Day 20- Going To The Sun

I really liked my plan for today! Since I knew I would be waiting for the upper gate to open in the late afternoon I slept in a little bit and really took my time leaving the campground. I wanted to leave at 11:00.

I ended up leaving around 11:10 only because Natalie showed up in the campground just before 11:00 and I wanted to check in with her. She would ride the pass on Friday after exploring the park with her friends for a few days.

I could not help but notice that the weather was perfect as I headed up the road. Today, the name of the road going to the summit was going to live up to its name: The Going To The Sun Road.

As advertised, I encountered the first gate at Avalanche Creek where the road was closed to all vehicles. With the nice weather, the road was still crowded with cyclists and hikers of all persuasions. After the first 4 relatively flat miles, the crowd thinned out to the more serious hikers and cyclists.

The next 4 miles is where things got more serious and the road gradient started pitching upwards. I got up to the Loop (which is the first big switchback) at 1:00. Taking 2 hours is a bit misleading since I stopped a lot to take photos of the fantastic vistas.

At the Loop I ate lunch and began the unknown wait for the upper gate to open. As time went on, more and more people arrived to join the crowd waiting. Finally, right at 3:00 the gate was opened and at least 50 people began the ride up the last 8.2 miles to Logan Pass. After 1.5 hours I got to the top and it was worth all the effort to get there.

I stayed on top for a while since it was so incredibly beautiful there. I was just getting ready to leave but I casually congratulated another rider for getting to the top. It turned out that this person knew my brother Doug! So I ended up staying for a lot longer yet since Dave Dorsett was such a nice guy (and knew my brother)!

At long last, I headed down the east side heading for St Mary’s. The descent was fast and fun except for when I came to a tunnel. It was a little dark inside so I slowed way down as I entered. All of a sudden the whole inside of the tunnel started moving. There were about 6-8 big horn sheep in the tunnel and they spooked a bit as I entered.

I basically herded them out the other end to continue the descent.

Just outside St Marys the USNP campground was full to my great disappointment. The ranger at the entrance said another cyclist got the last site. I thought this person might have been a guy I had briefly met before so the ranger said it would alright if I asked if he would be willing to share his site. George Spalding was more than willing to do so. Then Geo (as he is known by to his friends) and I headed for town 1 mile away for a real dinner. We were in a celebratory mood after our great ride up and over Logan Pass and I had salmon!

When I say it was a great ride I am not exaggerating. Over 30 miles of great scenery and the road all to ourselves. Add to that the perfect weather and you have a great ride. One I will never forget.