Day 19 – East Glacier

Went to Loulos for breakfast which I had seen a few times passing through Whitefish.  Wow!  This place is so cool and the food is fantastic. The staff is fun and I enjoyed dinner here as well.

I met a few friends outsite…

 

 

 

I left for East Glacier and the temp was about 45 degrees. You would normally take the Going to the Sun road to get there but the center section at the pass is closed for major work. I took about two and half hours to get to the other side of the closed section by going around the southeast section of the park. I watched the temperature reading drop as I climbed to the top of the pass. New levels of alertness and concern fired up as the temperature dropped to 32 and snow began to fall. I kept going because I was so close to the top. The wind was blowing gusts of 40+ and I did not stop long for photos.  As I descended, I noticed the snow swirling around on the road but it was not sticking.

 As I passed St. Mary Lake, I noticed an interesting area to view the mountains with a better vantage point that included the lake.  As I arrived, a ray of light popped out of the clouds. I ran down to the lake with all my gear on so I did not miss this shot. It’s hard to frame a photo with my helmet on but I did not want to miss this. I probably looked like an alien running around but there was nobdy around!

The clouds created some interesting light patterns on the cliffs showing off the detail and colors. This was so beautiful and I would be willing to fight the crowds to come back and see the place in the summer. I’ll never forget this winter experience!

 

 

I continued to descend into dusk and explored options for my return to Whitefish. I decided to trust the GPS and take the shorter route which ended up taking me over a southern pass in Glacier. The snow was still intermittent and the temperatures were in the 30s. The wind was the scariest part of this ride. It was night, I’m on a winding pass road, there are signs of freezing stuff on the road, and I did not know how high I was headed for. I also did not want to turn around for a three hour trip home. I turned up the heated gear, concentrated, prayed, and eventually went over the top and down the other side without incident. I had focused on making it safely back to the hot tub which was a great way to end this incredible day.

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~ by johnhudsonphotography on October 20, 2009.