Montana, Part 3: Spectacular Going to the Sun Road & West Glacier Highlights

"Therefore we are all, in some sense, mountaineers, and going to the mountains is going home." 
- John Muir

We left Babb and headed westward in the park on the stunning GTTSR (Going to the Sun Road) on Wednesday (K and my fourteenth anniversary), which we learned took twelve years to complete (1932) to connect the west and east sides of the park. Despite getting to Logan Pass (6,646 ft. and on the continental divide) around 8:20 a.m., the parking lot was full and we had to walk a bit from a roadside pull-off to the top.

We walked on the Hidden Lake Trail to the overlook, which had large piles of snow from the storm just under two weeks ago (Logan Pass is unreachable for much of the year, and the road is cleared sometime in June or July when enough snow melts. It had been cleared briefly, but then closed again two weeks ago but warmed up just in time for our trip so we didn't have to drive around the park again to access the west side!). We were prepared with waterproof hiking boots, but we saw lots of people (and kids crying) slipping in sandals along the way. 

The trail and scenery were truly stunning!

The kids were on wildlife alert with the binoculars.

Ram, chillin' by the wayside.

Can you spot the (two) mountain goats atop the cliff?

Chirping Columbian Ground Squirrel

Bounding mule deer

We heard that there was a grizzly bear walking along the trail route (leading to a closure about 1.4 miles in), and while Kelvin and I didn't spot it, Iver and Niall did, on our return trip (they were ahead of us and were camera-less but estimated the bear was around 30-40 feet away)!  We learned that there about 600 black bears and 300 grizzlies in the park.

Hidden Lake Overlook

We put on a Guide Along audio guide during the road and enjoyed the narration as we stopped at viewpoints, first at Jackson Glacier Overlook. Jackson is one of about twenty-five named glaciers in the park, over 85% of which have melted.

We tried to stop but could not find parking at the St. Mary's Falls area and so we re re-routed to Baring Falls.

I did not recommend that the kids scramble across logs and the creek to get to this rock. While I wouldn't say I'm much of a helicopter parent, kids out of grasp around rushing bodies of water makes me nervous.

We continued along GTTSR and viewed  Bird Woman Falls from an overlook.

 We then stopped at Oberlin Bend, where we saw a hoary marmot and another mountain goat.

 

The Loop is a sharp hairpin bend in the road and has views of Heavens Peak (8991 feet).

Our last trail of the day was to Avalanche Lake, a popular family-friendly trail that starts at the Trail of the Cedars and continues for about 2.25 miles to another picturesque alpine lake ringed by six waterfalls. We got there around two p.m. and were lucky to snag a parking spot as someone was leaving, not having to circle the lot like vultures for too long. 

The kids were bummed to not have their swimsuits but waded in.

We hiked 9-10 miles that day, and Niall did really well!  We stayed at a AirBnb (shared house) in West Glacier and our hosts, Lisa and Gerry have been lovely!

On Thursday, we had a 11 am GTTSR entry pass and in the morning, we visited nearby Hungry Horse Dam/Reservoir (named after two pack horses, Tex and Jerry, that got lost in a snowstorm and were so hungry on their recovery). 

    

We spent the rest of the day around Lake McDonald in the western part of the park.

During the first half of the hike, we had great views of the lake.

Shady lunch spot

We stopped in on the historic Lake McDonald Lodge (1914).

Cute taxidermied busts adorned the main hall.

Despite the water (in the park's largest lake!) being close to 50 degrees, the kids wanted to "swim"/play on its shore.

I don't approve of midday overpriced national park hotel bar drinking (which usually leads to an adult nap).

The kids played in an "upstream" area. Iver only slipped and fell once!

We finished our day with a couple of roadside stops at waterfalls-- first, Sacred Dancing Cascade.

(Of course Iver wanted to go down to the banks immediately after telling us that the top cause of death in Glacier NP is drowning)!

We finished with nearby McDonald Falls.

Apgar Visitors Center had some cute caps!

One more day in the Crown of the Continent remains!  What more gems await us?