Day 18, Friday, August 3, 2012, St. Mary, Montana to Apgar, MT, Glacier National Park

 
Day 18, Friday, August 3, 2012, St. Mary, Montana to Apgar, MT, Glacier National Park

Today was the day we climbed the Road To The Sun over Logan Pass. It had poured the night before and the peaks above 8000 feet got a light dusting of snow on them.

Close up of Divide Mountain with a light dusting of snow from the storm the night before. (8665 feet)

Divide Mountain

Divide Mountain with Saint Mary Lake in foreground.

Looking dwon The Road To The Sun. Saint Mary Lake on the left.

We chose to eat at The Park Cafe for breakfast since last night had been a very nice dining experience. The wait this morning was shorter, 15 minutes, instead of an hour.

I was last out of the River View, River Side, River something, taj mahal. I did a final walk through just to make sure nothing important was left.

I met up with the gang at the entrance kiosk to Glacier. Showed the ranger lady my 'geezer' pass and off we rode. A crisp, partly sunny morning. It was after 9 AM so we were getting a somewhat late start. Geno had ridden down to the entrance kiosk the evening before to get the 'scoop' on what the bicycle restrictions really were. There were no restrictions on bikes over Logan Pass. There was an 11 to 4 restriction from Sprague Creek to Apgar, which is on the west side of Logan Pass and Saint Mary is on the east side. We determined we could hang out at Lake McDonald Lodge until 4. Therefore we were not in any hurry to get up and over Logan Pass.

The initial part of the ride was relatively easy. We went up and down and no ups required strenuous effort. Bob had ridden ahead instead of waiting at the St. Mary Visitor Center. I got ahead of the others, so when I reached Rising Sun Lodge and Restaurant I searched alone for Bob. No Bob. I was not hungry and had more than enough coffee for the morning, so elected to ride on.

 

Sun Rift Gorge, upstream side of the bridge over the gorge.

 

Downstream side of the bridge. The road turned up after Sun Rift Gorge.

 

Mount Logan

 

Mount Jackson

 

Clouds creeping in between the mountains.

 

Mountain to the left of the creeping clouds.

 

Going To The Sun Mountain.

 

Mount Siyeh, snow level around 8,000 feet on a 10014 peak.

Bob and I made it to the summit in approximately two and a half hours. Bob's GPS unit had the climb as a steady 5 to 6 per cent gradient. At the top of Logan Pass it was considerably colder. About 500 feet below the summit we began to feel the cold and began to bundle up. The visitor center parking lot was maxed out. Being on bicycles we had no problem finding a spot to park. I added my Showers Pass coat to my wardrobe. We walked into the visitor center, looked around, then I went outside and shot the pictures below.

 

Gunsight Mountain(?) to the right.

 

Reynolds Mountain, from the Logan Pass Visitor Center.

 

Clements Mountain

 

Mount Oberlin

 

Mount Gould on the north side of the pass.

 

The rain clouds are coming.

 

And there's fresh snow too.

 

Oh, look, there's some craggy rocks.

The descent to Lake McDonald was different than the ascent. First off it was cold. Within a half mile or so it began to drizzle. It wasn't intense, but enough to wet the pavement. this descent made me very glad I had specified disk brakes for my Rex. A long line of cars preceded me and a few followed me. I kept up easily with the traffic flow, but it required a lot of braking. There was a stop light controlling traffic and I had to hit the brakes hard to keep from hitting the car in front. When we got the green light I kept up and almost before I knew it there was no traffic in front of me. Many had turned off to look at the view. I, on the other hand, got vertigo every time I looked over the edge, so decided focusing on the wet, muddy, road in front of me was way more important. Did I forget to mention the road became unpaved about a mile from the top? It was hard packed dirt with an eighth inch layer of wet slop on top. My beautiful red, Rex, was getting all muddy. Focused on the road ahead, hands aching from braking, I looked  ahead hoping for pavement soon. It was a pretty long descent, 12 miles with about 10 or so unpaved. Down near the bottom I reached pavement, dry pavement. Traffic was still low volume. It was after being on the pavement for a mile or two cars began to catch and pass me. I was beginning to feel fatigued and on the verge of bonking. I was determined to make it to Lake McDonald, though. I knew there would be food there.

I made it to Lake McDonald during a light rain. I fished out the ham and cheese sandwich I bought in St. Mary. I saw some picnic benches over to the side and walked there to sit and eat. A three person family was eating pizza. They asked where I had been today. I told them my story for the day. They were staying at Apgar, our destination today, and had rented a boat with a 9 horse motor. They chomped the last of their pizza and dashed off to their boat to get back to Apgar. I moved the bike and myself under the restaurant roof over hang to get out of the rain and wait for Bob.

Just as I finished my sandwich Bob rolled in. We went inside and had some more food. The restriction on bicycle traffic between Sprague Creek and Apgar lifted at 4 PM. Bob and I went in to the restaurant a little after 3 PM. I realized what time it was around 3:30 and predicted the arrival of the five at 4 PM and even said they may ride right on by. Bob didn't think they would. We were both right. The five pulled in right at 4 but were very hungry. Most everyone else's experience was much different than mine. Herb even pulled over and took some really nice pictures. 

Bob pulled us in to Apgar. We got there around 6 PM. Dinner was at 7:30. We ate hearty except Mike who was still full from the 4 PM feeding.

Stats: D= 48.8, T= 4:24, Mx= 28.5, Av= 11, El Gain= 2446, Mx Alt= 6402 (according to my altimeter, map says 6646), ODO= 3675,