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Posted by Hockey Ref (157.254.98.204) on 12:47:31 11/11/05
In Reply to: Something to whet your appetites (part 1) posted by Hockey Ref
The designated driver for the Going-to-the Sun Road needs to have a steady hand as well as the ability to drive without being distracted by spectacular views. There are several places where there is a steep, deep drop on one side of the road and other places where there is a solid rock wall close to the edge of the road. The road feels safer than other roads in the Rocky Mountains that do not have the raised rock border that exists along most of the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
For those who are leery of driving a road on the side of a mile-high mountain, there are scenic interpretive bus tours, also known as "red jammer buses." These refurbished antique oversized station wagons are seen throughout the park, with their drivers giving a narration on the sights seen along the way.
There are pullouts or, as we call them in the east, scenic overlooks along the road, allowing visitors to enjoy the expansive views and take photographs. The "weeping wall" on the western side of Logan Pass is a long, solid rock wall a few feet from the road that always has a thin waterfall running over its surface.
Two long lakes along the road, St. Mary Lake and Lake McDonald, are U-shaped glacier lakes. Guided boat rides are available there, as well as on Swiftcurrent, Josephine and Two Medicine lakes.
Hikers will find hundreds of miles of trails in the park, ranging from the half-mile, flat Trail of the Cedars with green ferns growing on the floor of a tall cedar forest to the Sperry Chalet Trail, a 6.2-mile trail with a 3,400-foot elevation which ends at a chalet where hikers spend the night.
Many trails lead to waterfalls, such as Running Eagle Falls, where one waterfall tumbles over a cliff and a second waterfall below it gushes from a large hole in the rock. Located near Two Medicine Lake, the trail to see Running Eagle Falls is only two-tenths of a mile long.
(continued in next post)
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