July 18th, 2024
The holiday rush was over and I left Idaho, headed for West Glacier in Montana. I started out early in the morning (5:30 a.m.) as I had about 4.5 hours of driving, plus would lose an hour crossing from Pacific to Mountain time zones. There were also a couple of places I wanted to stop.
At this time of year, it is already light out at 5:30 in the morning. So as I quickly crossed the Montana border and headed up Highway 56 along the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, I easily spotted the animal crossing the road in front of my truck. My first impression was of a German Shepherd. But it was too long and the body was too low slung. It would have also had a pointed snout, but this animals face was flat, like a cat. That was fitting, as it turned out to be a mountain lion. If you are going to meet one, there is no better place to be than inside your vehicle. Even so, it sent a cold shiver down my back. It made my morning.
A short while later, I turned east on Highway 2. This is the same road that goes to the Michigan Upper Peninsula, for which I am familiar. After a few short miles, I pulled over to the overlook for the Kootenai River Falls. I hiked down into the canyon and saw the waterfall from a number of angles, and crossed a swinging bridge over the river. Don’t do this immediately after a meal. It swings. I was ok, as my next stop was to be for breakfast in Libby.
I checked into my campsite in the Apgar Campground of Glacier in the early afternoon. I rested after that, as I would be driving up to Logan Pass very early the next morning to hike on the Hidden Lake Trail.
Even at 5:30 a.m. in the morning, I was joined by a good number of other vehicles heading up to the pass on the Going to the Sun road. Everybody was intent on getting there early, as shortly after sunrise, the trailhead and visitor center parking lot would be full. After that, people slowly circle like vultures, looking for that single “carcass” of a parking spot.
I had no issues, as the parking lot was only about half full (later, upon the return from my hike, there was not a single spot left). I headed up the trail. Wildflowers were plentiful and the sun colored the peaks a rich orange. There were large areas where the trail was still covered by snow, making for a slushy, slippery walk. On the way back, I was delayed as a large herd of Bighorn Sheep slowly crossed the trail.
My next hike was on the popular Avalanche Lake Trail. It is just past the eastern end of McDonald Lake. It follows Avalanche Creek up to a steep walled valley at the head of the drainage. Lingering snowfields feed a number of waterfalls that cascade into the lake. The waters of the creek are a brilliant powder blue due to glacial flour and carve a deep gorge through the rock down through a cedar forest.
A heat wave hit the northern Rockies. So my stay in the West Glacier area consisted of hikes at the crack of dawn, and sitting in front of a fan in the afternoon. The park was much as I remember, with the exception of the now huge numbers of people. Also, the water flowing in McDonald Creek wasn’t quite as blue with glacial flour as it was 45 years ago. There are less glaciers to contribute minerals as back then.
Starting All Over 