The Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park finally opened a couple of weeks ago and yesterday we (my husband, Lucky, and my son, Eli) decided to brave the crowds and drive to Logan Pass. I found the park to be even more beautiful than ever - green, sunny and sparkling with a few snow fields on the peaks. And, unfortunately, very crowded. I don't know why I am so surprised each year to see the hordes of people in the park. It is, after all the literal Jewel in the Crown of the Continent, the apex of beauty in the Rockies. Because I live so close to it, I sometimes forget that Glacier NP is a worldwide tourist destination. People come to gaze at its beauty, hike its trails and marvel at the incredible engineering feat that is the Going to the Sun Road.
The road itself is constantly being repaired, of course, due to the harsh winter conditions that pile foot after foot of snow on it throughout the winter and then punish it with thawing in the spring. It's no wonder that several people per year are killed or injured from falling rock or just from falling off the edge of the precipitous slopes. Already this year we've heard of the death of a hiker who slid down a steep snowfield while hiking, and the injury of a motorcycle passenger who was struck by a falling rock while touring on the GTTS road.
My family and I, however, find it hard to stay away when such raw, miraculous beauty lies right in our back yard. We patiently waited in line to show our pass to enter the park and then enjoyed the scenery while we were detained for about 15 minutes high on the road just below Logan Pass. I took the opportunity to snap a few pictures of the surrounding mountains, many views of which I have snapped in the past. I just can't get enough of the Park. I took a photo of the iconic Mt. Reynolds mainly to get a view to compare to last year's snow fields leading to the Dragon's Tail. When I made that hike last year, there were about three large snowfields to cross. This photo shows a solid field on the trail. I think I'll pass.
As we stood on the road waiting for the construction vehicles to allow passage, I turned to look out toward Heaven's Peak and the view across McDonald Lake. Breathtaking.
Then I thought, of course, of the trail directly above us, the Highline Trail, that had just opened to the public that morning. At various locations along the road, I could see the trail snaking along and it looked fairly clear until we got to Logan Pass. Then I could better see the broken fields of snow at intervals along the trail, growing more solid as the trail neared Haystack Butte. My son and I had talked about hiking the Highline later in the week. If we do, we'll need poles and icewalkers or ice axes. Those tools are recommended by the park website. Maybe we'll just hike up to the Snyder Lakes. No snow to contend with there.
This last photo is of the Garden Wall straight above my head from the road where we were halted by a construction delay. At the Logan Pass Visitor Center, Eli and I jumped out and Lucky went to park the car. About ten minutes later, we wondered where he was and walked back down to the lot to investigate. There he was, still circling to find a spot. We put him out of his misery and got back into the car to begin our trip down and out over at the North Fork entrance.
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