Six Weeks/14 Parks
2008
We don’t care what gas costs!
The Logan Pass
Rising Sun Campground
St. Mary’s Falls & Virginia Falls Trail
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
The consensus among the Brennans is that Glacier is our favorite Park so far. We have done some of the coolest stuff of the trip so far. We got up early and hustled up the Going To The Sun Road to Logan Pass, elev. 6,600 ft. The ride takes you up past St. Mary Lake, with a view of Goose Island. Then you’re up in the clouds, which reach down and cover some of the mountain peaks.
Logan Pass Visitor Center gets really crowded by 10:00, but at 8:30, it’s fairly empty. It is also cold, 46º! We bundled up and started up the Hidden Lake Trail. It didn’t take long until we reached the snow. Yes, they say they had a snowier than usual winter and a cool spring, so the snow is still here. A lot of it.
This trail is 1.5 miles to the Hidden Lake Overlook. It was the coolest 1.5 miles of the trip! We had to slush through the snow.Then up we went to the overlook.
7/28/08
At the overlook, we saw so much wildlife. We have dozens of pictures of mountain goats, birds, big horn sheep and marmots, which are like mountain groundhogs.Here are just a few of them.
So guess what - they have nanny goats, billy goats and kids! Really! From the overlook, we could see a heard with a couple of kids. It was cool!
It was cold up there! The snowball throwing on the way back down was a treat, too.
Then back to our beautiful new campground with the great view and hot dogs.
The big horn sheep apparently really like the flowers and grass that grow by the visitor center. They were all over the place down there.
All tis before lunch. Superior experience! Then, lucky us, we found a campsight at the Rising Sun campground. More trees, less wind, much better view.
Because we have been so far north, sunrise is really early, 5:30 about. Sunset is around 9:00. The stars don’t come out until after 10:00! We were able to go for another hike at 6:00 PM. We went back up the Going To The Sun Rd to the St. Mary’s Falls trailhead. This is a very popular trail, so much so that the parking area was packed when we got there. But most people were finishing their hikes while we were starting. The lot was empty when we got back!
After St. Mary’s Falls, the trial continues on to Virginia Falls. Absolutely breathtaking! Countless cataracts along the trail as you go up to the top of the falls.
