Woo! I just edited & uploaded the first batch of Glacier Photos, which includes "Day 0" (driving 10 hrs from Seattle to Glacier, MT) and Day 1 in the park.
( Photos from Glacier Day 0 and Day 1 )
We left early enough on Saturday to stop and have lunch with Justin's friend Jaye in Spokane and still got to the Cabin in time for dinner served by Tim (Justin's dad) and Cathy. As usual, most of Montana was on fire so the air quality and views were poor, but not as bad as they could have been.
Our first morning in the park, Cathy and I got up early and rode our bikes from the cabin up to the top of Logan Pass. It's a 2500 foot elevation gain (I think) over 21 miles, most of it in the later half. Bikes have to be off the road between 11 am and 4pm, so we started cycling at 7:30 to avoid traffic and make sure we had plenty of time. It took us about 2 1/2 leisurely hours to reach the top.
I've been up Going to the Sun Road scores of times before, but this was a brand new view. The grade wasn't as steep as I expected, and though the road was rough (and treacherous) in patches, it was easy enough going that I could take in the full panoramic view-- much better than anyone can in a car. I took some mobile video as well, which I'll try to edit a bit later.
Once we'd rested and refueled at the top, we set off hiking. Our goal was the hanging gardens below the Dragon's Tail and above Hidden Lake. I hadn't been up there since the first year we visited the park, when vertigo forced me off my first summit attempt on Mt. Reynolds. I remember it being pretty strenuous that first year, but in reality it's an easy hike compared to most.
We schlepped over to the garden ledge and promptly plopped down for a hour nap. Justin spent some QT with his dad and Cathy and bouldered some cliffs while I slept face-down in the grass. After that, we hiked back and drove down from the pass. In retrospect, we could have biked down, but I think we were pretty pooped at that point. Of course, since we were at Logan Pass, we saw all the requisite critters including columbia ground squirrels, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, ptarmigans, and marmots. Aww, a veritable zoo. The wildflowers were also particularly beautiful even though they were at their tail end-- this was the earliest we've been up there in years.
Also interesting and notable: as of this year, there are free shuttles to and from all major areas of the part several times an hour. This is to help cut down on traffic and increase park use. Surprisingly, there still seem to be a huge number of people using the pay-service red bus tours. There were 13 of them at one time in the Logan Pass parking lot... I've never seen so many!
That's all for now. Days two (photo-free) and three will be posted soon.
Posted on September 06, 2007 @ 11:02 PM | 0 comments
( Photos from Glacier Day 0 and Day 1 )
We left early enough on Saturday to stop and have lunch with Justin's friend Jaye in Spokane and still got to the Cabin in time for dinner served by Tim (Justin's dad) and Cathy. As usual, most of Montana was on fire so the air quality and views were poor, but not as bad as they could have been.
Our first morning in the park, Cathy and I got up early and rode our bikes from the cabin up to the top of Logan Pass. It's a 2500 foot elevation gain (I think) over 21 miles, most of it in the later half. Bikes have to be off the road between 11 am and 4pm, so we started cycling at 7:30 to avoid traffic and make sure we had plenty of time. It took us about 2 1/2 leisurely hours to reach the top.
I've been up Going to the Sun Road scores of times before, but this was a brand new view. The grade wasn't as steep as I expected, and though the road was rough (and treacherous) in patches, it was easy enough going that I could take in the full panoramic view-- much better than anyone can in a car. I took some mobile video as well, which I'll try to edit a bit later.
Once we'd rested and refueled at the top, we set off hiking. Our goal was the hanging gardens below the Dragon's Tail and above Hidden Lake. I hadn't been up there since the first year we visited the park, when vertigo forced me off my first summit attempt on Mt. Reynolds. I remember it being pretty strenuous that first year, but in reality it's an easy hike compared to most.
We schlepped over to the garden ledge and promptly plopped down for a hour nap. Justin spent some QT with his dad and Cathy and bouldered some cliffs while I slept face-down in the grass. After that, we hiked back and drove down from the pass. In retrospect, we could have biked down, but I think we were pretty pooped at that point. Of course, since we were at Logan Pass, we saw all the requisite critters including columbia ground squirrels, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, ptarmigans, and marmots. Aww, a veritable zoo. The wildflowers were also particularly beautiful even though they were at their tail end-- this was the earliest we've been up there in years.
Also interesting and notable: as of this year, there are free shuttles to and from all major areas of the part several times an hour. This is to help cut down on traffic and increase park use. Surprisingly, there still seem to be a huge number of people using the pay-service red bus tours. There were 13 of them at one time in the Logan Pass parking lot... I've never seen so many!
That's all for now. Days two (photo-free) and three will be posted soon.
Posted on September 06, 2007 @ 11:02 PM | 0 comments
Comments:
