Wilderness Wandering

August 24, 2024

We left Moscow, ID and traveled north along the west side of Idaho up into the pan handle. We stopped in Coeur d’Alene at Independence Park on Northwest Lake and ate lunch on a park bench. We traveled across the pan handle and into Montana. The landscape changed dramatically, from wheat fields to thick forest. Along the highway there were billboards advertising The World’s Best Huckleberry Shakes at a gas station just before you enter Glacier. We wanted to fill up before entering Glacier anyway, so we got gas and a huckleberry shake. It WAS EXCELLENT! 

We arrived at Glacier about 5:30 PM. We drove to Apgar Campground, which is just past the West Glacier entrance and I made spaghetti and red sauce for dinner so Tim could carb up. He planned to check something off his bucket list Sunday,  riding his bike up Going to the Sun Road! We were excited that campfires are being allowed at Glacier, but decided to wait for Sunday night to have one. 

August 25, 2024

Glacier has implemented a reservation system to be allowed to enter the park at two of the most popular entrances – Going to the Sun Road from the West and Many Glacier. Glacier was not an original part of this trip. But after we decided to meet up with some friends while we were out here, it was too late to get a reservation. They do have a couple spots that you can try to get at 7 PM the night before, or you can arrive into the park before 6 AM without a pass. We didn’t have cell service, so we were up at 5 AM to get into the park before a reservation was needed. Although Apgar campground is “in” Glacier, staying there does not get you onto Going to the Sun Road. So, Tim and his bike were in the van ready to ride, and I drove the van to the first pullout inside the reservations needed area and we waited for the sun to come up around 6:45. 

If you’re not familiar with GTTSR, it is a 50 mile two lane road through Glacier National Park that crosses the Continental Divide at Logan’s Pass. Along the drive you see impressive glaciers, beautiful valleys, cascading waterfalls, and bright wildflowers. The views are literally breathtaking!

I say that because especially from west to east, you are driving a narrow, twisting road right up against sheer drop offs. Tim wanted to be very visible on the road because there is no shoulder. He had two flashing lights on the back of his bike and one on the front. He was also wearing a fluorescent jacket. At 6:45 he set off. The plan was for me to drive up to Logan’s Pass, the high point of the drive and wait for him.

I arrived at Logan’s Pass at 7:50 to find the lot already full. So, I had to circle around for a while to get a parking spot. While there, I took care of getting the passport stamp and getting some trail information from the Ranger. Tim arrived a few minutes after 10:00 AM with a huge smile on his face! He had ridden the 30 miles uphill safely and seen a tremendous amount of natural beauty at pedal pace. The last 10 miles he climbed nearly 3,500 feet, so he was a little tired but very happy. 

The two hikes available from Logan’s Pass are both longer hikes. Tim had already had a very good workout, so we decided to hike some shorter hikes. We headed back towards Apgar campground and stopped at Avalanche Lake trailhead. The trailhead was crowded. We found parking and set out for a lovely, shady hike through a forest of red cedar and hemlock taking us to Avalanche Lake.

The hike is a moderate 6 mile out and back off the Trail of The Cedars hike with 758 feet of elevation gain. We loved the hike! We had leftovers for dinner back at Apgar campground. 

Then, a treat! Apgar campground has showers! We capped off an awesome day with a shower, a campfire, s’mores AND an Old Fashioned! Life is good!

August 26,2024

We were up and out at 5:30 AM racing up GTTSR to Logan’s Pass to get a parking space. We were there at 6:45 AM and the lot was almost full, but we did get a spot. We decided our first hike would be Hidden Lake, a moderate 6 mile out and back hike with 1339’ of elevation gain. The first 1.5 miles is a series of boardwalks up to Hidden Lake Overlook. The wildflowers were exploding, and we saw one Bighorn Sheep and a variety of marmot and whistle pigs.  We continued on with another 1.5 miles of steep downhill to the shore of Hidden Lake. The lake was calm and the clouds and mountains reflecting in it were perfection. 

Back to the van for lunch and water bottle refills. We took our photo with the Continental Divide sign and set off for the trailhead of the Highline Trail. We had limited time because we were meeting up with 3 couples we knew from Sycamore, IL for dinner. 

The trail follows the Garden Wall Ridge and the Continental Divide for most of its length. The full trail is 8 miles, but most of the views are in the first four miles. We did the first two miles out and back. The most exciting part was “The Wall”. It’s a narrow path with a straight up wall on your right and a straight down wall on your left. There is a cable built into the wall for this section. Past the wall, we saw a Bighorn Sheep up a cliff and we walked through some pretty little waterfalls. The views of the mountains and valleys were fabulous. I didn’t think the view could get better and then it did, over and over again!

We returned to Logan’s Pass and gave up our parking spot to some happy people. We drove east on GTTSR towards St. Mary. The low tire gauge came on, so we stopped to fill Calypso’s tank and put air in the tire. As we approached the gas station, we regained cell service and Tim’s phone started dinging. The friends we were dining with that night had been waiting for the shuttle at the St. Mary Falls stop and saw us drive by in Calypso. They wanted us to come back and pick them up because all the shuttles that had passed them had been full. But, by the time we received their texts, they had caught a shuttle.  So fun that they recognized Calypso!

We were a little thirsty, so we drove 6 miles north to Babb, MT to Two Sisters restaurant and sampled their huckleberry shake. It was every bit as good as the one we had the other day. Is there such a thing as a bad huckleberry shake? Then we bought huckleberry ice cream to bring to dinner and met up with our IL friends, The Taylors, Schroeders and Sullivans.  They were staying at some beautiful cabins with stunning views just outside the St. Mary entrance. We had a fabulous dinner with wonderful conversations and then they let us park in their driveway for the night. 

We weren’t at Glacier nearly long enough. We didn’t get to Two Medicine or Many Glacier at all. But we accomplished what we came to do and got to see some wonderful people! Until next time Glacier! Time to return to Lake Mills until we depart in October for our next round of parks.