August 28. Glacier National Park
It got cold overnight, but nothing crazy, 35* or so. We woke up to mule deer and woodpeckers in camp.
 |
| That there is a regulation mule deer butt. |
We had oatmeal, cereal, hot chocolate and coffee for breakfast and headed out. We decided to try something different for us today. Glacier runs a pretty good free shuttle bus system along Going to the Sun Road. There was even a bus stop in front of the Rising Sun Motor Inn, which is just a two minute walk from the campground. They run one shuttle as a loop from the east side starting at St. Mary visitor center and it makes several ( 7 maybe?) stops on the way to the Logan Pass parking lot. There is also a west side shuttle that runs from Apgar to Logan Pass. Pretty neat.
This is especially useful for a couple of other reasons. Primarily because the ole Durango is having a bit of a rubbing brake problem which may soon turn into a grinding brake problem. This has prompted a certain level of consternation 1300 miles east of here.
We are also on a budget, so if I don't have to pump any more 3 dollar and twenty cent gas into my truck, it would be OK.
So despite the fact that I have always been bothered by bus stops in National Parks, I'm trying to go along with the program. Of course, the girls think it will be fun. Neither of them has ever been on a city type bus.
So off we go. The buses come by every half an hour so we don't wait long and soon we are bouncing along on our way to Logan Pass. We have identified the Highline Trail as our target trail for the day. This is a trail we had decided to hike months ago, but it was unsafe in the high winds yesterday.
It's still a little chilly out and overcast, but not bad, probably around 50*. The trailhead is across the road from the visitors center and follows the Continental Divide north. It first drops into a small forest before climbing. Here's the beginning;
 |
| Highline Trail at Logan Pass |
Em is a little fired up about this hike;
We get through the pine trees and ascend to the real trail which has been carved out from the side of the mountain. The beginning of this section is narrow. Like really narrow. They have thoughtfully bolted steel cables to the side of the mountain to try to minimize the likelihood that you will walk off the side of the mountain and plunge to your spectacular death. Rangers don't like that.
Like so;
 |
| Easin on down the Highline. |
Here's a couple more that I like;
Here's 75% of TEAM RUFF
Jori tells me, " Hey Dad, if you slipped, you could land on a car all the way down there and that could kill you. Then another car would hit you and knock you off the side of the road into the valley and then a grizzly bear would eat you!"....ummm.. how bout no.
But, she's right....Going to the Sun Road is below us a ways....see?
 |
| Jori and Em ponder the funny side of mortality |
This one shows how the trail was cut as a shelf on the side of the mountain.
We hike about two and half miles along the trail and find a dry waterfall that we can sit in to eat lunch. There were no places that you could walk off the trail to sit down. The widest part of this trail is probably about four feet across and it's pretty heavily used. So we found a waterfall that was dry and broke out the PBJ bagels.
 |
| Not a bad lunch spot eh? |
Eventually we pack it up and hike back towards Logan Pass. As we head through the forest, Em makes an astute observation..."Wow, Pops, up hill is alot harder"....brilliant.
We cross the road and are back in the bustle. Now we just wait for the bus to come fetch us.
 |
| Bus stop in front of the Logan Pass Visitor Center |
As we head back down toward camp, it begins to rain lightly. We decide that this may be the perfect time to go get some laundry done. We load up and head to the town of St. Mary, only to realize that there isnt a town of St. Mary. It's really just a crossroads. After several inquiries at several establishments, we learn that there is a laundry at the RV campground up the road where it would be OK to do our laundry. It isn't very clear to me if it's really OK or just OK with the guy at the gas station, but we head that way anyhow.
We end up at Johnson's RV camp/hotel/restaurant/ laundry/propane gas sales place. Em stops in the office and gets a pile of quarters, we throw all our clothes in two washers, set them for cold and let er rip. What could happen? They're just camp clothes anyway. While we are there the drizzle picks up to a steady shower. The clouds are getting lower now so that you cannot see the peaks anymore.
It's also getting colder.
People are talking about snow. In August.
The attitude to take at a time like this is of expectant curiosity right? I mean, Chicago has some messed up weather, but it doesn't snow much in August.
Cool.
We finish laundry and head back to camp. I set up the stove on top of the cooler and open the tailgate of the truck as an awning so we can be dry when we have dinner.
 |
| Chicken chow-mein with rice and a Power Ade chaser in the rain....now we're roughin it. |
The rain isn't going to stop and it's still early, so the girls watch a movie in the truck (I can't believe I just said that) and I read and write for awhile. Around 8:30 or so we head for bed.
Stay tuned. I think I can wrap it up with one more entry tomorrow (ish).
No comments:
Post a Comment