I am a huge fan of outdoor knitting, especially in the summer. I bring my Camp Tolt projects with my on all my summer adventures, whether it's a short day hike to Lodge Lake, a week long camping trip in Glacier National Park, or campfire knit nights at Tolt MacDonald Park.

Morning coffee

Every year my mom, who is also a knitter and avid hiker, and I plan some sort of trip together. Usually it's a roadtrip with some camping and hiking and between the two of us we pack a lot of knitting. This year we decided to drive to Glacier National park and camp for a week. Mom brought the Hyak socks, and I brought a half finished Bandera kerchief, the Banff hat, and Iron Horse mitts. I'd already knit a Banff hat for my step-dad for Father's Day, but I wanted one for myself too.

Sunrise on the road to Glacier National Park

The drive to Glacier was gorgeous, and we got in a lot of good knitting time. Once we got to the park, we found a nice campsite at the Quartz Creek campground, which was quiet and rather secluded, but pretty primitive. Our first day there we decided to go on a hike around Bowman Lake, but just after we started out, a storm rolled in. Since we were so close to the car, we headed back to wait out the storm, eating our lunch and knitting while the rain beat down around us. I don’t mind a little drizzle, but I was glad we didn’t press on when it really started to pour. Sitting in the car with my knitting was so relaxing and we had a lovely hike once the storm passed.

Bowman Lake with the storm rolling in

I’m so grateful to have my knitting with me when I have a long wait, and it definitely came in handy when using the shuttle to get around the park. The shuttle is great, reducing traffic on the Going to the Sun Road, and a great way to get to a lot of trailheads and not worry about parking, but sometimes the wait can be pretty long. It’s also a great icebreaker, and we ended up chatting with a lot of people who asked us about what we were knitting. It was so cool how many people told us that they knit too!

Knitting on the shore of McDonald Lake

The whole trip was a wonderful adventure, from swimming in Avalanche Lake, to seeing a bear (just a little closer than I’d like) and a moose, mountain goats and big horned sheep, hikes to beautiful waterfalls, and a perfect birthday dinner in the little town of Polebridge, just outside the park.

Jackson Glacier

The view from Logan Pass

Birthday dinner at the Northern Lights Saloon in Polebridge, MT 

Now it’s starting to feel like fall and I don’t have any more big trips planned. I finished my Banff hat which is cozy and warm, and my Bandera kerchief, so perfect for hiking, but I’ll keep working on my Iron Horse mitts, sitting in my backyard until it gets too dark to see. Because Camp Tolt isn’t just on the tops of mountains or deep in forests, it can be at the park down the street or in your own backyard.

Casting on the Iron Horse Mitts