Journey Day11 - East Glacier Park to Whitefish (Glacier 2)

[catchup; photos added 25/08/16]

Our granary loft proved to be very homely, we’re almost sad to leave. Being upstairs, the view out of the windows and door is into the tree canopy making it feel like a tree house.

The only downside I would warn of is the rail track nearby runs all night. We both enjoy the proximity to the trains as we are fascinated by these BNSF giant engines and long, long trains. They are noisier than normal here as the track is on a gradient and the massive engines are working hard.

I timed on giant going past quite fast with 3 locos at front and one at rear and it was passing at a fair speed for over 3 ½ minutes.

We got ourselves together breakfasted and packed and left at 9:20; temp 64F. The plan was to head north to Many Glacier valley for a short hike before driving over Logan’s Pass and continuing west to Whitefish.

We stopped at St Mary to shop and I was a little distracted to have Cheddar cheese as one of the ingredients of my sandwich for later.

We continued on before having to stop for a herd of Cows on the road which we eventually passed moving slowly between them as they looked in through the windows at us.

(animal lovers may want to jump the next paragraph)

We were on a road with foliage close on both sides and it appears that a group of wild horses were slowly working across. Suddenly, horses appeared in the middle of the road, a car coming the opposite was managed to steer through but in front of the car immediately ahead of me some panicked including a gorgeous foal that turned back into the front of the car. It managed to get up but it was clear that one of its legs was broken below the knee. I think it’s the saddest sight I have ever seen. The car had been moving at a slow pace for the road carefully and I can suggest no blame at all to the driver. He was on the phone to the police and we carried on but I continue to think of the poor mare pining for her foal which will certainly have been put down.

A stark reminder to me driving thousands of miles a long way from home of how things can suddenly turn bad.

We arrived at Many Glacier valley and I immediately thought this looks better; the grandeur of the mountains was more what I had expected and it was much quieter. Logan’s Pass was swamped with people and traffic yesterday.

The entrance road passed through some rough road sections before reaching the car park which was already full but we parked only 20yds along the road.

The tall mountains were speckled with small glaciers and as we passed the lake reflections in its clear blue waters.

We set off to hike a 5 mile return trail to a waterfall at the end of * Lake with our sandwiches and drinks this time. Most of the trail was was gentle gradients through woodland. We branched off to a lake where Moose were known to frequent but not while we were there. We chatted briefly to a girl who was local and she said they were always there in the evening, which I think we knew. We continued the very pleasant walk and arrived at the waterfall which was lovely spot. The waterfall was great for a spot of pointless clambering about which I enjoyed climbing to the different levels and crossing over streams.

We ate lunch before returning, again via the moose lake, just in case, to the car park were we had 2 enormous ice creams, soft Huckleberry and Vanilla mixed and so cold I got brain freeze for several painful minutes.

At 2:40 we left the car park and headed south to the Eastern Park entrance arriving 3:20 to drive the the through route over Logan’s Pass again but this time East to West.

Immediate impression was bigger and better than remembered. We climbed to a backdrop of beautiful mountains with a massive past forest burn out foreground. The view across to Jackson Glacier was well worth a stop and photo.

Snow slide at top of mountain

OK, I get it. Yesterday I was smug moaning that is was nothing to places in Europe and how underwhelmed I was. Not only was I being a spoiled brat just because I’ve been lucky enough to see other places, but I wasn’t looking behind me. East to West early afternoon delivered dramatic peaks with a smattering of small glaciers heavily melting.

Still busy even on a Monday, Logan’s Pass parking full and closed as we passed by. Earlier in the day a guy had offered me a day pass as he’d spent paid 30 dollars to drive through and not been able to stop and resented wasting it. I think he felt worse than I did yesterday.

Over the pass I remembered yesterday. The West side is indeed very different from East. It is big but all wooded and with smoother contours. I can again see why I was disappointed. Direction of light at different times of day also makes a difference

Exiting the Park at West Glacier we only had 25 miles to our accommodation. These miles were filled with outdoor activities; carting, zip wires, rafting and many golf courses.

We arrived at 6pm in 87F and after unpacking spent a while in the hotel pool before driving down to Whitefish town. A tidy town with a lot of new build, quite pretty but clearly for those with money. After exploring the town we settled on Jersey Boys Pizza which was excellent sitting outside in the balmy evening.

Back to hotel and blog writing late.

Today's route:

Statistics: Miles today: # 164; Miles so far: 2157; Fuel added so far: 71.2 US gals; States: Montana; Time Zone: Mountain (UK -7)