Glacier N.P. Going To The Sun Road

September 7-8, 2011 North American RV Park, Coram, Montana.


Okay, so I promised some photos of the Going To The Sun Road, the only East-West or vice versa road that traverses across Glacier N.P. While crossing Glacier N. P. it goes over Logan Pass and the Continental Divide. Going To The Sun Road travels 52 miles across the park.
One of the most amazing highlights of Glacier National Park is a drive on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. This engineering marvel spans 50 miles through the park's wild interior, winding around mountainsides and treating visitors to some of the best sights in northwest Montana.

Beginning the Climb to Logan Pass from the West.

Now I had done some research and read many blogs regarding the Going To The Sun Road and many lamented about how narrow and dangerous the road is. Some suggested only traveling from the East to the West so that you are on the mountain side of the road as opposed to the drop off side.

West side tunnel.

Yea it is narrow in some spots and vehicles over 21 feet and over 8 ft. wide are not permitted on the road when it starts climbing over the pass. However, those dimensions are smaller than most modern dually pick-ups and we saw just a few on the road. Allegedly the fines are substantial if an incident arises and your vehicle is outside of the restricted dimensions.

Although narrow and curvy the road was not as bad or scary as I had expected at all. In fact we've been over more dangerous roads and passes in Colorado.

Red Bus (Jammer)

The road is one of the most difficult roads in North America to snowplow in the spring. Up to 80 feet (24 m) of snow can lie on top of Logan Pass, and more just east of the pass where the deepest snowfield has long been referred to as Big Drift. The road takes about ten weeks to plow, even with equipment that can move 4000 tons of snow in an hour. The snowplow crew can clear as little as 500 feet (150 m) of the road per day. On the east side of the continental divide, there are few guardrails due to heavy snows and the resultant late winter avalanches that have repeatedly destroyed every protective barrier ever constructed. The road is generally open from early June to mid October, with its latest ever opening on 13 July (in 2011).

Love this part of the road with the lush garden wall!

Going To The Sun Road is in the 5th year of a 10 year reconstruction project. The road is frequently damaged by snow and avalanches. It was originally opened in 1932.

Be aware of construction.

Narrow blind curves.

One of the most expensive portions of the road.

Cinematic appearances

This road is shown in the opening credits of the 1980 film The Shining, as Jack Torrance's Volkswagen glides past Saint Mary Lake and up the road, underneath a small tunnel and onward, presumably going to the Overlook Hotel for his job interview as a caretaker. In 1982, leftover aerial shots from this footage were used for the closing moments of the original cut of the film Blade Runner.

This road is also seen briefly in the film Forrest Gump. As Forrest reminisces with Jenny, he remembers running across the U.S. and remarks, "Like that mountain lake. It was so clear, Jenny.

Stopped for a few minutes for construction crews.

"Jammer" passengers taking advantage of the construction delay.

West Bound towards Logan Pass water falling down the cliff into the road.

Water fall from above over the road.

West Bound descending Logan Pass in construction delays.

Paul and Paula

We did take the opportunity to travel over Logan Pass to the East side of Glacier and the East side of the Continental Divide. 

Joyce and I in front of St. Mary's Lake and Goose Island.

After descending Logan Pass into East Glacier the land looks like rolling grass prairies.

East side of Logan Pass on Going To The Sun Road.

We drove through the East side towards St. Mary where we left the park and got on Highway 89 heading north. We then traveled west again entering the park at Many Glacier.

At the end of the road in Many Glacier is a small restaurant. Behind the restaurant is a large mountain. We could just make out four brown specks about a mile away on the side of the mountain. Closer examination revealed a mother Grizzly and two cubs and a second mature Grizzly. Park Service employees soon emerged in the parking lot with a large spotting scope that confirmed that what we were seeing were Grizzlies apparently feeding on berries. I took several photos that after magnification are very grainy.

Four Grizzlies on the side of a mountain.

We were glad we had the opportunity to drive over to the East side of Glacier N. P. and to visit Many Glacier. Although we did finally get to see some Grizzlies, we were glad and yet disappointed that they were so far away!

In our opinion the West side of Glacier is more appealing but, it's all very beautiful.

Round trip we drove 160 miles that day and were gone over 8 hours. I think it took 2.5 hours to drive the 52 miles one way across the park and Logan Pass to St. Mary. 

Hiking The Highline Trail in Glacier National Park

September 6, 2011, North American RV Park Coram, Montana.


We did some research on the hikes in Glacier National Park as we were looking for something with some moderate distance, low traffic and great views. Our research lead us to The Highline Trail which begins outside of the visitor center at Logan Pass on Road To The Sun. The day of our hike was the day after Labor Day and some of the park amenities were now closed or shutting down to include the park shuttles. So we drove to the top of the pass in the Jeep taking some beautiful pictures on the Road To The Sun however, I'll save those pictures for a later blog as this blog will be bloated enough with pics!
We got an early start leaving our RV park with Paul and Paula at 8:30 a.m.  However, it took us almost two hours to get to the pass so we started our hike around 10:30.

Joyce and I (I'm carrying a large camera bag)

Starting on the trail across the street from the visitor center.

The Highline Trail is one of the premiere hiking trails in Glacier National Park. The Highline Trail begins at Logan Pass on the Going to the Sun Road and then runs north, following the Continental Divide in the process.

About a quarter mile from the start, the trail began to narrow and we had to traverse some narrow ledges with steep drop offs down to the Road To The Sun.

Not suitable for those with a fear of heights!

More of the trail and the overlooks.

The trail follows the Garden Wall which seems to have gotten it's name from the lush vegetation and flowers that seem to grow out of the rock.

One of Glacier National Parks more prominent features, the Garden Wall, is an arête separating the Lake McDonald Valley from the Many Glacier Valley. 

An arête (French for fish-bone) forms when two glaciers work on opposite sides of the same wall, leaving a long narrow ridge.

High above the Road To The Sun

The first half of the hike was in the shade of the mountain making it nice and cool at about 50 degrees at the start. However, as time marched on we all shed some layers particularly when the hike entered the sunny slopes.

(Paul) We all did a lot of this....

...and this (taking pictures).

We came across this Ram near the trail and I climbed some rocks for a better look and photos. Fearful that the bold Ram would attack, the girls fled down the trail (with our bear spray...LOL). We had seen some other Rams further up the mountain but none this close.

Rocky Mountain bighorns inhabit the mountains from Canada south to New Mexico. They are relatives of goats, and have balance-aiding split hooves and rough hoof bottoms for natural grip. These attributes, along with keen vision, help them move easily about rocky, rugged mountain terrain.

Wild sheep live in social groups, but rams and ewes typically meet only to mate. Rams live in bachelor groups and females live in herds with other females and their young rams. When fall mating arrives, rams gather in larger groups and ram fighting escalates. Usually only stronger, older rams (with bigger horns) are able to mate.

Joyce and Paula were getting tired and were ready to turn around. So they stopped to rest as Paul and I continued on for another 1/4 mile or so determined to get to a snow bank on the side of Haystack Butte.

Resting on a snow bank

Heading back we had to again walk along the Garden Wall cliff ledge. It looked like we were on top of the world. Again not for the faint of heart!

Portions of the cliff ledge have a garden hose covered steel cable attached to the cliff wall for those needing some support.

Joyce

Paula

Before getting back to the parking lot we came across some more sheep to include this large Ram that poked his head out of the forest. 

Rocky Mountain Bighorn

We had walked at least 7 miles on this hike and enjoyed every step. We all agreed this had been one of the most beautiful hikes any of us had done. Pictures just don't do it justice and can't begin to capture the beautiful smells, cool drafts and cold waterfalls that we encountered. Thoughout the trail we encountered small ground squirrels and at least one Marmoset. Another hiker described seeing a Badger or Wolverine. We had hoped to see some wildlife and we weren't disappointed. The views were literally breathtaking. After several hours of hiking we were ready to get back to the Jeep. The nearly two hour ride home was pretty quiet after descending the pass as we were all tired!

The Highline Trail can be followed to a chalet and then down hill for 4 miles to another point on the Going To The Sun Road for a total of 11 miles. If the shuttles were running one could then take the shuttle back to their vehicle. However, 7 miles was enough for us and catching a shuttle back wasn't an option as they closed down on Labor Day. It seems that much of the park's services would be closing or severely cutting back over the next few weeks as they prepare for their fall/ winter seasons. 

Jim and Mary's RV Park, Missoula Montana

September 1, 2011. Jim and Mary's RV Park, Missoula MT.


Well, again I've fallen behind on the blog. We haven't really done anything exciting this past week. We've taken advantage of the shopping opportunities afforded by our proximity to the City of Missoula. They have just about every major retail outlet and box store as well as a nice historic area of the city down by the Clark Fork River.
As promised, I'm posting some pictures of Jim and Mary's RV Park. It was a cloudy day when I took the pictures. We really like this park as it very well maintained and the flower gardens are just beautiful.

Our site, A-1 across from the office.

The trees around our site were so thick that we weren't able to get a signal from both satellites (110 and 119) for our Dish. However, it wasn't a problem as the park provides cable T.V.

Owner's residence

Aside from doing some shopping, Paul and I visited the Smoke Jumpers Center here in Missoula. We took the free tour which was very interesting. 

The last few weeks we've been experiencing erratic temperature shifts in our Norcold refrigerator. Some mornings it would read in the upper 20's in the fridge box. The next morning or the next time I checked the remote thermometer, it could be reading as much as the mid to upper 40's. I contacted a local mobile RV repair service recommended by the campground on Monday. However, they weren't available to look at it till late Thursday. So, I did a little research and discovered that the problem was consistent with a bad Thermistor. I picked one up for $25 and installed it. So far, so good, temps are staying in the mid to upper 30's.

Paul continued to have problems with his Ford's turbo hose blowing off but after his second trip to the local Ford dealer we hope the problem is resolved. 

Tomorrow we plan to move closer to Glacier National Park.