{"id":942,"date":"2016-08-11T10:58:23","date_gmt":"2016-08-11T10:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/?p=942"},"modified":"2016-08-11T10:58:23","modified_gmt":"2016-08-11T10:58:23","slug":"northwest-passage-trip-days-7-8-9-going-to-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/?p=942","title":{"rendered":"Northwest Passage Trip-Days 7, 8 & 9-Going to the Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"

How would you like to take a nice little drive with me? It will only be about 50 miles, but along the way, we\u2019ll see imposing, snow-capped mountains that seem to touch the sky as far as the eye can see. We\u2019ll cross wild-running rivers, and motor past crystal clear, mountain lakes that reflect the surrounding landscapes so clear you would think you\u2019re looking in a mirror. Cautiously, we\u2019ll glide by 800\u2019 rock cliffs that tower above our vehicle on one side, and drop 800\u2019 below our vehicle on the other side! As we continue on our short journey, we\u2019ll traverse the Continental Divide at Logan Pass (6,646\u2019), passing by spectacular views that include cascading waterfalls, and watch Mountain Goats and Bighorn Sheep graze in alpine meadows blooming with brilliant wildflowers. Oh, and glaciers-large, slow-moving masses of ice, snow, rock and sediment that blanket some of the highest peaks and hanging valleys. This is the Going-To-The Sun Road in Glacier National Park, and it\u2019s one of the most beautiful and scenic roadways in America. Want to ride along?<\/p>\n

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Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana has been nicknamed the \u201cCrown of the Continent.\u201d Part of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park <\/em>that includes Canada and the U.S., Glacier encompasses over a million acres of mountains, rivers, lakes, glaciers, forests and alpine meadows. Within its boundaries you may encounter Grizzly bears, Timber wolves, Mountain lions, Moose, Mountain Goats, Bighorn Sheep, Golden Eagles, Marmots and Cutthroat Trout. It was established as a National Park in 1910, and the Going-to-the Sun road is an engineering marvel. It\u2019s the only road that crosses the entire park and was designed to blend into the mountainside. They did it so well that sometimes you feel like you\u2019re part of the mountainside! As you can read, there\u2019s lots of natural distractions on this twisting, turning road with narrow lanes and lots of traffic. If you don\u2019t concentrate on the road you\u2019re driving on, it can get very ugly. I quickly learned to take advantage of the many turnouts and pull-offs along this amazing road.<\/p>\n

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But Glacier is not defined by this one 50-mile road. Glacier is much more, and it challenges you to get out of your car and see what lies beyond the road. Its post card-looking scenery summons you to hike a few of its 700 miles of trails, trek to a remote alpine lake or cascading waterfalls, or simply sit and absorb a setting sun. This is Glacier-wild, spectacular, and stunningly beautiful. We accepted the invite to \u201cexplore the back country,\u201d except we decided to try a different approach, by sitting on the back of horses.<\/p>\n

\"20160628_144203\"<\/a> \"20160628_140139\"<\/a>\"GLP6\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"GLP4\"<\/a> \"20160629_114023\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When you venture away from the road in Glacier NP, you’ll find a land full of cascading waterfalls, alpine meadows full of wildflowers and wild rivers and crystal mountain lakes<\/em><\/p>\n

A Horse Tale<\/p>\n

When I booked our horseback riding trip in the Many Glaciers area of the park, they told me it was a leisurely ride for a few miles up an easy trail, ending at a beautiful view of Grinnell Lake and the Grinnell Glacier. They were absolutely true to their word about the panoramic vista of the lake and the glacier-absolutely gorgeous! The leisurely ride for a few miles\u2026\u2026well, maybe not so much. Ok, so it\u2019s been 25 years since I\u2019ve been on one of these beasts, and that may have contributed to the \u201caching discomfort\u201d I experienced in my knees, calves, thighs and of course, my butt. I won\u2019t lie, I was sore all over, for two days after. I know I heard them say on the phone 3 months earlier the ride was about 7 miles, but when we arrived and discussed our route, they stated it was 7 miles one way, about 15 miles round trip. Add the fact that my large, stubborn equine wanted to stop and eat every plant growing along the trail, and the ride quickly turned into a test of stamina between man and beast. By the end of the outing it was Beast 1 \u2013 Man 0! Six weeks later, and I still feel a little bow-legged! However, all the pain was worth what we walked out to see at our midway break. It was one of the most dazzling landscapes we had ever seen, and a bonus was a new bird for me, as Tyler spotted an American Dipper walking along the edge of a fast-moving stream. Ahhh Glacier! We\u2019ll be back!<\/p>\n

\"GLP7\"<\/a> \"GLP2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"WCSp\"<\/a>\"20160629_122638-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

White-crowned Sparrows and Ground squirrels are common species of wildlife in Glacier NP<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How would you like to take a nice little drive with me? It will only be about 50 miles, but along the way, we\u2019ll see imposing, snow-capped mountains that seem to touch the sky as far as the eye can see. We\u2019ll cross wild-running rivers, and motor past crystal clear, mountain lakes that reflect the … Continue reading Northwest Passage Trip-Days 7, 8 & 9-Going to the Sun<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=942"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":962,"href":"https:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942\/revisions\/962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}