Day 7: Glacier to Polson

Sadly, it's already time to leave Glacier National Park... I need to get to Jackson Hole in time to drive to Denver for my AP US History teachers' conference. (I had originally made an alternate plan to just stop the trip in Glacier, so we could spend a longer time in the Park... but alas... the road beckons).

Because it was so great the first time, I decided to start my day climbing Logan Pass again. Plus, it feels unfair to descend a mountain pass without having just done the work of ascending. And of course, it will be a beautiful way to enjoy the scenery.

We had moved camp from the Many Glacier area to Rising Sun campground, near the east side of St Mary Lake - this would make it easier for departure. But, then we decided to photograph sunrise at Wild Goose Island overlook. (after which, we came back to pack up camp and depart)

sunrise metaphoto

Soon after sunrise, I had packed up and was ready to roll... here we go, Logan Pass Part Deux. Considering the lack of any interesting clouds during sunrise, I had a feeling I would get better views this time around.

cold morning... departure from camp. notice anything different about my bike? there will be a quiz later...

self portrait on the road up to the Pass

Clear skies, minimal traffic (still early), crisp morning, legs feel good. 

Doesn't get much better than this.

the road rises... each bend is a new view... 

Running Chief Mountain to the left, Mount Oberlin to the right. Also, I love my bike.

remember that tunnel?

I am enchanted with the bear grass in GNP (tall white flowers on the right)... other places contain whole meadows full

dramatic peaks, cascading waterfalls, snow drifts, bear grass, dark pines... it's a wonderland.

still a bit of snow about. (this is why Going-to-the-Sun road often times doesn't open until July)

almost there... (visitor center to the left at the base of Mount Oberlin)

I did it! (again)

I had "traveled light" (the bike is still heavy) on the way up. Dad and I had planned to meet up before leaving the park so I could load up with supplies* and panniers packed for the day so that I'd be ready for the long haul to Flathead Lake.

the West side. I will be descending into that valley. blissfully.

Actually... because of the recent mud/rock slides, the descent down the West side of Logan Pass was unpleasant. There were several one-way construction zones where I had to wait for traffic (then have a long line of cars behind or in front of me). Much of the road was still very muddy, wet, gravely, or some combination therein. Not great for a fast, smooth descent. At one point my hands started to cramp from pulling the brakes so often.

road surface was not ideal for the ride down...

overlook on the West side... you can see effects of past forest fires

Dad and I had decided to meet up at Lake McDonald Lodge. it's quaint. and expensive.

can ya tell the road was a bit dirty?

I had waited a while for Dad, and started to become confused. We *did* say Lake McDonald Lodge, right? He was in a car... how had I beaten him? And how am I still waiting for him now?

Hopefully he was off getting some good wildlife photos or something, and didn't want to leave. That would be a happy excuse. But they better be some sweet pictures, because I am losing daylight (and more importantly) cool morning ride time. Where was he?

Finally, I see the silver Passat roll up. He had forgotten something in the campground. And had to go back over the pass. Now let's be clear: Logan Pass is amazingly beautiful, and is great to bike or drive... unless you want to be somewhere. In that case, it's sort of a nightmare of tourists, bad traffic, and annoyingly slow cyclists (like me!).  Poor dad.

On the upside... PIE!  (the backtrack, while terribly inconvenient, allowed Dad to swing by the beloved Park Cafe and pick up some more pie... it turns out the waiting wasn't really that bad).

mmmmmmm pie - 4 for 4... every day I was in Glacier, I consumed pie. good visit.

Finally loaded up and ready to go, I just needed to bike past Lake McDonald, and out the park... and I'd be on my way.  Lake McDonald is a fascinating (and, of course, beautiful) lake. It was carved by Glaciers (surprise surprise), and is therefore long and skinny, and incredibly deep.

It is about 470 feet deep. To put that in contrast, Lake Erie is 210 feet deep. 470 is a lot of feet. 

Lake McDonald from the road

the West end of Lake McDonald. Pretty. And deep.

After passing the Lake, it was a short ride out of the Park. I wonder when I'll go back...

so sad to leave

The route to Flathead Lake heads down mostly heavily travelled roads. They have a decent shoulder, and cars are used to seeing cyclists... but it still feels trafficky.

So, when I saw an "alternate route" on my map... I took it.

There was some gravel, but the Surly can handle gravel. It was great. Super great. The part of the route that was unpaved was hard packed... so it basically handled the same, and there are basically NO traffic. Just forest roads through the mountain country of Montana.

Now, the domiciles one passes on a road like this are fascinating. Some are obvious vacation homes... satellite on the roof, nice garage, etc. Others are residents. I mean, these people LIVE here. I kept thinking "this is basically where the Unabomber lived"... wondering things like "I wonder if they receive electricity of they're living totally off the grid at this point". I tell ya... fascinating stuff.

And the road provided it's own beautiful views and interesting experiences. At one point I crossed a bridge to see a group of amateur kayakers basically getting a lesson from someone in the river beneath me (kayak handling lesson - barrel rolls and the like). Also, they had driven all their SUVs and Trucks to the edge of the river over crazy terrain and impossibly large rocks. I kind of wanted to post a picture with a caption that said "see... THIS is what SUVs are for. not driving kids to soccer practice. either go off roading or stop wasting everyone's gas"... but I didn't want to offend too many people.

By the way, if you drive an SUV... start using it for a real purpose, or just quit wasting a limited resource. Thanks.

The gravel road ended in a glorious (yet gradual) descent and I joined up with the main road for a while, before taking a series of side roads to avoid traffic. Side roads are better.

dang right.

pretty fields of yellow... anyone know what this is? I think it's dill... maybe?

that's where deer had been laying down in the grass... by the way, Mission Range in the background

yup, that's a house (not a guard tower). someone lives there. 

I stopped at a gas station to grab some lunch cheez-its. As I rolled away and into a one-road twon called "Creston", I noticed my back tire was wobbly... and wait a minute... what is this?!?

Yup. I had a flat tire.

An annoyance to be sure. Because these tires are so well reinforced against flat, they weigh an extra POUND over already heavy tires that came with the bike. Not the wheels, mind you, my tires weigh an extra pound. (if you are unfamiliar with bicycles, just trust me when I say... that's a lot).

But, flats happen. That's why I'm prepared, I have two spare tubes, and all the tools to be able to change out the offending tube. Then, I can pump... oh no.

I didn't have my pump. I never put it on in the morning. And then, I even had the chance to make sure it was on when I loaded up at Lake McDonald... and I still didn't. Oh wow. This was next level dumb.

Did you notice it was missing from my departure photo above?  Here's some photo help:

that's what it should look like.

yup.

And so now I'm stranded in the middle of no where in Montana with no way to fill up my back tire. I was on a side road to AVOID traffic... so no help is coming any time soon. Luckily, unlike approximately 95% of this trip so far, I was in a small area where my cell phone actually worked (ie not Canada or Glacier). And doubly luckily, the same was true for Dad... and he wasn't that far away.

I changed out the old tube and tried to find the reason for the flat while waiting on Dad...

yyyyyyep. that's yer problem right there.
big ole staple done pop right on through

Anyway, Dad saved the day, and I was off. Relatively flat from here on out, and still scenic, but nothing compared to Glacier. I was ready to be done with this ride today.

Also, I knew the day would end near Flathead Lake Brewery... where they served (among other things) hot pretzels. Oh how I love a good hot pretzel.

The problem is the road leading down to Big Fork was a common road for logging trucks (if you haven't seen one... or thought about it... trucks that carry logs are generally relatively large). They make for unpleasant company for cyclists. But it wasn't the logging truck that almost ran me over. It was a landscaping truck that literally knocked me off the road. What a jerk. I would have tried to get his license plate or something, but my life was still flashing before my eyes.

Eventually I made it safely to Flathead Lake Brewery, where Dad was already waiting... sampling the local fare. The pretzels were delicious.

mmmmmm pretzels

We had planned to camp nearby, but it wasn't that much further to Polson... and there was a pretty nice and yet inexpensive hotel there. And that really sounded much better than camping. Plus, that's less to ride tomorrow, and I was still feeling okay. Not great, but okay.

All I had to do was ride the rest of the way around Flathead Lake to Polson.

Easier said than done.

Considering the road following the shoreline of the lake, it's amazing how undulating it was. Up and down up and down. No big climbs like Logan Pass... but those little rolling hills will take it out of your legs... especially if you've already biked 100 miles.

nice and wide here - shoulder width varied, traffic was polite... but still some tight spots

on the south side of the lake near Polson, there was a paved bike path. hallelujah.

the "Miracle of America Museum"... was I intrigued? yes. yes, I was.
but too tired - it will have to wait for another visit.

And finally, I've reached the hotel. A day that started with the ascension of Logan Pass ends 126 miles later... and (especially after 4 days of camping) I am, in every sense of the phrase, ready for bed.