The new Hyalite Canyon shuttle pilot program launched Monday, removing forty-seven parking spots from the main trailhead and replacing them with a bus that runs every twenty minutes. Forest Service officials say the system will reduce congestion by twelve percent and give the meadow a chance to breathe.

“I drove up at 5:30 a.m. and the lot was already full,” said Marnie Cuthbert, 34, who has hiked Hyalite every Tuesday since 2019. “Now I have to park at the Gateway Center and ride a bus with my trekking poles. It adds three minutes. Three minutes, Chuck. I don’t have three minutes.”

District Ranger Gail Torvik stood near the new bus stop wearing a high-visibility vest and a look of patient exhaustion. She explained that the shuttle was funded by a recreation grant and designed to protect fragile alpine vegetation. A moose stood twenty feet behind her, eating willows in the drainage ditch. Neither woman acknowledged it.

The moose has been a regular at the trailhead since June. Hikers step around it. Mountain bikers ring their bells and wait. Last week a trail runner from Colorado tried to pet it. The moose flipped its ears and kept eating. “He’s earned his space,” said Torvik. “We all have.”

The shuttle runs through Labor Day. Parking at the Gateway Center is free with a valid Montana plate. Out-of-state plates pay five dollars. Locals say the fee is unfair. Visitors say five dollars is cheap for Hyalite. The moose says nothing.

Cuthbert took the shuttle Tuesday. She said the driver played bluegrass at a reasonable volume. The ride took twelve minutes. She hiked to Emerald Lake and back. The moose was still there when she returned, watching the buses come and go.