Glacier National Park - Day 4 - Looking Glass Pass and East Glacier
I think both Kevin and I would have liked to stay another day at the Prince of Wales Lodge. It was a very enjoyable time, the scenery was breath-taking -- in the center of the lodge and in the dinning room is this huge plate glass window that looks out onto beautiful Waterton Lake - the lake is surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
We also experienced a taste of British charm and the food was the absolutely wonderful - the best of the trip so far.
But, alas, we had to leave. Today’s ride was the longest of the tour - an 80 plus mile day that would have us backtrack to the United States and back into Glacier National Park. The elevation for today would be 6410 feet up and 5870 feet down. Since it was going to be the longest day we were encouraged to be up early, we were also told to have our luggage outside our rooms by 7:30 so no sleeping into day. Tomorrow we would have a day off so we could sleep in if we wanted to.
When Kevin and I ride at home, we rarely have what I would call a large breakfast, usually a bagel or some cereal, some coffee, and then we are off. Well at each of the lodges the breakfasts were terrific. Plenty of fresh fruit, muffins and breads, cereals, eggs, bacon, sausage, french toast or pancakes - I mean the whole spread was wonderful, tasty, and very filling.
Kevin told me that we should do this at home, I just looked at him and smiled - yeah right, who has time to get this all together and then go riding.
Anyway, we decided to get some gatorade and so we rode into the town of Waterton and the most amazing thing happened. The town is not very large but of course we ended up getting lost. As we headed down what we thought was the main road, this woman had a large shepherd-like dog on a leash but something was clearly wrong. In front of her in the yard was a large deer who was intent on the dog. It seems the dog and the deer wanted to get it on and neither was backing down. The woman was holding back the dog. She asked Kevin to steer the deer away from the dog.
The closest Kevin has gotten to a deer before this was probably at a petting zoo when he was a child or when he took Casey and Jessica (his two children) to the zoo when they were children. Not something very recent. I held onto his bike as he started to walk toward the deer, it slowly moved back away from the dog and the woman. Eventually, the deer moved away and the woman turned around and walked the other way. Both Kevin and I wondered why the woman hadn’t done that before we arrived but she took off so we could not asked her.
We finally found a little grocery that had some kind of energy sports drink - no gatorade but something else. As we were leaving Waterton, the town center was filled with deer of all sizes, big and small, male and female, does, bucks - and they all seemed pretty comfortable with humans around. I imagine that the town has a problem with the deer looking for food. Seeing that many deer in one spot was for us city folks somewhat of a surprise.
Back on the bikes we began the climb out of Waterton Park and back into the United States. We came across tour-guide Dave - he was bringing up the rear and then we ran into Linda and Jim. The picture on the weblog was taken by Jim (thanks Jim - it is the only one of Kevin and I together). As days go, the weather was absolutely perfect, no wind, bright warm sunshine, no rain, and comfortable cycling weather. The terrain was rolling hills with some longer climbs. The scenery just did not quit. The mountains in the distance and the clearness of the day made for a very enjoyable ride.
Taking a little break before heading back into the United States from Alberta Canada. Our stay in Waterton Park was short but we thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent in the park. The land is so big, clean, impressive, and holds many treasures.
We made it to the US/Canadian border and had to go through customs and then headed our way back toward Chief Mountain.
Once we crossed back into the United States we had a six mile descent that was a great deal of fun having down the reverse the day before (6 mile uphill climb). We went from 5600 feet to 4600 feet in a little over 12 miles. The route took us by Babb and then onto St. Mary’s where we again stopped for lunch at the Park Cafe. We met up with Chris and Nate, later with Jim and Linda, and Diane where we all had lunch. The turkey/bacon sandwich and pecan pie hit the spot - let me tell you. Kevin even suggested that we come back tomorrow for another piece of pie. Of course it would be a 60 mile ride for a piece of pie but the pie was awfully good. At this point we had gone about a little more than 45 miles and still had another 35 miles left with several good climbs to keep us motoring along. We left St. Mary’s and immediately began a 6 mile climb that would take us near the Hudson Bay Divide.
Hudson Bay Divide
The Hudson Bay Divide is a pretty interesting and unique phenomenon. Montana is home to two great river divides, the Continental Divide and the Hudson Bay Divide. Rain that falls on the Continental Divide splits in half - half of it flows to the west and into the Pacific Ocean. The other half travels east to the Atlantic Ocean, first entering the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River.
The Triple Divide is an even more impressive geological feat. The Triple Divide joins the Continental Divide at Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park. Water falling at the Triple Divide will split three ways and end up in the Pacific Ocean, the Artic Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean.
Rain falling west of the Continental Divide will flow to the Pacific Ocean. The rain will travel to the Columbia River which makes its way across Montana, Idaho, and Oregon before draining into the Pacific Ocean.
Snow and rain that falls in the northeast section of the Divide will travel to the Artic Ocean via the Hudson Bay. Three small rivers the Waterton, the Belly, and the Saint Mary flow into Alberta as headwaters of the Saskatchewan River. The Saskatchewan River will eventually spill into the Hudson Bay and make its way to the Artic Ocean.
The rainfall that lands south of the Hudson Bay Divide will make its way down the Missouri River - which starts at the Continental Divide and flows East and South and eventually merges with the Mississippi River where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico and then into the Atlantic Ocean.
Pretty cool geological phenomenon.
Looking Glass Pass
We were headed to East Glacier Lodge but we would have to ride over Looking Glass Pass. As we head out, the road begins to climb and although there are few cars, the shoulder is good but it will eventually narrow. We pass Chris and Nate on the way and continue cycling along at a comfortable clip. The day continues to be dry and warm. The Junction of Highway 49 at Kiowa Junction and US 89 begins a 4 mile climb up Looking Glass Hill which will crest at Looking Glass Pass. In all of the riding that we have been doing, I think this stretch of road scared us the most. The road is nicely paved but their is a inch or two drop off from the road and the shoulder so it is best to avoid the shoulder and ride on the road. However, that is not the scary part. As we climb higher and higher, we realize that there is no guard rail on this stretch of road - just a lot of fresh air - nothing to prevent you from going over the side of the road. The drop is pretty steep and a long way down. I don’t think either Kevin or I have a problem with heights but we were not very comfortable riding along this stretch of road. The scenery and the vistas, though, were as advertised pretty spectacular and when we reached the top of the Looking Glass Pass we were treated to a breath-taking view of Two Medicine Lake.
We stopped to gaze and prepare for an eight mile downhill that would take us into East Glacier where we were going to spend the next 2 nights. The 8 mile descent was absolutely wonderful. Although the road was lightly traveled, we did pick up some traffic but the person who was in the pick-up truck behind me was content to follow me down the entire 8 miles - Kevin was well ahead of me and he was absolutely flying down the hill. Who ever they were, thank you, it was wonderful to go flying down the hill with no worry that someone was going to try to pass me on the road.
We made our way down and into Glacier National Park, and then onto East Glacier Lodge. We would spend the next two nights at East Glacier Lodge. As we entered the lodge, we were immediately impressed with the huge Douglas fir trees that surround the lobby. East Glacier is also known as the “Big Tree” Hotel. The site is incredible.
Recent Comments