll up Glacier’s popular Avalanche Creek trail. http://www.nps.gov/glac/home.htm

Pick your way through the bits and bytes of an ancient cedar-hemlock forest accompanied by digital birdsong, watch summer’s sights give way to a wintry world, fly high over the park’s rocky heights for a 30-second bird’s-eye view, watch the landscape unfold on video, turn a scenic 360-degree pirouette for a sweeping panorama.

“The goal was to use the best technology there is to bring people as good an experience as possible,” said park spokeswoman Melissa Wilson.

As good as possible on a computer, that is.

By MICHAEL JAMISON of the Missoulian

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