Friday, July 18, 2014

Logan Pass and the First Two of our Big Three…

Glacier First Day 061Armed with all the info given to us at the Apgar Ranger Station  we decided  first to simply take in the drive to Logan Pass on the Highway to the Sun. As we drove along the cobalt blue Lake McDonald we enjoyed all the magnificent scenery Glacier has to offer. They had a lot of snow here this past winter and as a result we are now being rewarded with hundreds of gushing waterfalls adorning many of the craggy mountainsides.

Glacier First Day 024Glacier First Day 039

Driving along the green forests of  Western Hemlock , Black Cottonwood and Western Cedar we followed a rushing and frothing river until we started ascending the climb to Logan Pass. Numerous switchback each with their own breathtaking views were encountered until we finally made it to what appeared more like winter than summer, Logan Pass, adorned with brilliant white snow.

Glacier First Day 035Glacier First Day 033

We parked at the pass and hiked around a bit on the Hidden Lake Trail where we saw the first of our big three wildlife sightings shortly after arriving. Sharon saw her first Mountain Goats as we found a pair of them, mother and baby. Interestingly the mother was donned with a radio collar as we found out later that scientists are studying the Mountain Goats in the Logan Pass area. What a cool sighting we had on our very first day…

Glacier First Day 069Glacier First Day 065

No sooner than we had scored the first of the big three we noticed a group of large mammals moving across the snow on the mountain across the road from where we parked. After looking though our binoculars we had scored the second of the big three… A large group of seventeen Big Horn Sheep were ambling across a snow bank en route up the mountainside. They were so nimble as they scrambled up the talus slopes. Super cool…

Glacier First Day 056Glacier First Day 053

We spent the rest of the day looking at numerous waterfalls as the snow melt is still in full force all the while keeping our eyes out for the signs of bear. Before leaving  the park we stopped at one of the pullouts near Lake McDonald and spent time relaxing and gazing out over the still blue waters… what a beautiful park this is…

16 comments:

  1. Such a beautiful area, reminds me that we need to get back there again.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are definitely there at just the right time in just the right year after all the snow. What a gorgeous place. Love seeing your pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We took the shuttle bus and glad we did. That road was too scary for us to drive.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow. We love the mountains. Are there many people around?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. lots of people at the more popular spots, lots of traffic... but when you get off the trail it is exquisite...

      Delete
  5. Excellent- We have never seen big horn sheep. Nothing cuter than a baby goat!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a beatiful area. Love the wildlife.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Amazing! Wow, that looks like a remarkable place! Putting it on my bucket list as I type!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love your blog! We hope to get to some of the places that you are writing about. Thanks for the fabulous photos.

    ReplyDelete
  9. And you found a parking place, we drove around that lot for 45 minutes before we finally left. Your description brings back fond memories.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great shots and how nice that you got to see the wildlife.

    ReplyDelete
  11. We were at Glacier about 15 years ago. It is truly a magnificent park. We saw plenty of goats, but no big horn sheep. I have been on a quest ever since to see them in the wild, but no luck so far. We have seen a grizzly, but I can't remember if it was at Glacier or Yellowstone. Enjoy your visit.

    ReplyDelete