Many Glacier

Driving towards Many Glacier.

The road leading to the Many Glacier area parallels another lake, Lake Sherburne, and crosses areas of private land where cattle seemed to graze freely. Masses of lupines and other wild flowers dotted the banks of the lake, much as near St. Mary's.

Lupines and wildflowers on the banks of Lake Sherburne

Many Glacier Road.

The Many Glacier part of the park is directly behind the mountain range with the Bishop's Cap, and is not visible from the Going to the Sun Road. It's difficult to get an idea of how the two sides connect with each other when viewed from such a different perspective until one looks at a map. The roadsides along the way were like a garden of wildflowers, so many varieties!

Bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) with wild pink Geraniums (Geranium viscosissimum), white yarrow and asters.

Wildflowers on the road to Many Glacier.

The road ended at a small lake named Swiftcurrent Lake, with the Many Glacier Hotel on its eastern edge. There was a campground on the shore opposite the hotel, and a few people were fishing and canoeing on the lake. The historic hotel also dates from 1915, but I didn't go inside to take a peek.

Swiftcurrent Lake and the Many Glacier Hotel.

The afternoon was waning and I was supposed to meet Kevin and his lady business partner for dinner in the evening, so I didn't linger here very long. There was so much to explore in Many Glacier, it would have been nice to spend at least one entire day here, but with such a long drive back, it was time to turn around.

Triple Divide Peak way in the distance.

On the return trip I stopped at one pull-off at St. Mary Lake with a plaque that pointed out Triple Divide Peak way off in the distance (the tiny peak to the left seen thru the two closer mountains), and explained the origin of its name. The waters from its western slope drained into the Pacific Ocean, the ones on the east slope into the Missouri River and eventually into the Gulf of Mexico, and the north slope drained into the Canadian Hudson River Basin. Awesome!

I stopped at Siyeh Bend once more, to photograph flowers I had missed in the morning and was spotting now in the afternoon light. From this angle, the waterfall below Reynold Peak was lovely, and the east side tunnel carved through the rock carrying the Going to the Sun Road looked even more impressive.

Waterfalls below Reynolds Mountain from Siyeh Bend and east side tunnel.

Siyeh Bend and creek

Cascade Mountain Ash (Sorbus scopulina)

Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)

Lyall's Pentstemon, Indian Paintbrush and Thimbleberry.

I spotted more flowers above Siyeh Bend and stopped again for Rocky Mountain Columbines.

Rocky Mountain columbine (Aquilegia flavescens)

I found a parking spot at one of the pull-offs at Logan Pass and stopped again for more photos of mountain goats and plants. I wanted to photograph the expanses of bear grass growing along the way, looking for the best examples for my paintings.

Prickly currant (Ribes lacustre)

Bear grass at Haystack Falls

After going around the Loop and down, I found parking at the Trail of Cedars on Avalanche Creek, and decided I had just enough time left for a short investigation.

Trail of Cedars

The Trail of Cedars consisted of a boardwalk set above the floor of a thick forest of western cedar, Douglas fir and Lodgepole pine, a typical vegetation of northwestern Pacific forests. I saw plants on the forest floor that seemed familiar, some had leaves that looked like orchids (I saw these in bloom in another location and they were actually Clintonia uniflora), another I am sure was corn lily (Verratum viride).

Leaves of Clintonia uniflora, false Solomon's seal (Maianthemum stellatum or racemosum) and corn lily (Verratum viride) with ferns on the forest floor.

A plant with nasty thorns was appropriately named Devils club, as I learned later. Although the berries look attractive, I understand the spines, which also grow under the leaves as well as on the stems, break off easily and can embed themselves in the skin, causing grave irritation and allergic reaction.

Devil's club (Oplopanax horridus)

At the midpoint of the short trail, a bridge crossed over Avalanche Creek; here was a sign for the trailhead to Avalanche Lake. It would have been a lovely warm-up hike if I'd had time, but unfortunately, it was now getting on towards six in the evening.

Avalanche Creek looking upstream.

Avalanche Creek looking downstreamm

Reluctantly I went over the bridge and back towards the road where I had parked. Perhaps tomorrow, I'd have time for Avalanche Lake? I needed to repack my gear tonight to have it ready for the mule pack going up to Sperry Chalet on Sunday morning. Kevin had asked me to have everything ready so he could pick it up tomorrow morning when he came by. He needed to have everything ready the night before, since the mule pack left around 5 AM the following day.

McDonald Creek above Avalanche Creek.