My Hiking Journal: Entry 14

Clements Mountain with Highline Trail on left-hand-side of photo, with
Going to the Sun Road in the middle of the photo
Our boots could tell you some tales, we have hiked so much.  And yet, some trails stand out in our memories, the colors still as vivid as on the day itself.  Such is our recollection of the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park, which we hiked on Tuesday, July 11, 2017, along with 100 of our closest friends (read: it's a popular trail).

Beargrass and snow on the Garden Wall
Although the trail is 11.6 miles one way, you have the option to start at Logan Pass and finish at the Loop, with very little elevation gain.  The trail follows the Continental Divide below the sawtoothed Garden Wall, and since it is above treeline for most of its length, it offers dramatic views of the power of glaciers to sculpt the land.  

The day started when we left the house at 6.45 am in order to ensure arrival at the Loop around 8 am.  This in turn was meant to ensure that we could catch one of the first (if not the first) shuttle going to Logan Pass.  At the Loop, we found 8 people already in line in front of us.  (While we waited for the shuttle, we enjoyed breakfast tortillas prepared by Man with Hat before we left.)  After 2 shuttles, only 4 people had been able to get on, and I decided it was time to start appealing to the better part of human nature - I stuck my thumb out!

Upper left: Death Camas; Upper middle: Purple Monkeyflower;
Upper right: Saxifrage; Bottom: Yellow Columbine
According to Man with Hat, I was quite entertaining for the crowd that was also waiting for shuttles.  After 15 minutes of hitching, a lovely couple called Sam and June from Memphis, TN, stopped to give us a lift.  We heard later from others in line that this simple gesture started the ball rolling for others to do the same.  As Sam drove up to Logan Pass, we gave them some tips on Glacier since this was their first visit.  By 9.30 am, we were at the Trailhead.  Initially, it was very crowded, but over time groups spread out and we could almost pretend we had the trail to ourselves.

We had strategically chosen this day since it was forecast for cooler temperatures, and the weatherman delivered.  I hiked most of the day in pants and long sleeves.  Glorious!  A bumper crop of beargrass (remember from a previous post that beargrass does not bloom every year)!

Mountain views at every turn. 
Alpine meadows teeming with flowers.  
Bountiful waterfalls, big and small.
No trip to Glacier would be complete without some wildlife of the four-legged variety, and this day did not disappoint.  Hoary marmots are rodents that inhabit alpine areas, surviving on grasses and forbs in rocky areas.


This mountain goat was determined to hike with a group of us.

While at the Granite Park Chalet (arrived there at 2 pm), the sky spit out a little bit of rain as we enjoyed our lunch of rice, beans and corn with salsa, seated at one of the picnic tables outside.  You could see the rain coming down over Lake MacDonald, and the clouds moving in our direction.  

So we did not  linger and were back on the trail by 2.25.  We saw more clouds to the north, accompanied by some thunder and lightning, but we avoided any rain while collecting more visual treasure along the way.
Top: Penstemon; Middle left: Paintbrush; Middle center: Sweet Vetch; Middle right: Pink Mountain Heather
Bottom: Hollyhock
Playing peek-a-boo among the beargrass

We were back at the Loop by 4.15, which seemed long for the alleged 4 miles from the Chalet to the Loop.
Upper left: Hollyhock; Upper middle: Phacelia; Upper right: Unidentified
Lower: Shrubby cinquefoil and Alberta Penstemon

Once again, a long line of people waited for the Logan Pass shuttle. While we could not help them, we did give Wyatt from Michigan, summer boat captain at Two Medicine, a lift down to Avalanche.  He said he planned to go back to the Loop and give people lifts up to Logan Pass 'because I have nothing better to do with my day'.  Must be something about the Earth's beauty that brings out the best in all of us.

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