Glacier-Waterton: cycling Logan's Pass and Going to the Sun road

Yesterday, I'd been questioning the other cyclists in our group if Glacier National Park could possibly be more spectacular than Waterton Lakes National Park. Then, after entering the park on the eastern side, this was the first majestic view of the day. It was a 7 mile climb of gorgeous views similar to above.

It was a long, slow, endless climb, which I used to stop many, many times to take photos. If you follow the road in the photo above, you'll see a small tunnel through the mountain. The peak soaring above the snow is Clements Peak. 

One final breathtaking photo before finally summitting to Logan's Pass, where the other cyclists insisted on taking a photo of me in front of the sign with my Bike Friday. Proof that I made it!

Then, we grabbed our lunches from our packs and started wandering past the visitor center, where a couple of parks employees had big horn sheep and mountain goat horns laid out. They even let us use their binoculars to see the big horn sheep high up on a ridge. 

We decided to keep going on the Hidden Trail Path; however, soon, I was the only cyclist still proceeding onward through the large stretches of snow to Clement Mountain. Along the way, there was a marmot that ran up to and under the wooden boardwalk in the snow.

At one point, there was a steep, dirt section to inch around. I was still carrying my sack lunch, wallet, and an empty water bottle, since this was a completely unplanned hike. Hadn't even put on my cap or another layer or sunscreen. On that dirt section, I asked some returning tourists if it was worth it; and, they convinced me that it was. Because around that was this beautiful view:

And a mountain goat with a few of her kids. (Later I saw the male down at the visitor center posing for photos.)

The trail was blocked off at the end. I joined other tourists sitting on a rock cliff to eat some snacks before chipmunks made an appearance ready to snatch anything available. The reason for the trail closure was that trout were spawning in the river below. Trout spawning also brings out the bears; and, some tourists were talking about seeing a bear near some boulders below, which was reason enough for me to take a few photos and quickly head back down to the visitor center.

This year, Glacier Park has changed ticketed entry times for cars to be from 6 am to 3 pm. Previously, it was 6 am to 11 am, which meant cyclists could only be on the Going to the Sun road between 6-11 am. (The road has no shoulder on either the east side or Going to the Sun road.) However, now since the ticketed car times are from 6 am - 3 pm, cyclists are also allowed during those hours. It gave me that extra time for the hike, as it took me from 6:30 am to 10 am to cycle up Logan's Pass from the east side.

The east side is a 7 mile climb, whereas the Going to the Sun road is an 11 mile climb. It was a delight to sail downhill that 11 miles! I started down at 12 noon and made it out of the park at 2:30 pm, with a few less photo stops on the way down. There was definitely more traffic; and, I'd often have to pull into pull-outs just to let cars pass.

The end of the Going to the Sun road travels along the length of Lake McDonald. By that point I had finished all three of my water bottles; and, the lake so inviting to jump into. Yet, I powered on to make it out of the park on time.