Aug. 4 we left Conrad and drove to St. Mary. It was only supposed to be a two – two and a half hour drive from Conrad. When we got to Browning, Hwy. 89 was closed, so we had to take a detour that was over twice as long as the 31 miles it would have taken from Browning. We had to go to Babb and then down to St. Mary. Then Phil made a wrong turn, and we ended up on Many Glacier Rd. headed for Many Glacier (a GORGEOUS place!!). However, the road is awful, AND they were doing road construction. We went maybe 10 miles before we found a place we could turn around and head back to St. Mary. It was a long day! We got to St. Mary, drank a Big Sky brewery beer (Summer Honey or Trout Slayer), and had leftover spaghetti. It really got chilly last night (low 40's), and we slept great!
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| This is what the sky looked like our first evening at St. Mary. |
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| The bridge across St. Mary Lake/River taken from the foot bridge to the visitors' center |
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| last year I never got a shot of one of the curved horns of the Big Horn Sheep |
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| Many Glacier area |
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| taken at Logan Pass in Glacier National Park |
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| Please note the solid snow on the Hidden Lake trail...grrrrrr! |
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| Can we say treacherous? I prayed all the way down!!!! Slippy, slidey!!! |
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| Leaving L.ogan Pass, this is the view |
Aug. 5, we walked down to the St. Mary Visitors' Center and back for our morning walk. After lunch we decided to take the shuttle to Logan Pass. We decided we would attempt the hike to Hidden Lake because Dad and several other people have told us how beautiful it is. I wore my Crocs because I walk in them every day. The path to Hidden Lake is paved and boardwalk, so I thought no problem. What we did not count on were the broad patches of snow on inclines/declines. After the third patch, we decided it was too dangerous. We did not take our walking sticks, either. I do not think the shoes would have mattered(except for keeping my feet warm), but the hiking poles would have been wonderful! We saw people with snowboards and skis going up and had a snowboarder zip past us coming down. I was so disappointed we could not make it to see Hidden Lake, but within a minute after we turned around, we heard thunder and felt a mist of rain. God was looking out for us! I'd hate to have made it and gotten struck by lightening! It was a great day, and we did get a good bit of exercise (for us). We had a good walk down to the visitors' center and then the walk up as far as we got on the Hidden Lake trail. We felt pretty good until the girl waiting for the shuttle back to St. Mary said she went on a 20 mile hike yesterday....
When we got back to our camper, I checked FaceBook. The Glacier National Park had a link to an announcement of a bear attack on a 50 year old man who was hiking one of the trails to a waterfall near Many Glacier (our side of the park). It was a sow with a sub-adult. The man had bear spray, but he could not get it before she attacked him. I think it was his left leg and arm/shoulder that got the bites. Also, she pulled him by his leg and shook him before she left him. He was able to get back down the trail where he ran into a ranger taking a group on a hike. An ambulance took him to a hospital in Browning for treatment. He is very fortunate to have survived! Lesson learned: Keep bear spray in your hand or easily accessible pocket!
It is wonderful to be back at St. Mary. There is a lot more snow still on the ground than there was last year. The rivers are still a little flooded from snow still melting. It is beautiful here and the lakes and mountains sing God's Glory!
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