Glacier National Park: Going to the Sun

Although we had scraped ice off our windshield just a few days ago, a heatwave suddenly swept through the region and we found ourselves driving through Montana with temperatures in the 90s. Ashley recalled the hotels in Glacier National Park proudly advertising the lack of air conditioning because you "won't need it." They jinxed us!  Even when we checked into Lake McDonald Lodge after dark, the receptionist remarked "but you're from Florida" when we mentioned the unexpectedly warm temperatures. That doesn't mean we're used to sleeping in it. However, she did kindly remind us that a complimentary electric fan was in our room. 

Despite the slightly uncomfortable sleeping conditions, we were extremely excited to explore this Crown of the Continent on Going-to-the-Sun Road tomorrow morning. 

Going-to-the-Sun Road

Per usual, we woke up early and got our first look at the grounds of Lake McDonald Lodge. Since we arrived so late the night before, we hadn't yet had a chance to check out our accommodations. The main lodge is situated on Lake McDonald, but we slept in one of the several cabin buildings which surround the main building. With Swiss chalet style architecture and colorful flowers in the window boxes, the lodge exemplifies a perfect mountain retreat.

The 52 mile Going-to-the-Sun road, an engineering marvel, is likely the best known feature of Glacier National Park. The road seemingly clings to the mountainside as your car climbs towards Logan Pass, which marks the Continental Divide. The maintenance of this road is almost as impressive as the road itself. Every year, snow plows precariously clear that winter's accumulated snow. The snowplowing takes weeks to accomplish and is sometimes hindered by late season snowstorms, which means the exact opening date of Going-to-the-Sun road is somewhat unpredictable. While it usually opens in mid to late June, it sometimes doesn't open until the end of July, which would really hamper one's vacation as this is the only road through the Park! For the month leading up to our trip, Ashley anxiously tracked the snowplows' progress on the Glacier National Park website until the road finally opened to vehicle traffic on June 21st - shortly before we flew to Jackson. 

Today's goal was to explore the western half of Going-to-the-Sun Road. Since the road does not open until nearly July, all of the visitors to the Park visit Logan Pass during a two to three month window, which means the parking lot is often full by 10:00. To avoid the parking jam, we drove straight to Logan Pass and later worked our way back down the road to our lodge. 

After stamping our passport at the visitor center and refilling our water bottles, we found the Hidden Lake trailhead right behind the visitor center and began hiking up the snow-covered mountainside. Note: Nate is hiking in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, which seemed odd in the snow, but the warm temperatures made it necessary.  

A boardwalk normally clearly marks the trail. However, it was completely hidden beneath snow during our visit in late June. Since the snow was packed down, people could easily hike over it in a variety of footwear (even sandals, which we don't recommend).

The trail leads to an overlook of Hidden Lake. Although initially a rather steep (and somewhat icey) incline, the trail eventually flattens out after approximately one-mile. Rounding a corner to the more level portion of the trail, we spotted our very first mountain goats - a mascot of Glacier. Even though the mama goat appeared scraggly due to not yet completely shedding her winter coat, the baby goat following closely behind was pretty much the cutest thing ever (besides our dog - but we are biased).

Shortly past the mountain goat family (you probably should not use them as a landmark), Hidden Lake appeared before us. Brave adventurers can continue another mile past the overlook down to the Lake - but remember what goes down, must come up - or something like that. During our visit, most of the Lake was still covered by ice with only a small blue portion poking out.

After we admired the view from the overlook, we started the hike back down to Logan Pass. As the temperatures continued to rise, the snow became slick so we took our time with our footing as we saw a few others slipping (or playing) down the mountainside.

As we neared the visitor center, we spotted the elusive big horn sheep grazing in an alpine meadow. Well, most people probably don't consider sheep elusive, but we have had extreme difficulty finding them in other Parks that claim them as inhabitants despite endless searches. 

Where the snow had already melted above the visitor center, yellow glacier lilies were beginning to bloom. Even if just planning to drive through the park (as many do), we recommend getting out at Logan Pass and stretching your legs on the 3-mile roundtrip hike to Hidden Lake overlook.

With our visit to Logan Pass complete, we began the drive back down Going-to-the-Sun Road towards Lake McDonald. Just below Logan Pass, a short boardwalk at Oberlin Bend Overlook provides sweeping views of this famous Road. You can see it literally carved into the mountain range.

Also along the boardwalk, a family of mountain goats competed for attention with the majestic mountain views. They really hammed it up for pictures - or just yawned. 

Further down from Oberlin Bend, we arrived at Big Bend and the Weeping Wall. A small pull-out allows you to safely admire the views. It was also our first opportunity to observe one of the historic red buses (aka red jammers) that provide a guided tour along Going-to-the-Sun Road. On warm days, the driver rolls the top back so guests can stand up and enjoy the scenery at the many pull-offs. The tours probably are a good idea when the driver of your car wants to also admire the views, but the passengers don't want to go off a cliff.

At Weeping Wall (along Big Bend), many small yet powerful waterfalls cascade onto the road. If brave, you can swerve your car under the water for a natural car wash. It's pretty fun to hear the water pounding on your roof. 

Numerous other ribbons of water streamed down from the snow melt high above the bend. Some visitors seemed to need a closer look at the falls and hiked up along the right side on some questionable trails. 

The views continued to impress as we worked our way down the Going-to-the-Sun road.  Our next big stop was for an afternoon hike at Trail of the Cedars and Avalanche Lake.  Trail of the Cedars is a flat boardwalk through a temperate rain forest similar to those found in the Pacific Northwest (we were told the eastern most in the US).

On the backside of the Trail of the Cedars loop we picked up the four-mile roundtrip trail to Avalanche Lake.  This trail was a steady but slight incline once we left the boardwalk and took us through a lush forest and along mountain streams as we made our way up to the subalpine lake.

The payoff was stunning.  Avalanche Lake sits in a bowl, with several large snowfields and Sperry Glacier above.  As a result, multiple waterfalls feed the blue turquoise waters of the lake. Although seemingly inviting, we admired the frigid waters (it is literally glacial water) and chuckled as others attempted to take a refreshing dip yet never managed to get further than their knees (other than children who are apparently immune to cold).

Satisfied with our day's exploration of the western side of Glacier National Park, we returned to our cabin at Lake McDonald Lodge. 

Long summer days meant we could enjoy the sunset over Lake McDonald after dinner. It also meant we had to rise extra early tomorrow if we wanted to catch the sunrise.

We needed a good night of sleep to prepare for tomorrow's steep hike up the Loop Trail to rustically charming accomodations at Granite Park Chalet.