West Yellowstone, MT—> Glacier National Park —> West Glacier, MT

Another tired morning, we tried to get a little more rest and got on the road around 9:30 to drive through Wyoming, a small part of Idaho, and across Montana. We passed through lots of mountains and grasslands, and ranches all over. It was neat to see all of the wooden entrance gates to the ranches scattered across the countryside. The wooden gates really give perspective to the expansive scenery laid out before us. We eventually stopped in a small town in Montana to use the bathroom, and wound up looking at some random souvenirs, and left with some Gatorade and Buffalo jerky- the snack of road-trip champions. I’m not sure we will be ready to have beef jerky again until our road trip back east, if then. I will say that it is super easy to just ride through the open ranches and mountains while snacking on some dried meat, yum! You learn some valuable things while on the road: Always fill up your gas tank when you can, try to use the bathroom whenever you stop, make sure you stay hydrated, and make sure you have some hearty snacks and some food that is NOT snacks (PB&J, bananas, avocados, tuna fish, beef jerky, and cheese), chocolate covered espresso beans are your best friend as the sun is setting with a long drive ahead, hold on tight when you hold the go-pro out the window, and always have a camera ready (whether you are trying to catch a state-line crossing, epic road photo, or wildlife). Also, you learn on a cross country road trip that you will use some interesting bathrooms- this one was in the water heater closet. It was a nice clean bathroom, just strange. Also, be prepared for your standards of suitable bathrooms to be significantly lowered!

Back on the road, we successfully mastered the tuna fish and cracker hand-off system as Billy co-piloted and I drove. (Another tip- It’s super important to have a travel buddy that you communicate well with, because there are times you will be tired and grumpy, or really want to do something in particular. Make sure it’s with someone you can more than tolerate for long periods of time. I think the only times Billy and I were apart on this trip was when we were using the bathroom! And one time that Billy walked away at Crater Lake to explore because “the wild was calling”/he got distracted and we both had separation anxiety). The Montana scenery changed from ranches and grasslands to rocky outcroppings, then back to ranch grasslands, with varying shades of light and dark greens, and yellows. We saw many pick-ups driving down the dirt roads kicking up trails of dust for hundreds of feet. That was until we spotted the Rocky Mountains that we drove alongside for miles. We had a bit of a mishap with a crow in the road- which you always think that birds are going to fly away in time, unfortunately this one did not. One of the instances that led to our Ford Escape’s future naming, but that will be revealed at a later date. Billy felt horrible and thought he messed with his karma hitting a crow on an Indian reservation, but all things considered we were fortunate in the situation. We traveled through the Blackfeet Indian reservation on the small-town roads, until we came closer and closer to those mountains we had been seeing in the distance. We came across some roadwork a little outside of Glacier, where it was closed down to 1 lane on the climb up the mountains into Saint Mary on the eastern side of the park. We were stopped for about 15 minutes while being entertained by a stray dog that walked along the road, both intrigued and terrified of the people and cars. Once it was our turn to head up the mountain we went through both newly paved road and almost no road at all up the side of this mountain, at times not being able to see the car 20 feet in front of us due to the thick dust. We turned into the park, took the obligatory sign photos and made our way into the park on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. It was a bit cloudy, but bits of blue were peaking through the sky. There were numerous wildflowers along the road and up the mountainsides everywhere in all different colors- white, yellow, blue, purple, pink, and red. It was crazy to have gone back into what seemed like the height of springtime in the middle of July. We pulled off along Saint Mary Lake, where we could see Wild Goose Island to take some photos. We overheard two different groups say they saw a black bear, the other group saw a grizzly bear earlier that day. We drove through the unbelievable landscape along the snow-capped mountains, and stopped again to see Jackson Glacier from a pull-off along the road. One of the signs in the park said that in 1910 there were over 100 glaciers in the park. Now that number has dropped to 35, and only 26 are large enough to be considered active glaciers as of 2015. They predict that by 2030 all of the glaciers will be gone from the park. It’s crazy to think that what we saw may not be there in another 10 years. It makes me think about how the landscape of what we saw might change and what effect that will have if that happens. Also, the little tiny spot we saw on the mountainside for Jackson glacier is about 180 acres big, which is huge!! Some things just make you feel so tiny in the universe- that is definitely one of them!

We made our way to Logan’s Pass, which is along the Continental Divide and is the highest point along the road to the sun and in the park (to drive on, obviously). It sits at 6,647 feet above sea level. We went into the Visitors Center, got our stamp and postcard, and spoke with the park ranger about our potential hike down to Hidden Lake. The overlook was open (1.5 miles each way out and back), but the rest of the trail was closed due to two grizzlies on the trail earlier that day. Good thing we have bear spray. We clarified our info on what to do in case we needed to use it, and asked about bear bells. They apparently don’t recommend using bells because bears don’t associate them with humans, and they don’t make enough noise. They actually recommend loud clapping or yelling out on occasion to make them aware of your presence. As we were about to leave the visitor center, I could feel my heartbeat quicken, my palms start to sweat and I almost thought of abandoning ship. I knew I would regret it if I did, so I hiked up my big-girl pants despite my growing fear, and we headed up to the Hidden Lake Trail. The boardwalk trail started up an incline, and thankfully we were not alone for long (at least I was grateful for it!) We continued to climb as the temperature dropped, we started out at 60 degrees from the Logan Pass visitor center. The wildflowers were in bloom everywhere, fields of pinks, yellows, and purples through the vast overlooks in both directions. We could see and hear waterfalls from out in the distance, the water trickling downhill from melting run-off, and eventually came across snow covering the trail ahead. What an experience to walk across snow while wearing shorts in the middle of July! I thought it was weird when it snowed a foot at the end of April in upstate NY!

There were many glacier and snow run-off waterfalls and streams along the way, with the water rushing downstream underneath the over coating of ice and snow. On occasion, the snow would melt away in places to expose a little stream underneath. We continued up the alpine meadow to a lone patch of pine trees, which occluded our views of the mountains and valleys. We heard a clunking of hooves, looked quickly to our right, and there was a mountain goat shuffling across the path, who gave us a quick look, then minding his own business kept walking. We continued on our way as well, slightly more surprised than the goat (I might have also been on edge a bit from the possibility of Grizzlies). We passed a small pond, and continued uphill to the overlook. The overlook was extremely crowded with everyone admiring the view of hidden lake, snapping photos and selfies, and some picnic dinners. Bearhat mountain with a cap of snow sits overlooking hidden lake, a line of pine trees reflected in the clear dark blue water, it’s one of those moments where you lose track of time and feel as though you are in a photograph. We reached the point where the trail was closed, but a small animal crossed the path, maybe a marmot? We could see mountain goats sitting on outcroppings of the mountains, just hanging out. A group of nice women let us borrow their binoculars to get a better look. We hung around the overlook for awhile longer, the sun started peaking through the clouds as it started to set. We tore ourselves away from the lookout since we didn’t want to hike back in the dark. We took advantage of the golden light reflecting from behind us, illuminating the wild flower fields and mountain ranges. On our way back we came across another mountain goat, right along the boardwalk munching on some grass and flowers for his late dinner. Unfazed by humans, he was within an arms reach paying no mind, occasionally looking up like he knew he was in a photo shoot with myself and three others. We took our time getting back to the Logan Pass Visitor Center and headed back onto the Going-to-the-Sun Road. As Billy put it, kinda ironic since the sun was dwindling in the sky at this point. We started down the steep incline toward the half point of the Sun Road, overlooking the steep mountaintops and abrupt drop offs to the valley below. The road was clearly carved out of the mountainside, some areas with the cliff side almost jutting into the road. The road became more and more narrow, and the incline more and more steep, needing to downshift gears to avoid killing the breaks. Waterfalls line the side of the mountain, with drains built into the roadway to allow them to drain down past the road. The weeping wall expands 50 feet or more creating a wall of water splashing down onto the road. It is clear to see why this road is only open for the summer months. I cannot imagine needing to plow the road, or driving it in any type of weather. We got stuck in roadwork where they closed down the road to 1 lane near “the loop” that makes a hairpin turn and then follows the mountain down a steep incline. We were stopped for about 20 minutes due to them paving the roads. (Again, the road is only open for the summer months, in fact it opened about a week before we got there, so they try to get roadwork done in the middle of the summer when the weather is good). We were stopped next to a waterfall and could see the mountains with the last bits of sunlight coming through. As it got darker and darker, we realized that maybe it wasn’t the greatest idea to do this road in the dark, but there wasn’t any other option at this point. Billy was a champ and got us down the mountain, next to the lake, and out of glacier to our motel for the night in west glacier. I strongly do not recommend this road in the nighttime. I wasn’t the one driving, but it was scary enough just sitting in the passenger seat!

Our hotel was right outside of the park entrance, but we had another late night getting to check in, and another night of pulling up to the hotel with the terror of the office not being open. Fortunately (again) our key was taped to the door and we made it into the room and went straight to bed. Unfortunately, we were not aware that the motel was right across the street from the train line, which also must carry freight, because it would roar past in the middle of the night and shake the entire room! I’m sure it’s a great location for travelers to take to get to the area by train, especially in the early days of the park, but not a great location for a motel for light sleepers!

~GW