Glacier NP Going to the Sun Road, Iceberg Lake and Two Medicine (3 of 3)
August 3rd-August 4th
We got an early start hoping to avoid most of the traffic on the Going to the Sun Road (this is one of the most scenic roads in the whole country according to all of the guide books.) It was also another amazing feat of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The views from the road were beautiful, particularly as we made our way up around the loop towards Logan Pass at 6,664 ft. At this altitude, we were already in sub-alpine/alpine habitat. There was a furry, white mountain goat grazing in front of the visitor center. At the Jackson Glacier Overlook, we were reminded of the doomed fate of the glaciers here. The prediction is that they will all have disappeared by 2030, their demise sped up by the undeniable global warming. At Sunrift Gorge, there was a beautiful narrow gorge (a slot canyon?) with beams of sunlight filtering through. We were pessimistic about finding an available camping spot in the park, but when we arrived at the Rising Sun Campground, we were pleasantly surprised to find some free spaces. We claimed our spot, set up the tent and had lunch.
Reassured by the fact that we wouldn’t have to drive 50 miles to find a camping spot, we decided to head up to the Many Glacier area of the park. The name says it all- there are many glaciers on this side. We did a 10-mile roundtrip hike to Iceberg Lake. At the trailhead, a ranger warned us that there were black bears hanging around the trail, so we started clapping our hands (applause for the bears.) The lake was truly amazing. There were real icebergs (chunks of blue ice) floating in it. I put my feet in for a few seconds and was frozen. Amazingly, we had a sunny backdrop- I imagine the lake gets very little sun exposure during the day. From the hike, we returned to the campground, stopping off at the St. Mary Visitor Center on the way, which highlighted the Native American presence in the park. In fact much of the surrounding area is reservation land, and some of the area in the park is considered sacred. We went to the evening program which was about music inspired by Glacier National Park. An amazingly talented park ranger played the guitar and sang folk songs (reminiscent of John Denver.) It was a beautiful, inspiring day.
The following day was our last day in the park. We visited the southeastern area, Two Medicine. It took us a while to get down there- there was a big detour because of road construction. This area is situated around Two Medicine Lake and is also very beautiful. We were planning to hike to the Twin Falls (about 6 miles round trip) but ended up taking a wrong turn going uphill and ended up at No Name Lake. In all we hiked about 10 miles (making close to 50 miles of hiking in 5 days in the park.) We made a last stop at the Running Eagle Falls on the way out and then took the road towards Great Falls. We ended up stopping in a little town just outside of Great Falls, Choteau, where we got a motel room and went out for burgers and beer.
Posted from Custer State Park, South Dakota
Tags: BIG TRIP 2011, In English 2005-2006, Montana
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