The Crown of the Continent - Glacier National Park, 6.30.22 - 7.8.22, Part 2 of 3

We had a reserved campsite at a private RV campground called Johnson’s of St. Mary for the next three nights. Due to some road construction on Highway 89, they suggested that we stay on Highway 2 out to Browning and then take 464 north to Babb before dropping down to St. Mary and the campground. It was about a two hour drive. We got on Highway 2 right out of Apgar which curves around the southern boundary of Glacier National Park, crossing the Continental Divide at 5,210’ Marias Pass. The drive was beautiful with sprawling views to the peaks of the Divide but clouds clung to the summits so we never had a full view. From Babb we headed south on 89 and soon reached our campground. Johnson’s is perched on a hill overlooking the small town of St. Mary. The campground has several tiers. We were camped on the lowest tier which was essentially a grassy lawn with several other RVs lined up in a row. While nothing fancy or private, I liked it because we had great views. Looking north we had Lower St. Mary Lake, directly across from us was an impressive ridge fronted by the large butte of Singleshot Mountain and looking slightly southwest, above the buildings of St. Mary, the valley of Going To The Sun Road lay before us with several big peaks lining the valley along St. Mary Lake.

The view up the eastern side of Going To The Sun Road from Johnson’s of St. Mary RV Campground.

**Looking north to Lower St. Mary Lake from Johnson’s RV Campground**

It was still early when we got settled into our new campground so we hopped in the Jeep and drove down to the Glacier National Park Visitor Center. This is the biggest and supposedly the best of the three visitor centers in the park, the others being Apgar and the one at Logan Pass (which we couldn’t get to). The visitor center is located at the eastern terminus of the Going To The Sun Road. On this eastern side, the road is open thirteen miles to the Jackson Glacier Overlook. Of the few things I had actually planned for this trip that were still possible, shooting the sunrise from a spot along this stretch of road was one of them so it only made sense that we drove up the road as far as we could and scoped out the lay of the land. Just a short way from the visitor center we came to Two Dog Flats, an open meadowy hillside known for seeing wildlife. We passed by Rising Sun Campground which was closed and then began to climb above St. Mary Lake. Next up was a pullout for Wild Goose Island Overlook. This is perhaps the most famous view of the entire park, seen on postcards, posters, magnets, keychains, jigsaw puzzles and all sorts of other items typically found in the souvenir shops all around the park. Despite the popularity, I wanted to put my own stamp on this iconic spot and planned to come back for sunrise photography during our stay. Continuing our drive we passed by Sun Point, the trailhead to St. Mary Falls and then the end of the line at Jackson Glacier Overlook. So far we hadn’t stopped anywhere but on the way back down we pulled into the short side road to Sun Point. There is a short trail leading to a rock outcrop there so I made note of where the trail started. Further back down the road we stopped at Wild Goose Island Overlook. The overlook was nice but hiking a very short way down a trail towards the lake I thought looked like a better spot to shoot sunrise from. This advance recon is so great compared to stumbling around in the pre-dawn light trying to figure out where to set up shop.

After a couple of days of marginal weather that included some rain and low clouds, the next day looked to be an improvement. It was hard to sleep anticipating the plan for the next day. In the middle of summer, ya gotta get up mighty early if you want to see the first rays of sun. On this day, the sun was expected to rise at 5:39AM. The alarm went off at 4:15AM. I got dressed and stepped outside. The sky was crystal clear and there was already an orange glow on the eastern horizon. After clanging pots together, blasting the Beastie Boys and testing the carbon monoxide alarm numerous times, Bridgit finally got up and we were out the door at 4:45AM. We drove north in subdued quiet silence, only half awake at the early hour. At Babb we turned onto the Many Glacier Road heading for the famed Many Glacier Hotel. Sunrise was still a half hour away but it was already quite light out. Despite our sleepy silence, we were on high wildlife alert and almost as if we had planned it, a grizzly bear lumbered up and over the road just a few yards in front of the Jeep. Bridgit had her iPhone locked and loaded so as the grizzly climbed up a small hill, she got the shot just as it was framed against the sky on the top of the hill.

Okay, there’s nothing quite like a grizzly sighting to start your day and we were both wide awake, whoo-hooing and high-fiving as we made our way to the hotel. The road ran alongside Lake Sherburne and then up to the Many Glacier Hotel on the shore of Swiftcurrent Lake. Shooting the sunrise from this lake was my number one desire on this trip given the current circumstances and in the early morning pre-dawn light I could tell it was going to be great. There were even some clouds in the sky but none that interfered with the immense peaks that rose straight above the opposite side of Swiftcurrent Lake. I always read about the hundreds of photographers that I will encounter at these iconic sunrise spots but on this morning there was only one nice young couple from Texas sharing the shoreline with me.

Directly in front of me and across the lake, 7,604’ Grinnell Point rose like a perfect pyramid, flanked by 9,557’ Mount Gould on the left and 9,326’ Mount Wilbur on the right. Despite its lesser altitude, Grinnell Point looked huge. The entire scene of the three peaks and the lake was so immense and so close to me that there was no way I could capture it all with my 24mm lens. This is where my iPhone 12 Pro Max becomes invaluable. The ultra wide angle lens and the pano mode on this phone are powerful tools and many times I have captured images that would have been impossible otherwise.

The light hit the top of Mount Gould first and slowly lit up Grinnell Point and Mount Wilbur. As hoped for, it was a beautiful sunrise and my camera was purring. As the sun came up I fantasized about the hikes that lead from this vicinity. I could see where Swiftcurrent Pass would be behind Grinnell Point and next to Swiftcurrent Mountain. It’s a seven mile hike to the pass with 2,400’ of elevation gain but that’s a doable hike for me. I also saw where Iceberg Lake would be nestled in a deep cirque behind Mount Wilbur along the Ptarmigan Wall. The trail to Iceberg Lake is a 4.9 mile hike one way with 1,275’ of elevation gain. Both of these will have to wait for another time but it was fun to imagine the scenery at the end of these trails.

After shooting for about forty minutes, it was time to move on to our next destination. We drove just a very short way past Swiftcurrent Lake, beyond the Many Glacier Campground to the end of the road at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. Clutching our bear spray (this trail had just re-opened after being closed for bear activity), we bravely wandered down the Swiftcurrent Pass Trail a half mile to Fishercap Lake. This lake is supposed to be a gold mine for spotting moose but we hung out there for a little while and no moose appeared. We did meet up with a deer and it was still a very pretty little lake and a nice early morning hike without too much effort needed.

After giving up on seeing a moose, we made our way back to the Many Glacier Hotel, stopping first to drive through the Many Glacier Campground to scope it out. It didn’t look quite as nice as Apgar but its location can’t be beat. Back at the hotel, it was time for breakfast at the Ptarmigan Dining Room. The Many Glacier Hotel is one of the grand lodges of the country. This five story hotel has 205 guest rooms, half of which are lake view rooms with shared balconies. The views from the rooms are unbelievable and the chance to enjoy both sunsets and sunrises from one of these rooms is hard to put a price on (but they manage to!). We enjoyed their breakfast buffet at a table looking out over the lake (of course). Afterwards we explored the hotel and took a few more pictures outside before heading out.

**The Many Glacier Hotel on Swiftcurrent Lake**

**The view from the Many Glacier Hotel**

While we were walking around the grounds taking a few last photos, Bridgit looked up on the hillside above the hotel and spotted another grizzly. It was on the move and disappeared over the rise but that was bear number two for the day!

Leaving the hotel, we again had the bulk of the day ahead of us and no real plan. This isn’t like me but with the ever changing conditions we were dealing with, it was hard to plan ahead. Just as well. Winging it has its perks sometimes as we shall soon see. We decided to just drive really slowly along the road since we had already seen a deer and two grizzly bears, stopping at the pullouts to scan the slopes for any movement. About halfway back we pulled into the parking area with a trailhead for two different hikes. One went to Poia Lake. The other went to Akipuni Falls. This hike was only one mile and although it climbs 700’ along the way, it was only a two mile round trip so we decided to go for it. Starting up the trail, keep in mind it was still very early in the morning so there was only a couple of cars in the parking area and nobody in sight on the trail. We started by gently ascending an open meadow flat towards the treeline and a rocky gap between Altyn Peak and Akipuni Mountain. We hadn’t gone even a quarter mile when we both saw a movement just ahead and to the right of us. For a split second we thought grizzly but with one giant step, a bull moose emerged from the bushes and very slowly chomped his way to the trail less than fifty feet in front of us. It was slow enough that I was able to switch lenses. He didn’t even seem to notice us but right then my stupid iWatch blurts out, “Congratulations! You’ve closed your exercise ring!” Well Mr. Moose looks up at us, determines we are not worth his attention and ambles up the trail and out of sight.

**Trail to Akipuni Falls. We met the moose just ahead of where this was taken.**

Once we caught our breath after our close encounter with Mr. Moose, we gave it some time to put a little distance between us before continuing up the trail. We met up with a couple coming down the trail who hadn’t seen the moose but said no one else was above them so we had the trail to ourselves on the way to the falls. As we climbed higher we began to get good views looking back towards Swiftcurrent Lake and the valley. Soon we were in sight of Akipuni Falls. It was a really nice waterfall. Tall and straight, maybe ten feet wide and maybe a hundred fifty feet high. A short easy scramble put us in the mist at the base of the falls with a rainbow in the mist. We met several folks coming up as we worked our way down to the trailhead but we were the only ones who got to see the moose. As a last perk of the morning excursion, we saw some gawkers on the side of the road and got to see a black bear up on the hill above us. She had two cubs but I only saw the mama before they disappeared into the pines.

The Crown of the Continent - Glacier National Park, 6.30.22 - 7.8.22, Part 2 of 3

The Crown of the Continent - Glacier National Park, 6.30.22 - 7.8.22, Part 1 of 3

The Crown of the Continent - Glacier National Park, 6.30.22 - 7.8.22, Part 3 of 3