Adventures in the wilderness can be dramatic and deadly. Glacier National Park's death records date back to January 1913, when a man froze to death while snowshoeing between Cut Bank and St. Mary. All told, 260 people have died or are presumed to have died in the park during the first hundred years of its existence. One man fell into a crevasse on East Gunsight Peak while skiing its steep north face, and another died while moonlight biking on the Sun Road. A man left his wife and five children at the Apgar picnic area and disappeared on Lake McDonald. His boat was found halfway up the west shore wedged between rocks with the propeller stuck in gravel. Collected here are some the most gripping accounts in park history of these unfortunate events caused by natural forces or human folly.

Randi Minetor has written more than thirty books for Globe Pequot/Lyons Press, including Historic Glacier National Park, Backyard Birding, Hiking Waterfalls New York (FalconGuides), Scenic Routes & Byways New York, and Day Trips Hudson River Valley, and Day Trips Hudson Valley. She lives in Rochester, New York.