10. Montana

Month: July 2015

Location: Whitefish & Glacier National Park

Time to get going

I am a city person, always being more comfortable in an urban jungle than the wild countryside.  But for the longest time there has been one place that I have wanted to visit, ‘Glacier National Park’ in Montana.  So I found myself waking at 2:45 am this July morning and taking the first flight out west to Kalispell, Montana.  The magnificence of the place was evident from the air with expanse of mountains spread out below me.  As can be expected from a small town, Kalispell is a very small airport and the car rental was a good few miles away.  But once I had collected the car, I was on my way to the town of Whitefish, which would serve as my base for this expedition.

As I drove through the beautiful landscape, I noticed the overcast conditions that were building up.  I arrived at my destination, a place called ‘Grouse Mountain Lodge’, which was as charming as something with “lodge” in its name would be.  I went over to the information table and encountered the least enthusiastic person that one can meet in this role.  However, she did provide me with a map to the park and the route to get there, which would be about 30 minutes of driving from my hotel to the entrance.  As I was walking to my room,I saw that there was a spa in the lodge and so I did the only thing that I could – book a massage for the next day!

The long and winding road was a bit treacherous

I had lunch at the restaurant in the lodge with one eye on the map of the park and another on the threatening skies. But I hadn’t come thousands of miles to stay in the room and so set off to the place I had come to visit.  The drive to the park is fantastic and it gets better as one approaches the "West Entrance".  I paid my entry fee, which was valid for a week, and drove to the first visitor center.  I chatted with the staff who told me about some of the trails and scenic spots.  With rain in the air, it was unlikely that I would be getting out for a walk, but what I would be doing was driving one of the most outstanding routes in the nation, the “Going To The Sun” road.  This road, which goes through the heart of the park, is 48 miles long and can be segmented in 3 parts.  The first part runs next to some fantastic locales, including a lake front where there were many areas for people to stop for pictures.  The last part leads out of the park and is pretty as well.  But what truly matters is the central section, which leads to the apex of the 'Continental Divide' which converges at a point called the ‘Logan Pass’. And that road is one of the most breathtaking places that I have ever seen in my life.

Rain or not, it was beautiful

There was a steady drizzle as I started up the mountain leading to the ‘Logan Pass’.  For the next hour I made my way up while passing some of the most gorgeous sights on this planet.  The rain and narrow road made it is bit treacherous, but I could care less.  And while it was raining, I would be damned if I was going to let it stop me from getting off for some pictures and well, just take in the view.  I reached the ‘Logan Pass’ visitor center and it was wet and chilly, meaning there was no way I was going to be doing any hiking.  I decided to come back the next day and now there was a decision facing me.  I could either go back the way I had come, which meant navigating the same treacherous conditions, or keep going on the road to the other side where I would exit the park.  Then I would have to drive the long road around the park which would take over 2 hours.

I exited the park and the weather had cleared, meaning I could breeze through the highway. While it was not as beautiful as the road inside, it was pretty nevertheless.  I passed the ‘East Gate’ as well as the sister lodge to my hotel, ‘Glacier Lodge’, and after a couple of hours found myself back in Whitefish.  The town has a charming area where all the restaurants, bars and shopping areas are located.  The rain had stopped, which was good since most of the parking spots were taken and I had to park a bit away.  I walked about a bit and saw that people had started filling up all the popular spots.  I went over to one of the places that had been recommended and after dinner, decided to come back to the room since it had been a long day of driving and an especially early one for me.

The next day was bright and clear

Next day I woke up to an incredibly sunny morning and looking outside my room window on the golf course, I saw some folks practicing their putting.  I went for my massage and after that went back to downtown and to a place called ‘Amazing Crepes’, because what kind of person would I be to not visit a place named as such!  I arrived at the park and right of the bat I knew that today would be different since there was a huge line of vehicles to get in.  I stopped at the visitors center and talked with a lady who told me to invest my hiking capital in getting to a place called ‘Hidden Lake’.  She also told me that my chances of finding parking up at ‘Logan Pass’ were next to nothing and so I should park at the base and then take a shuttle to the top.  I went to the pick-up spot and there were cars lined up end to end and it was not looking good in terms of finding parking. But then I saw this one free spot and rushed in to the chagrin of everyone behind me.

  

Straight from my dreams

On my way to the 'Hidden Lake'

I found the shuttle taking us to the top and besides me, there were a few other people, including a family who was only going part of the way since they were going to hike up to the top…and then hike back down!  I was content to enjoy the view, especially on this clear day as the shuttle made its way to the ‘Logan Pass’ visitors center.  I followed the signs to the start of the trail to the ‘Hidden Lake’ only to encounter one of the most surreal feelings on my life.  I could see the path in front of me which was winding its way up towards a pass around a mountain and I could swear that I had seen this in a dream before…many times.  It was spooky in the details that I remembered and as far as I knew, I had never seen a picture of this trail anywhere else.  I started hiking up and for part of the way; the path was made of wooden planks, like one would find on a patio. The breathtaking scenery around me made up for the tiring climb and it kept on getting better.  At one stage I turned around and the welcome center was a tiny spec in the distance.  The wooden planks had disappeared, the ground had leveled off and I was on top of the continental divide.

The visitor center was a long way behind

The overall hike to the lake is about 4 miles and includes a descent down the mountain that we had climbed and then some more.  However, about a mile and a half from the visitor center is the overlook from where one gets a magnificent view of the lake.  Considering that I had to catch a shuttle back, I had decided against hiking down to the lake, though I did travel a bit further than the observation point.  Many people were on their way down and I sat on a boulder taking in the once-in-a-lifetime view.  After some time I reluctantly got up and started on my way down, but not before picking up a rock as a souvenir from the top of the continental divide.  As I walked back, alongside me was a family of Mountain Goats, the native residents of this mountain.

The magnificent 'Hidden Lake'

Back at the visitor center, I took the shuttle back, but before getting in the car, I explored another path called ‘Trail of the Cedars’, an easy mile 1 loop which takes the hikers into the woods.  After that I drove back to Whitefish and went to the ‘Great Northern Brewing Company’ for some ‘Huckleberry Beer’ against the backdrop of the mountains.  It had been a long day and I came back to my hotel for dinner followed by an early night.  The next day dawned bright and beautiful, though it was also time for me to leave.  I went to another local favorite, ‘Loula’s’ for breakfast and then drove back to drop my car off and take the shuttle to the airport.  I had bought some ‘Huckleberry Jam’ as a present and the ‘TSA’ proceeded to confiscate that, saying that it was above the permissible limit for carry-on “liquids”.  First of all, I did not know that jam classified as a liquid, but seeing that the ‘TSA’ officer was more despondent that he had to do this to me, I let it pass  Plus, I could buy another one in the gift shop right past the security.  As I left Montana I reflected on the wonders that I had seen over the last couple of days.  I am not a poet, not by any means.  But I wish I was, since that’s the only way that I can describe the beauty of the place. I had not made it all the way to the shores of the 'Hidden Lake', but surely some day I will return. I must return.