G.A.S.P.

Somewhere around the twelve mile mark I saw a patch of blue sky in the direction of Logan Pass. When I stopped at the Jackson Glacier overlook, I met a man who had just come from the other side of Logan Pass, and he told me it was sunny over there. I was truly overwhelmed with joy. At the fifteen mile mark two important things happened. First, I could actually see the Logan Pass Visitor Center and know for myself that it was not in the clouds and that there was blue sky beyond. Second, I met David Westerfeld who is also crossing the country east to west (probably 90 per cent go the other way because of prevailing winds). David is an engineer by trade, and a recent victim of a corporate takeover/downsizing situation, so he’s spending the summer riding his bike from New York (home is Long Island) to Seattle. (He has a scholarship to graduate school in the fall.) We spent the rest of the day riding together.

Eastern Half of Park Logan Pass McDonald Creek

Click on bicycle icons to see thumbnails of photographs. By the time we actually reached Logan Pass, the skies were starting to clear even in the eastern half of the Park, so I even have some photos which show the beauty of that side. From the top, the view is magnificent in all directions. The flight down is thrilling, chilling and oh so beautiful. The first ten miles are a 6½ per cent descent to a valley that is about 3000 feet below the Pass. From the pull-outs, you can see a stream running through the valley and a road (your road ten miles hence) running alongside it. Jagged mountain tops, all with partial snow covering, rise in all directions. The next twelve miles run along McDonald Creek (the stream visible from the top), and it is the cleanest, most "inviting" stream I have ever seen. It’s "coke bottle" green and lined with rocks of many colors such that it gives off kind a kaleidoscope effect of constantly changing patterns as someone drives or rides by. It’s also full of rapids and small waterfalls. The last leg of the downward ride is by Lake McDonald, the largest of the glacial lakes in the Park. Overall, I’m fully convinced that the Going-to-the-Sun Highway really is one of the most scenic drives (or bicycle rides) that anyone could ever take.

Get a map of the United States and put a push-pin in Glacier National Park. Then draw a circle with a 500 mile radius around it and promise yourself that if you ever get within 500 miles of this place that you will take a couple of extra days and come here for a visit. Just do it! Based on scenery alone, I’m hard pressed at this point to say that there is any National Park that ranks ahead of this one.