Montana, Round 2

Day 8 was a long day as I headed toward Glacier for the second time this summer. I've shared many of my thoughts of Glacier and Montana in the post earlier this summer. I'll only focus on what was different.

The Drive
The drive was certainly different. Instead of driving between mountains most of the way, I was in the rolling hills. And yes, the sky is gigantic.

The drive into the park is no less amazing when you know what to expect. It's still a shock, and it's still phenomenal. I would definitely recommend entering from the east side, for the views seem much more sudden.

The Tourists
I find there to be a great difference between park visitors and park tourists. I was going to spend a whole post on this. Instead of being negative, I decided I'll just share my funny tourist stories with you.

Tourists were a big difference this time around. The park was packed! I arrived around 6 p.m. on Saturday and there were no camping spots left. You're probably thinking, Well, it's Saturday, duh! Sure, but last time, we arrived on a Saturday at 7 p.m., when there were fewer campgrounds open, and we walked right in. I found a place on the east side of the park. I also later found out, if you're in jeopardy of not getting a spot in the park, you probably want to enter from the west side, which is way more touristy (the east side is an Indian Reservation).

Day 9
The next day I got up early and grabbed a campsite at Rising Sun. I then drove out of the park and up to Many Glacier, where I did a hike around the lake. Beforehand I got me a bear bell and some bear spray for the reasonable price of $58.85. As one Nashville hiker may say, "Well, meh, it's a $50 life insurance policy."

The trail was nice, beautiful in fact. Although you'll find photos from the hike in the album, I wasn't pleased with any of them. This time around I really wanted to experience the Going-To-The-Sun Road and try to get some different photos. These didn't feel different to me.

Nevertheless, the day was gorgeous and the hike extremely fun. On the way out I saw a black bear and its three cubs. I italicize "saw" because I really could only see the female. I bought a 300mm zoom lens; but they were so far away, I really couldn't make out the cubs. Maybe you can? Anyways, that's 4 bears!

Day 10
I saved the Going-To-The-Sun Road for the day I had more time. And just to my luck, it was overcast that morning! So I decided to drive the road most of the way and then work my way back slowly, hoping the weather may break. I found a nice little spot on Lake McDonald to play guitar and mess around with the camera.

Of course, it started raining, so I left and moved back east. And I'm not kidding you, five minutes after I left that spot there wasn't a cloud in the sky. So I went back and got a few good pictures.

On the way back I stopped to hike the Hidden Lake Nature Trail, because my bible told me it was a good idea. This is where I really started to get frustrated with tourists. This trail was 3 miles total, half of it uphill, and it was littered with tourists! From this photo you can see how it goes up and winds around the mountain. The whole time I was wondering why there were so many people. I later read the trail is a boardwalk all the way to the top. We just couldn't see it because of the snow. I, of course, was prepared with my synthetic pants, day pack, 5 liters of water, bear bell and bear spray. Not everyone was so much so. Most had shorts and tennis shoes on. Look for the girl in this photo. And check out this guy in his camo gear.

Even with all the people, the hike was rewarding. There was a small lake near the top (not Hidden Lake) along with a bunch of mountain goats. I took a lot of photos of the goats, and many of them turned out well, so I included most of them in the album.

Day 11
I left the park the next day and headed toward Yellowstone. I went back through the Going-To-The-Sun Road and left from the west side. This was a huge mistake. Not only was it cloudy, but taking adding the US-93 route (dotted on the map, but not worth it) added an extra 3+ hours to the trip.

The good story I have from this is I was in a cloud. My friend (I'll call her Heather) will be jealous!

A Note On Lists
I mentioned the 10 Best book in my last post. This got me thinking about making my own lists, for this book is just one collective opinion. I've decided I am going to close this blog at the end of my trip with some lists (similar to what I did after Leg 1). One such list will be Best Drives. The Going-To-The-Sun Road will most likely make this list.

The Beartooth Highway
I was speaking with my father about this list idea on Day 11 and he insisted I go out of my way to enter Yellowstone via the Beartooth Highway. As a result, I camped at the beginning of the highway in Custer National Forest to drive the highway in the morning.

The morning of Day 12 I drove this road. Before doing so, I spoke with the camp hosts about the drive. They said a couple from Austria visited them last summer and called the road The most beautiful road they had ever driven on, and apparently they had been all over the world. They road certainly is spectacular, and it's worth a trip. But I will save my judgements until summer's end.

The Montana Album

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