Road to the Sun

Mama and baby

Climbing to the Sun

Hidden Lake Lookout 

Sarah celebrates the day

Early morning before the climb 

Obviously I survived my night in the Saint Mary’s campground and awoke to a magnificent morning. It was the perfect day to make the 18 mile ascent to Logan Pass. I road with Sarah so we could take photos of each other in the foreground of the spectacular scenery. Sarah is a wonderful young physical therapist and I was grateful to ride with her. We road at a slow steady pace using the turnout points to allow cars to pass on the narrow road. This method was also great for taking pictures of the spectacular lakes, mountains and waterfalls. We reached Logan Pass (6,647 ft.) at 11:00 AM and after locking our bikes at the visitors’ center we joined some others in our group and put on hiking clothes we had put in the lead van. We then climbed on foot to Hidden Lake. It was a strenuous 4 mile hike but well worth the effort. Along the way we encountered white mountain goats and NO grizzly bears. The trail was very heavily traversed and it looked more like we were making a religious pilgrimage to some ancient shrine. In a way, I guess we were making a pilgrimage to a natural shrine. We reached the lookout point and gazed down on a crystal clear glacier lake surrounded by steep mountains. I must say Glacier National Park is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. Once back to our bikes we began one of the most breathtaking descents I’ve ever done in either a car or on a motorcycle. For 18 or so miles we flew down the other side of the Pass braking only around the hairpin turns. We didn’t have to worry about cars because we could travel at the same speed as they did. We made incredible time to McDonald Lake for our second rest stop. Since we hadn’t eaten much, the Lodge at the Lake was just the place for some hot food and a good gathering place for the team. The road to our campground in Apgar, 10 miles along the lake, didn’t open until 4:00 PM for cyclists. At 4:00, with full stomachs we headed to the campground where I met Cindy. Seeing Cindy was the icing on my strenuous but wonderful day.