Going to the Sun

We got up bright and early in order to make it to the park in time for a ranger led hike to Avalanche Lake.   We were a little nervous when we found that it was our Ranger’s first guided walk in Glacier Mountain Park – but she did a great job.   We learned that the guy who discovered the lake named it for the multiple avalanches he heard in the surrounding mountains on his hike that day.   We also learned that they estimate all the Glaciers will be gone from the park by 2030 due to climate change  They will still have a beautiful park – but the name will be a historical note rather than a description….  (They started with 150 when the park was established and currently have 25.)

Cool moss along the trail

We followed the hike with a trip on the Going to the Sun road.   We enjoyed great views and appreciated that this road had better guarded sides than the Beartooth parkway (though I would still give the edge for the most beautiful to Beartooth!).   We learned that most of the famous hikes around Logan’s pass at the top were closed (due to heavy snow with potential for 6-10 foot drop offs!) – so we picked a hike at a lower elevation.

After the Road we drove to Many Glacier.   This area is named for the Many Glaciers you can (or in some cases could) see from one point.   On our hike here we saw our first bear (a cub),  a moose with her calf in the water, a pica (smaller than a chipmunk) and some very exciting deer!

We returned to our cabin (at Going to the Sun lodge) for some dinner and a very early night for our very tired legs!    We couldn’t have hoped for a more beautiful sunny day for this adventure.