The Crown of the Continent - Glacier National Park, 6.30.22 - 7.8.22, Part 3 of 3
We had just one more day to experience Glacier National Park before it was time to head for home. Once again, the alarm went off at 4:15AM and we were granted another fine, clear morning. On this morning we drove up the east side of the Going To The Sun Road. We did see an elk standing in a meadow near the road but no bears. Parking at the Wild Goose Island Overlook, there was only one other car. I shouldered my camera gear and hiked down the trail and then off to the left of the trail to what I thought was a great spot to photograph the sunrise. I saw one other photographer. He was about twenty feet above me and just to my left. He was a local guy and had been here many times. He said the sunrise is different every time he’s been here so it’s always a treat.
I had a perfect view of Wild Goose Island, a small treed islet in the middle of St. Mary Lake. To the left a full row of big peaks towered over the southern shore of the lake including 9,407’ Little Chief Mountain, 8,993’ Citadel Mountain and 7,986 Dusty Star Mountain. On the north side of the lake, 9,642’ Going To The Sun Mountain dominated. Beyond Wild Goose Island, 9,256’ Gunsight Mountain and 8,596’ Fusilade Mountain, both still covered in snow made a wonderful backdrop to St. Mary Lake and Wild Goose Island.
In the last fifteen minutes before sunrise, at least fifteen more people showed up. Maybe because he was more visible from the lookout proper, they all came down to where the other photographer’s spot was and set up shop right next to him. I was more hidden further down and had a tree between me and the lookout so no one came down to where I was until after the sun rose.
The first rays of the day started hitting Little Chief Mountain at 5:39AM and slowly but steadily lit up the peaks to the southeast, then the peaks at the end of the lake and finally Going To The Sun Mountain. It was another wonderful sunrise and I clicked off a bunch of shots for about a half hour to forty minutes. After that the morning orange glow gave way to daytime so we drove a bit further up the road and pulled into Sun Point. Hiking out to the rock outcropping, there was a photographer shooting a newly married couple, he in his tux and she in her white bridal gown. He must have gotten some amazing shots of them because the light was phenomenal on her white dress with the peaks all in the background. They were just finishing up and no one else came out there so Bridgit and I had the spot all to ourselves and it was an incredibly beautiful spot.
Pre-dawn glow at Wild Goose Island Overlook
Sunrise from Wild Goose Island Overlook
Peakfinder view
Another great sunrise
Gunsight Mountain and Fusilade Mountain
The day begins
Early morning light at Sun Point
View from Sun Point
The peaks near Logan Pass from Sun Point
Once we were done at Sun Point we drove back out of the park and turned south on Highway 89. This was the stretch of road we were warned not to take the RV on due to road construction. It turned out to be not bad at all and the scenery was much better along this route. We followed the highway south until we reached Looking Glass Road (Road 49). This was a much windier and bumpy road that also had various pullouts with great views of the Continental Divide and down into the Two Medicine area of Glacier National Park. We turned off onto Two Medicine Road and drove a few miles back into the park to the end of the road at Two Medicine Lake. We were in no hurry so we waited a few minutes for the cafe/gift shop to open and enjoyed a hot cup of coffee and a muffin before heading out. Our plan here was to hike a half mile out to a spot called Paradise Point. It sounded great in my research but this was one spot I was pretty disappointed in. I thought with a name like Paradise Point we would have a commanding view of the aesthetically beautiful Sinopah Mountain from an even closer vantage point than from where we parked. As it turned out, the trail ended at a beach but we couldn’t even see Sinopah Mountain which was around the corner and no trails led to that vantage point. We did have a great view of 9,513’ Rising Wolf Mountain across the lake to the north but it wasn’t as dramatic as Sinopah. It also didn’t help that for the first time on our trip, we were getting utterly brutalized by voracious mosquitos so after a few quick shots we hightailed it back to the trailhead where we had parked. One great thing that we did get out of our visit to Two Medicine Lake was that similar to what I was supposed to see at Lake McDonald, Two Medicine Lake had beautiful colored stones on the bed of the lake and crystal clear water.
Two Medicine Lake
Peakfinder view
Trail to Paradise Point with Rising Wolf Mountain
View of Rising Wolf Mountain from Paradise Point
Lone Walker Mountain and Mount Helen
Two Medicine Lake
Beautiful stones of Two Medicine Lake
We drove back the same way we came in but just before reaching St. Mary we did spot another grizzly bear on the side of a hill. It was pretty far away and was gone before we could get any photos but that was grizzly number three!
View down into Two Medicine from Looking Glass Road
Since it was our final night we decided to drive back up to Babb and have a nice meal at the Baron Supper Club. After dinner, since we were already halfway to Many Glacier, we drove back to Swiftcurrent Lake. Along the way we saw a really good looking fox. We mostly just walked around. I was hoping for a nice sunset but the clouds were just too thick and low for the sun to break through. It was still nice to be there and I think Bridgit and I both thought Many Glacier was our favorite part of the park. Just before leaving we saw another moose in the water on the far side of Swiftcurrent Lake. Our final tally for wildlife ended up being 3 grizzlies, 1 black bear, 2 moose, 1 fox, 1 elk and numerous deer. Not bad at all.
Falls below Swiftcurrent Lake outlet
Beargrass along the Swiftcurrent Nature Loop
Many Glacier Hotel from the Swiftcurrent Nature Loop
On the morning we were leaving Glacier I didn’t even set an alarm since we weren’t in any particular hurry and I had been getting up at ridiculously early hours most of the mornings we had been on this vacation. Maybe it was fate, maybe divine intervention or maybe I just had to pee but I woke up and looked out the window at about 5:15AM and the entire sky was illuminated by a soft orange glow. I grabbed my camera and headed outside just in time for the sun to break the horizon. The peaks all lit up with the orange sky surrounding them. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, a very fine light rain began through the sunshine and lo and behold, an amazingly vivid full rainbow appeared, stretching from the far left end of the peaks along the Going To The Sun Road all the way to the right side of Singleshot Mountain. And by vivid, I mean I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such vivid colors in a rainbow before! What a spectacular way to close out our first visit to Glacier National Park!
Singleshot Mountain sunrise
Blazing sunrise
Sunrise doesn’t get much better than this!
Rainbow dawn