Day 6
Sunday September 20, 2020
Yesterday we got a refresher lesson about stepping on wet vs. dry rocks. Today’s lesson involves the weather in Glacier National Park. The Going to the Sun road is a little under fifty miles between St. Mary’s, Logan Pass(the high point about midway) and West Glacier.
When I woke up there was quiet with no sound of rain. The forecast for West Glacier, where I was staying, called for clearing skies and a high of sixty. I should have checked the other areas of the park, too.
Looking in the guidebook, I found a trail to Goat Lake, named for its frequent mountain goats. Of course it was on the far, far side of the park road. It may be forty miles of driving, but half of that is twenty-five miles per hour, for good reason.
I hadn’t gone far when the light gray skies started turning darker. The clouds were hanging heavily on the mountains and in some cases over the roads. By the time I arrived at Logan Pass, the temperature had dropped ten degrees and the rain had started, light but steady.
The rain let up a bit as I drove east towards the trailhead, but never really stopped. I realize there are those heartier than myself who would have gone on the hike anyway. The point became moot when I arrived at the barricade. The trailhead was further up.
So, I simply turned around. The rain was indeed doing a good job of clearing the air. But, that’s the silver lining of the morning. By the time I had worked my way back to the motel, the rain had all but stopped, at least on the west side of the park, and the sun was starting to poke through the clouds.
What a day to be on the park trying to take some formal photos.
In many smaller motels, your wifi signal is directly related to your proximity to the lobby. Being on the far end, I took my tablet to the bench outside the lobby and checked options.
I was about to pack it up when Alan walked out of the lobby. This is his third season working in Glacier National Park and he loves it here. I picked his brain about trails and other the sections of the park. We wound up shooting the breeze for quite some time before he had to get back to work.
There were small patches of blue in the sky by this point, so I decided to hit a shorter trail that started just up the road. Considering the other sections of the park were still dealing with rain, trails here on the west end were more popular than usual. I wound up parking a bit down the road from the trailhead to Johns Lake.
This put me on the loop trail, an easy two miles through the woods. It wasn’t exactly a challenge, but it still felt good to get out and walk around a bit.
At the half mile point, the trail passes Johns Lake...
The loop continues across the park road and takes you to the other side of the river above McDonald Falls. One again, just a nice walk through the woods.
Feeling pretty good, I decided to drive east. It didn’t take long until I was in clouds and rain again. But still, I was seeing more autumn colors than I had the previous days.
By the time I had made my way back to the motel, it was sunny again. For the first time here in the park, sunset…
While the skies were suddenly clear here in Glacier National Park, the smoke in Yosemite National Park had become so thick, the Park Service shut it down.
