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Easin’ Along Going To The Sun Road

Canyon – Going To The Sun Road

For those who might not know, the main road through Glacier National Park from the western entrance is Going To The Sun Road. This scenic highway will take visitors from one side of the Park to the opposite side–in a typical year. This year the road was closed at the boundary to the Blackfeet Reservation, which is about 12 miles from Logan’s Pass.

Panorama – Going To The Sun Road

On our last day in Glacier, Helen and I decided we needed to see as much of the highway as possible and do some hiking. Once again, we rose at 6:00 am and passed through the west entrance loaded with coffee and other breakfast essentials. The plan was to make it to Logan’s Pass Visitor Center and hike one of the trails adjacent to the Center known for the wildflowers and wildlife. The day started a bit overcast, but we were optimistic that good weather would prevail.

Tiny waterfall

At one of the overlooks, I stopped to take pictures of the canyon below. As I have said before, Glacier is a work of art. The gorges and the waterfalls all along Going To The Sun made for one spectacular drive. As we neared the parking lot for the Visitor Center, a Marmot came out to greet us.

A sign, posted at the entrance to the Center, said that the trail we intended to hike was closed. I walked to a Park Ranger and asked her what was up. She explained that some Grizzly Bears were chasing Mountain Goats in the area and had not left. That was good enough for us. The Grizzlies might miss a Mountain Goat, but, sure as hell, they would find me. We looked for an alternative hike. Before we left the Center, I took a picture of the mountains in the distance. In this picture, a Mountain Goat (spared from the Grizzly lunch menu) walks above the snow line as a fuzzy white dot. A gentleman from New Mexico with binoculars pointed him out to me.

Mountain Goat in the distance

 

Helen asked the Ranger for hiking suggestions. She told us to go to the last open mile of Going To The Sun Road and hike the trail to St. Mary’s Falls and, if we were feeling frisky, continue to Virginia Falls. I checked my frisky meter and discovered I was up for it, even though the hike was a six-mile round trip.

Streams along the St. Mary’s Trail

 

The first thing noticeable about the trail was the Fireweed and the other wildflowers I cannot name. Please comment if you are familiar with any of them. I also ask for help in identifying birds. St. Mary’s Falls and the area downstream to the lake featured water as blue as a gleaming Topaz. The crowd around the Falls was as dense as any we encountered all week. I saw no masks, and certainly no social distancing, so we side-stepped everyone and continued to Virginia Falls.

St. Mary’s Falls

Halfway to Virginia Falls, we met a Mule Deer feasting on Huckleberries. A large group of hikers waited patiently until he had his fill. Finally, the deer licked his chops and moved on. After my Huckleberry Bear Claw experience, I understand this deer’s cravings.

Mule Deer in the Huckleberries

 

Our hike to Virginia Falls proved rewarding. Water cascades over a rock wall for probably 125 feet, and the force of the water splashing on the rocky surface below, sent a cooling spray over us. We asked a young lady to take our picture.

Chilling out in the spray

What a day! What a week! Our entire visit to Glacier was an unforgettable chapter in this journey through the northwest. I probably took over 1000 pictures during our stay here and have posted a few of my favorites in a Gallery. Click here for the Gallery and click on any image to enlarge or start a slide show.

Wildflowers on the trail

 

We’ve moved on from Glacier with the intent to return and continue Easin’ Along Going To The Sun Road. If this section is a preview, we need to see what happens when we get to the Sun. Thanks for Easin’ Along with us.

As we drove away from Logan’s Pass, we spotted these Bighorn Sheep above the road. I took this picture through the windshield.

Bighorn sheep above the road

21 thoughts on “Easin’ Along Going To The Sun Road

  1. Love it! Going to the sun and Logan’s Pass are on our list of to-dos when we get to Glacier ourselves next summer. Thanks for the preview and some ideas on what to see!

    1. Good morning, Nancy,
      Hopefully, the entire Park will be open and you can get to the Glaciers. Nevertheless, all of Glacier is stunning. You and Dan will love it. Have a great weekend and stay safe out there. Joe

  2. Glacier NP is indeed a work of art. Our brief stay years ago was way too short. I understand the snapping of 1,000 plus images is easy to do. Glad you had a great visit!

    1. Good morning, Ingrid,
      I put both of my Lumix cameras to work and had a lot of fun. We’re on the California coast now and the couple next to us live close to Lost Dutchman. We got to re-live the memories of a good time with you and Al. Stay cool and stay safe up there. Joe

    1. Hi, Jennie,
      So glad you joined us. The scenery in Glacier deserves to be shared. Thanks for stopping by. Joe

  3. So many memories you all made. Have seen only small part of this park as avalanches cut the road off. Want to come back as you have
    wished. Photos are compelling one to return.
    Thanks

    1. Hi, Barbara,
      I would love to see this part of the country during the winter, but haven’t considered avalanches. May want to stick with summer…it’s pretty good! Hope you get back. Thanks for checking in. Stay safe out there. Joe

  4. Hey Joe,

    Your descriptions and photos of the vista are great. Most people would

    concentrate on the main scene, but you offer photos of the surrounding

    scenery as well. Job well done

    1. Hello, Mike,
      Thanks for the kind comments. We love Glacier NP and there is a lot to share. Hope you’re doing well and staying safe out there. Joe

    1. Good afternoon, Suzanne,
      The best thing about that waterfall was the cool spray. The day was one of the warmest we had (75 degrees 😜) and we lingered around for a while. I’m confident your day is coming. We need your camera out and about. Stay safe and have a great weekend. P.S. I enjoyed reading Laurel’s blog and we traded comments. Thanks for the suggestion. Joe

  5. Hi, Joe and Helen – Good call on avoiding the goat-hunting grizzly bear. What a wonderful alternative hike. So gorgeous. Again, I wanted to be teleported there and join the two of you! 😀

    1. Donna,
      Goat-hunting Grizzlies are not in my aspiration group. I would make a great main course for such a critter. Would love to have you and Richard join us. Hopefully, we can make that happen someday. Have a great weekend! Joe

  6. Thanks for the glorious pics Joe! Your trip to GNP & pics certainly brought back memories of such a wonderful time my wife & I had there! Hard to believe that was almost four years ago!
    Hope the rest of your trip is a safe & healthy one.

    Ron Ellis
    Clemmons, NC

    1. Good morning, Ron,
      Glad you enjoyed them and thanks for the kind comments. We only had half of the Park available to us because of this pandemic, so, we are going back next year. Looking forward to it already. Thanks for stopping by. Please come back and stay safe out there. Joe

  7. Hi, Joe! I just enjoyed catching up on your last few posts after returning home from a camping trip. Your pics are lovely, and your and Helen’s enjoyment of your trip is coming through loud and clear. I have to say, the two of you are poster children for joint replacements. All that hiking – I’m quite impressed! We were at Glacier when our kids were young, and our daughter was a petite eight year old. When we found out that a cougar had been spotted on one of the trails we intended to hike, we decided to pass since Kyra was “snack size” and we didn’t want to take the risk. Respect for the natural world is critical; sadly, some people don’t seem to understand that. I’m glad you did NOT have a terrifying grizzly story to share!

    1. Good morning, Mary,
      I hope your camping trip was a lot of fun. Where did you go? We loved Glacier, but only were allowed to see about half of it since the Blackfeet Reservation was closed. We will go back next year to finish the task. After we left, I saw a video taken around the time we were there of a hiker meeting up with a huge Mountain Lion. He was lucky, the lion passed him by. We’re in Northern California now–dodging wildfires and our campground in Yosemite had to cancel us because of an evacuation order. Luckily we found a campground in a tiny town on the coast. It’s good! Stay safe. Joe

  8. Joe, I have reconnected with Richard Baggot. His email is rb@richardbaggot.com. Richard’s mailing address is 140 N Panoscenic Dr. Maryville, Tenn. 37803. He and I had lunch recently. He wants to share this info with folks in our class.

    1. Hello, David,
      We will make sure he is included in all communications. Would love to see him again. Thanks for the information. Joe

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