Sunrise, sunset

On our last night in Glacier we were treated to a storm cloud special: as the sun sank among gray bursts, it cast a spotlight on the features of distant ranges. The following morning, on our drive out, we stopped for a few more sunrise views at various spots along Going-to-the-Sun Road. A fitting conclusion to the trip, and one that left me hungering for more. This is truly one of the most beautiful spots on earth, and I look forward to our next trip.

A hawk soars in the meadow, enjoying the sinking rays of the sun (and perhaps looking for some dinner).

Lake St. Mary

Below Logan Pass in the morning

Avalanche Lake Trail

On our final day in Glacier, we took a lower trail, traveling four miles roundtrip to Avalanche Lake. A shady trail running by a murmuring and sometimes gushing brook, it wanders by lush fields and mossy trees, arriving at a placid, glassy lake with dead tree stumps still lingering just below the surface. The tranquility of the flowing water and soft landscape was a nice balance to the remote and wide-open spaces of our first few days.

Moss on top of moss on top of moss...

Spanish moss takes over this old tree.

Wildflowers of Glacier

The following photos were taken on the Piegan Pass trail and the Highline trail.

Highline Trail

The Highline Trail, one of Glacier's most accessible and popular trails, starts at Logan Pass and winds its way through some of the park's most spectacular scenery. Though we had to deal with a morning rainstorm, the cloud cover simply made the hike that much more dramatic, and the afternoon sun that much more rewarding. More wildflowers and wildlife accompanied our hike, as well as widening views over Going-to-the-Sun Road, and the Glacier Wall to our south.

The Sentinel at Logan Pass stands guard over a spectacular valley opening on either side.

Marmot

Lake MacDonald sits far off in the background.

This deer heads uphill far faster than we were able to.

This goat had clearly run into hikers before.

Mom and me in front of Glacier Wall.

Grinnell glacier was visible from a short but steep spur trail. Though only 0.4 miles, it took about a half hour to travel. At the top of the trail, you could peer over the wall to this sight, which drained into Grinnell Lake, which we saw the day before on our hike over Piegan Pass. The trail basically climbed the steep wall that you see towering above the glacial lakes in the Piegan Pass post.

This deer enjoyed the afternoon sun as much as we did.

Piegan Pass

For our first hike in Glacier, we were planning to take the Highline Trail over Swiftcurrent Pass, ending up at Many Glacier; however, bear activity closed this trail down, so we opted instead for the Piegan Pass trail, which basically followed the same trajectory a few miles to the east. It was a fortuitous decision. The trail was spectacular, and essentially untravelled. We met four other hikers coming up from Many Glacier, but other than that, spent the day alone. Well, alone if you don't count the wildlife. We ascended through scented pine for an hour or two, emerged in a field of wildflowers, and then continued our ascent over a nicely graded contour of the mountain. Once we hit the pass, we could see glacial lakes far in the distance, which we slowly wound toward. After passing a couple of splendid waterfalls, we entered forest again, passing by Grinnell Lake and...well, you'll see.

The trail stretches out toward Piegan Pass, to the left of this jagged monolith.

Curious marmots heralded our ascent.

Mom, shortly after leaving the pine forest.

The glaciers are indeed melting, but patches of snow still add some excitement.

From the pass, you could see far down to a couple of glacial lakes, which we would eventually walk by. On the other side of this wall is the Highline trail, which we had to avoid today, but would take the next day.

A little bit of Utah in Montana.

We were headed next for the waterfall below, behind me in the next picture.

The lower elevations yielded lusher vegetation.

This "Hidden Falls" was off a short side trail.

Grinnell Lake draws from Grinnell Glacier, far above. I would see it the next day from a spur of the Highline Trail.

This bear led us for about ten minutes toward Many Glacier. It didn't seem too scared though, pausing to eat several times right in front of us. It finally scurried off and let us pass.

Swiftcurrent Lake is visible from the lodge at Many Glacier, and is quite popular with kayakers, below.

Glacier Visitor Center

After Betsy and I decided to come back to Webb, some of the logistics of coming back to the U.S. began falling into place. Most conveniently, we wouldn't have to rent a van for all of our belongings in storage. Instead, we could just move them right back onto campus. This allowed us a little extra time before arriving, time which my mother and I used to drive across the country in a reprisal of my first move to Webb. Except this time, we took the northern route, stopping for a couple days in Duluth to visit Betsy and her family, and then continuing on through Montana, where we spent about four days in Glacier National Park. "Big Sky" country didn't disappoint. The two photos below are taken from the parking lot at the visitor center -- just one small sign of the peaks and wildlife we'd yet to see.

Ospreys roosting, and waiting for their mother to bring back food.