September 2, 2010 Eastbound on Going to the Sun Highway

Just so you know, there is a mountain here called Going to the Sun. We woke up to fog, but the forecast was for a good day. The Lake McDonald Lodge is one of the "great lodges" and the lobby was amazing. The Red jammers are restored 1930 circa vehicles that take people on tours across the park. They run on propane and gasoline. There are thirty some still in operation and are quite popular if you do not want to drive the at times, hair raising Going to the Sun highway.



We decided to go back to Apgar Village (west gate) to see if we could find a WIFI connection. No such luck, so we set out slowly eastbound and as we traveled, the weather became better. We stopped at the West Tunnel and walked into it to take advantage of the cutouts to view the mountains. Kind of scary, had to make sure no one was coming, although there was a sidewalk. People would beep their horns going through the tunnel. We then stopped at the only switchback on the road, to take advantage of the views. Folks who were heading westbound said that the weather was clear at Logan Pass.



We reached Logan Pass around noon and yes, it was clear, but everyone else in the world was there and the parking lot was full. It took 10-15 minutes of circling before we found a spot. For those of you who know my traveling partner, you can imagine how special that was. We took out our chairs and our lunch and parked at the end of the lot to eat, with the most spectacular view of the mountains.

After lunch, we headed up the Hidden Lake trail, behind the visitor center. It was a boardwalk to begin, and it went up to the snow line and beyond. We trudged upward and we were rewarded by awesome views at every turn. At the top, we saw several mountain goats. Missed the marmot who was supposedly sunning himself on a rock. What a great hike.

Mike wanted to do a quarter mile on the Highline trail, but my knee was aching so I passed that up. He said the views were amazing, and I will look forward to seeing his pictures.

We continued down the eastward path of the road to our campsite in St. Mary. We were glad we decided to go west and then retrace our steps, as the views were worth it.