Category: Montana

Cabinet Mountains Road Trip part 2, Hiking to Leigh Lake in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area.

Over the weekend I took a three day trip to Montana with the primary goal being to kayak on Bull Lake. We decided to break up the trip by throwing in a challenging hike in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area outside of Libby Montana.

The place we were camping is in a valley that divides the mountain range in half. From the valley are views of the rugged peaks in the center of the Cabinets. We drove about ninety minutes around this range, through Libby and then on dirt forest service roads to the trailhead for the Leigh Lake Trail #132.

After one wrong turn due to missing signage we found the trailhead. The road to it was better than most in this part of the world. Their were only two other vehicles in the small parking area when we got there.

The trail starts out steep and stays steep as it climbs out of the valley on a series of switchbacks.

Not far up the trial a sign lets you know that you’ve entered the wilderness area.

On the way up we passed under some pretty big cliffs. The trail was steeper than Scotchman but much shorter. It got my heart pounding in places.

In places the trail was more of a rock scramble. Yes that is the trail. If you have a fear of heights this might not be the place for you.

There are places were the narrow trail has loose rocks and big drop offs. Caution is advised.

Near the top is one of the highlights of the hike. A cascading waterfall is a nice place to stop and enjoy the views for a while.

Here we had a nice view back down the valley we climbed out of.

It was nice to know we were still on the right track. The trail beyond this point is extremely steep until it gets to the top of the ridge just before the lake. The other trail crosses Leigh Creek and goes to the south side of the lake.

Believe it or not, this is the ‘trail’.

After walking over one last little rise we got our first look at the lake. A short down hill walk brought us to the shore.

The trail follows the shore line until it ends on a rocky beach with views of the rock cliffs at the base of Snowshoe Peak, the tallest mountain in the Cabinets.

Although it is a steep hike, the hike to Leigh Lake from the trailhead is only about a third of the distance and a third of the elevation gain as the hike to the top of Scotchman Peak. For those of you that need more of a challenge some folks continue to the top of the mountain. We met a couple of them on the way down.

From the rocky beach there is a nice panorama of the surrounding mountains and cliffs. The mountain in the center right is the lower slopes of Snowshoe Peak. Snowshoe Peak has the only remaining glacier in the Cabinets on its north shoulder.

A little further around the bend is a pretty marsh. I would not have been surprised to see some wildlife here but we didn’t. There are mountain goats in the area and the Cabinets are grizzly country.

The lake is a place you want to spend some time at appreciating the scenery.

Leigh Lake is the kind of place you would want to stay all day at but eventually it is time to leave. Looking back towards the lake we could see the beginnings of fall in the colors of the leaves and a few left over patches of snow on Snowshoe Peak from the previous winter. Soon enough these snow patches will have plenty of reinforcements.

Now it was time to retrace our steps on the way back down.

Looking back down on the waterfall we visited on the way up gives you a perspective on how far it was to climb to the lake. No need for those with vertigo to apply.

While hiking back down we enjoyed the small views. All too soon we were back at the trailhead.

By the time we finished we hiked a modest three miles or so round trip and gained maybe 1200 feet of elevation. In places the trail was challenging some might say exhilarating with rock scrambling and extreme drop offs not for the faint of heart. The waterfall and the lake are highlights of this hike. I would gladly do this again.

Not getting enough of waterfalls for the day we stopped at Kootenai Falls between Libby and Troy Montana for some easy walks and great views before we made it back to our campground on Bull Lake.

Cabinet Mountains Road Trip part 1, Kayaking Bull Lake Montana.

Over the weekend I spent three days exploring the Cabinet Mountains area of Montana. Less than three weeks ago I posted photos of the Cabinet Mountains on the way back from my Glacier National Park trip. I wanted to go back but was pleasantly surprised that it happened so soon. On day one we snagged a lakeside camp site on Bull Lake in the middle of the Bull River Valley which bisects the Cabinet Mountains north to south. I used my America the Beautiful Pass to save a few bucks.

Bull Lake is a beautiful body of water smack dab in the middle of the Cabinet Mountains. That might be Ibex Mountain in the background. The lake is over twelve hundred acres and is as deep as sixty feet. There are extensive wetlands around the lake, several islands in it and an outflow river ‘Lake Creek’ on the north end which flows north to the Kootenai River near the town of Troy. Oddly enough Bull Lake is not the source or even connects with the Bull River which flows south to the Clark Fork River and gives this beautiful valley its name.

After about a two and a half hour drive we made it to the campground. Even though it was a Saturday afternoon as it’s almost the end of camping season in Montana we got a site on the water and launched our kayaks from there.

After setting up camp we headed north towards the outlet creek. The north end of the lake is shallow and has extensive areas of aquatic vegetation which minimizes recreational boating. For the most part the only other folks on the water were fishermen anyway and they don’t usually make wakes.

As we headed towards the north end of the lake we had nice views of the mountains on the east side of the valley. In the distance we could see the high peaks in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area.

The lake narrowed as we headed north and we had nice views of the mountains to the west. The Cabinet Mountains do cross the state-line in to Idaho and only five days earlier we had hiked to the summit of the highest peak on the Idaho side, Scotchman Peak. You can not see Scotchman from the lake.

After paddling through flats covered in reeds we came to more open water. The lake slowly narrowed and it took a while to realize it was becoming a creek that flowed out of the lake.

The further we went the stronger the current leaving the lake was until discretion dictated that we turn back. You never know when you’re going to find the first rapids downstream.

So we returned to the main body of the lake through the reed beds again and circled this pretty little island.

Next we followed the far or western shore on the wilder side of the lake towards the south. Across the lake we had views of our campground.

After a couple of hours exploring the north part of Bull Lake, the shadows started to lengthen. We were on the lookout for wildlife, especially moose but didn’t manage to see any.

As the sun set we called it a day. It did get awfully chilly in the evening but the surroundings were phenomenal and it was hard to complain about the clear blue skies.

In the morning it was foggy and to be honest cold as hell. A kayak trip didn’t sound like it would be too much fun. On one side of the campground was Bull Lake. On the other a wetland provided views of the eastern Cabinet Mountain. We decided to take a hike to Leigh Lake in the eastern Cabinets instead and used the long ride to the trailhead to warm up. I will cover this trek in my next post.

After the hike to Leigh Lake we stopped briefly at Kootenai Falls, a popular attraction near Libby Montana. As I understand it A River Wild was filmed here starring Merle Streep and Kevin Bacon. I did post a couple of photos of this site from my Glacier National Park trip.

And at the suspension bridge over the river I finally got to see my brother heading to Whitefish!

After a second and much less chilly night we wanted to check out the south end of the lake and get a view of Bad Medicine cliffs in the sunlight instead of shadows, but first we had to deal with a surprise visitor(s).

While making breakfast this momma and her baby waltzed right through the campground. On the second night we were the only campers in the campground and the camp host had already left for the season. Being the only people in the campground was nice in a way, but also a little creepy as a sketchy truck showed up in the middle of the night. Glad Montana is a carry by right state.

“Hey Mom, they’re hoomans in our dinning room and they’re pointing little black rectangles at us.” “Come on junior, they’re hiding behind trees and they’re scared, let’s head to the marshland and they won’t follow, after all I’m bigger than they are.”

So after being entertained by our visitors, we launched again and headed south. Two thirds of the lake remained to be explored.

A large island ‘Angle Island’ almost bisects the lake. A narrow manmade channel separates this island from the east side of the lake and State Road 56. I wanted to circumnavigate the island so we paddled down the about two foot deep, at this time of the year channel.

At the bridge to the mainland, the channel was silted up and full of debris. It was a pretty detour anyway. Stymied for now, we turned around and took the real channel towards the south end of the lake.

We got a little closer to Bad Medicine but the cliff slowly disappeared behind a shorter hill in front of it. It’s still is a striking feature over the south end of the lake.

Near the south end of the main channel that separates Angle Island from the larger south lobe of the lake another smaller island complete with it’s own beaver lodge finally allowed me to circle an island.

When we got to the open southern lobe of the lake the wind kicked up. We saw all of the lake and decided to head back to the campground in the more protected channel.

In the smaller northern lobe the wind died down and we enjoyed the glass flat paddle back to the campground.

We ended up kayaking on Bull Lake on the last day of summer and the second day of fall of 2024. The season is nearing it’s end but hopefully their will be more adventures before the snow falls. After all was said and done we ended up paddling maybe six hours between both days. It was a nice workout.

Bull Lake has to be one of the prettiest lakes in the Northwest. Being surrounded by the Cabinet Mountains gives it a wonderful setting. After my hike at Leigh Lake I did take a dip in the maybe sixty five degree water to wash off the campfire smoke. It felt amazing.

We kayaked on Bull Lake the day we arrived and the morning we left. The full day in between allowed us to hike to Leigh Lake and stop by Kootenai Falls on the way back. Our campground was amazing. I will let you do your own research on that as it only has eight camping spots, four of which are on the lake shore. I plan to go back in 2025, hopefully with the same company.

Glacier National Park, the long way home.

Failing in my attempt to secure lodging for a third night and stymied from visiting Many Glacier I weighed my options and instead of a third long hike that was not my first choice and then a late evening grueling six hour trip back, I decided to leave early and take my time and explore a little on the way home. My hikes at Siyeh Pass and Dawson Pass wore me out anyway.

I drove through Whitefish “underwhelming by the way”, then through Eureka “nice but no reason to stop”, then along Lake Koocanusa with it’s endless miles of road reconstruction. Lake Koocanuse, Koo for the Kootenai River can for Canada and usa for you guess it the United States of America, was formed by Libby Dam. Here they have a nice visitor center and public viewing platforms.

After driving through the town of Libby, my next stop was at Kootenai Falls. There is a parking lot with a picnic area along with a snack shop off of US 2 between Libby and Troy Montana.

Kootenai Falls is one of the largest undammed waterfalls in Montana.

This recreational site includes a pedestrian bridge over the BNSF Railroad mainline. Don’t worry, I checked before crossing to make sure my brother wasn’t coming.

A long pedestrian suspension bridge gives you access to the north side of the river and more views of the waterfall. If you’re afraid of these types of bridges then this one isn’t the one to overcome them on. It sways really good and the river is a long way down.

Here is the view of the bridge from across the river.

Kootenai Falls is managed by the US Forest Service and is a nice place to spend an hour or so exploring and enjoying the view.

Before Troy I cut over on Montana State Road 56 through the Bull River Valley towards Noxom. This is one of the most scenic roads in the area and goes through the middle of the Cabinet Mountains. About half way through it is Bull Lake.

Across the lake is Bad Medicine, a striking cliff formation that begs to be explored. As far as I can tell access isn’t easy.

A little further to the south is a four mile long paved road to one of the few old growth cedar groves left in the northwest. Ross Creek is well visited and maintained.

A short walk leads you from the parking lot to the giant trees. Moss covered boulders at the base of a cliff border the trail.

Some of these giants are well over four hundred years old.

They’re not quite the California Redwoods but they are in the ball park especially for here.

Walking through the grove is a relaxing experience.

About half way down the entrance road to Ross Creek is this view into the heart of the Cabinet Mountains. It’s not quite Glacier but it is only ninety minutes from my house.

Along State Road 56 there are several turnouts with scenic views of the Cabinet Mountains. I hiked a little here several years ago and hope to return in the near future.

The Bull River follows the highway down the valley. This valley has to be one of the prettiest places around.

I probably walked less than two miles at my various stops on the way home but it was a relaxing way to end my trip. Bull Lake in the middle of the valley has two campgrounds and would be a perfect place to combine a kayak trip with a mountain hike. Sounds like the basis for a future post.

Glacier National Park Day Two, Dawson Pass and St. Mary’s.

On day one I discovered that I needed a two dollar on line pass to visit the Many Glacier area. I planned to hike to Grinnell Glacier on my second day but was unable to secure a pass. Disappointed I looked for an alternative and settled on the Two Medicine Lake area, the most under visited part of the park.

After checking in to my cabin as I hadn’t the night before, I drove about ninety minutes around Glacier national Park to East Glacier and then on to Two Medicine Lake. This is the “dry” side of the park and outside of it the habitat is primarily grasslands. This is also next to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

So I settled on Dawson pass as my goal for todays hike. It would be pushing it for me as it was a thirteen mile long hike with a twenty eight hundred foot elevation gain. I figured I had time as I got a much earlier start that the previous days hike. By 9:30 I was on the trail.

The first couple of miles were along the north shore of Two Medicine Lake. It was a pretty walk but there was no elevation gain, a fact that would cost me later.

While hiking along the shore line I watched the boat tours run up the lake. They offer return only rides for hikers who would like to save about two and a half miles of their journey. If I ever go again I would take advantage of this service. The last couple of miles heading back got to be a little painful. If you get a round trip ticket it saves five miles but no elevation.

The scenery along the trail is amazing and the first three and a half miles are relatively flat.

That gave me plenty of time to appreciate the small things. FYI, blue berries “AKA huckleberries” good.

And red berries “Chokecherries” no bueno. They may or may not be toxic but either way you don’t eat these.

About three miles in you hit the trail junction that either back tracks to the boat landing or continues to Upper Two Medicine Lake, a popular overnight camping destination. Here the trail really starts climbing.

On the way up a series of challenging switch backs this impressive monolith stands guard above you.

At the top of this climb you are treated to views back towards Two Medicine Lake.

After climbing this section of the trail with it’s incredible views the path levels out for about half a mile until the junction with the spur to No Name Lake. I opted to skip the short spur in order to push to the pass.

After the No Name Lake Trail junction the main trail started to climb steeply again. By now I realized I wasn’t going to make it to the pass. I had plenty of time but was figuratively out of gas and it was a long way back.

This was as close as I got and that ridge is still a long way away. Having to gain all of the elevation in the last half of the hike made it difficult. The boat ride would have saved a lot of time and effort as well and if there is ever a next time I would take advantage of it.

The scenery on the way was just as good as it was on the way up and the walking a lot easier. It was still hard on the knees and back though.

On the way back I took my time and enjoyed the small things. I failed to reach my goal but it was still a rewarding experience.

Just before I reached the trailhead I got a bonus. A group of bighorn sheep were grazing right in my path. If I had taken the boat back I would have missed seeing these amazing animals.

They didn’t seen too worried about me and as I waited and enjoyed the show about a dozen other hikers showed up and did the same. We all eventually managed to get around them by detouring around the trail.

So five and a half hours later I was back at my car. I figured I ended up doing about eleven miles and maybe eighteen hundred feet. On top of yesterdays hike that made for twenty miles and four thousand feet. Not a bad effort.

So I decided to go back to west Glacier by taking Going to the Sun Road across the park. To get to St. Mary’s I used Montana State Road 49. Looking back towards Two Medicine I was treated to this view. The road takes you through part of the Blackfeet Nation.

State Road 49 climbed over a pass and near the top this was the view. This is the end of the Rockies and the beginning of the Great Plains. From here it’s almost as flat as a pancake to West Virginia a couple of thousand miles to the east.

This is looking north towards St Mary’s across the rolling plains. The east end of Going to the Sun Road was about a twenty mile drive from Two Medicine.

The eastern end of Going to the Sun Road is dominated by Saint Mary’s Lake. The landscape is noticeably drier than that on the other side of Logan Pass. This photo is at the overlook for Goose Island.

As beautiful as Lake McDonald is Saint Mary’s Lake is in my opinion even prettier.

At Sun Point I took a short walk and enjoyed the late afternoon views.

The sun was setting in the west and it truly felt like I was on a road going to the sun. Now it was time to head back across the park. The road is fifty miles long and it takes at least two hours to transit Glacier National Park on it. Going around on the U.S. Highways is longer and faster but ends up taking just about as long.

I headed the rest of the way back up towards Logan Pass and at Siyeh Bend I saw this cascade I missed the day before.

So I get to Logan Pass at the end of the day and it’s still a zoo. The parking lot was closed and Park Rangers were blocking the entrances. I was glad I wasn’t fighting those crowds.

I enjoyed the slow scenic ride back down on the narrower west side of the pass. Going to the Sun Road from St. Mary’s to Logan Pass is a much better and safer road than the section west of Logan heading towards Lake McDonald.

Before it got dark I had just enough time to check out a small waterfall on the way to Lake McDonald. By now the hordes were mostly out of the park.

I stopped to take one last look oat Lake McDonald before I got back in cell phone land. I tried to buy a two dollar pass to Many Glacier for the next day but of course they already sold out. I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to take the drive cross the park again the next morning anyway.

I got back to my camper cabin just in time to catch their BBQ night. Glacier Campground just outside the West Glacier entrance was an unique place to stay. The Sunflower Café had a vibe that reminded me of Camp Curry in Yosemite back in the day. Lots of the customers were young outdoor enthusiast. The campground staff was awesome and the bathrooms were very nice. I checked to see if they might have a cabin for the next night come available due to a last minute cancellation but was out of luck. I was lucky to score two nights at the last minute due to someone else’s cancellation

Glacier National Park Day One, Going to the Sun Road and Siyeh Pass.

One the first day of my road trip to Glacier National Park I discovered that you need one day permits to drive on Going to the Sun Road and to visit Many Glaciers and you can only get them on line. I lucked out and was able to purchase one for Going to the Sun Road as I was waiting in line to enter the park. It is a complicated system and not very conducive to spur of the moment visits.

Entering Glacier National park from the west I soon arrived at Lake McDonald. Scenic pull outs along the road provide beautiful views of the mountains on the far side.

Beyond the lake the Going to the Sun Road follows the river that feeds it upstream. The outlet for Lake McDonald is the beginning of the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.

I blew by the trailhead for Avalanche Basin. This is one of the most congested places in the park and the parking lots were full. I’ve been there and done that anyway and was looking for new adventures.

Just after crossing Logan Creek, the road turns northwest and really starts climbing. It doesn’t take long before you’re far above the river valley.

The views are outstanding but the road is narrow and winding. It requires your full attention. It would be nice if all large trucks folded their sideview mirrors in.

Having to purchase a day pass to drive on the road was a hassle. The flip side was that traffic was kind of manageable. It was still heavy but there were no delays on the way up.

I was heading for Logan pass to hike the Highline Trail. I always wanted to try it. The trail is way above Going to the Sun Road.

Well I got to the top and it was a zoo. The parking lots was completely full and the trailhead looked so busy that it was a turn off for me. The popular Hidden Lake Trail also starts at Logan Pass and I did that one years ago too.

I stopped at a smaller pull out down the slope to assess the situation when I saw this guy. It was nice to have a goat pose for my blog.

I decided to drive down the other side of Logan Pass and take a hike out of Siyeh Bend. Sometimes it’s good to have a backup plan.

According to the sign at the trailhead it was a nine mile round trip with about twenty three hundred feet of elevation gain. Sounds about right.

Soon I was in a thickly canopied forest.

I was glad I brought a can. I would have rather had a firearm but National Parks are very strict about that. It would have been nice to have had company just for the added safety but sometimes you have to strike out on your own.

The hike through the forest was nice but I was really looking for bigger views. The trail was easy to follow and crossed numerous small creeks. In September the streams are much smaller than they are early in the hiking season.

Probably over half of the hike was though this type of evergreen forest. It slowly opened up as I gained elevation.

As the canopy thinned I was treated to views of the mountains still far above me on a more regular basis.

After a couple of hours I finally hit the open valleys and could see Siyeh Pass which is really a low saddle between a couple of peaks.

One last stream crossing on a bridge of rocks .

Up in this high valley the scenery was truly epic. I only passed a few hikers who were on their way down and once I hit the open slopes I had the place to myself.

The trail passed by a small high country pond. I was surprised and a little disappointed that there wasn’t any wildlife to be viewed here.

As I continued to climb the trail towards the pass, the views behind me kept getting better and better. That’s Piegan Mountain with Piegan Glacier across the valley on the right side. Clements Mountain overlooking Logan Pass is in the distance in the center.

The final part of the hike to Siyeh Pass climbed up a series of steep switchbacks. By now I was running out of time.

At the base of Mount Siyeh I enjoyed the view of three small glacier melt off lakes. At the end of my hike I ran into three young men who started at 9:00 AM and hiked to the top of this mountain. They told me it was the best hike in the park. I’m afraid a hike like that is a little out of my league anymore.

I was this close to the saddle when I turned around. The effort wasn’t the problem, time was. I had a drop dead time to turn around. It wouldn’t do to be trying to find my way back in the dark in grizzly country.

On the way back I savored the view. These are exactly the views I came for. It reminded me of the line from the movie Jeremiah Johnson when his travelling companion told him the Rockies are the marrow of the world.

Soon I was back in the canopied forest. I was making the best time I could. As far as I knew I was the last person on the trail.

I recrossed all of the streams again on my way down.

By now I was nearing the trailhead and the shadows were starting to lengthen. I did pass a couple of people heading up and assumed they were either backpack camping or turning around soon. This is were the three mountain climbers caught up with me. They knew the park like the back of their hands and shared lots of tips on were to hike around Many Glacier which was my plan for the next day.

I drove back down Going to the Sun Road as the light faded. By the time I got back in cell phone land all of the next days passes for Many Glacier were already sold out. To keep my options open I bought another pass for Going to the Sun Road which I ended up not needing. The system the park uses to limit traffic was really working against me.

I started my day by leaving home at 5:00 AM. The drive took a good six hours and with the additional delays in securing a pass, waiting in line to get in and losing an hour from the time zone change, it was 2:00 PM before I started my hike. I was back to my car by 6:30. It would have been nice to have another hour to push it further, still 2300 feet and nine miles wasn’t too shabby. By the time I made it to my campground in West Glacier it was dark and the office was closed. They left a map and a key for me taped to the office door. Nice.

The Olympian Trail, from Taft to Saltese and back.

I headed across Lookout Pass into Montana. I wasn’t sure where I was going to bike, but ended up at the East Portal Trailhead, the place 95% of visitors who ride the Hiawatha start their journey. I usually avoid the Hiawatha on summer weekends due to the crowds involved, and with good reason.

This was the sight that greeted me in the parking lot. That sealed the deal. Luckily for me another trail on the same railroad easement heads east from this same trailhead into Montana. I went that way and everyone else went through the tunnel into Idaho.

Immediately I was alone. The trail surface was just about the best and smoothest ride I ever had on an unpaved rail trail. The Olympian is another section of the Milwaukee Railroad, one of five transcontinental railroads and the only one that has been abandoned.

Heading east you are also heading down from the lines high point at the Taft Tunnel. The surface and grade are such that as grown man with fully inflated tires I had to ride the brakes a little. That made it fun going out but there’s always a price to pay on the return.

A mile or two in and I found myself high above Interstate 90. One of the only downsides of this ride is that you can hear the traffic below you for a large part of the trip. In most places the forest is thick enough to conceal the highway and it is so far below the trail as to not be a distraction.

About three miles in while descending using a loop on a side canyon I came across the Dominion Tunnel, the only one on this stretch of the trail. The Hiawatha has several. I only needed one to be happy.

The tunnel was well made and maintained. It had a slight bend but was short enough that there was no need for flash lights.

Immediately after the tunnel is the Dominion Bridge, a high trestle over a creek that rivals any of the bridges on the Hiawatha.

The views were awesome and more importantly I had the view to myself. On the Hiawatha every bridge is a circus on busy weekends with dozens of people jockeying to get that perfect shot of the family. I only had to work around my bike.

I lingered to enjoy the view and solitude. At this point of the trail it sweeps far up the side canyon from the Interstate so there is no traffic noise and all you can see is the wilderness you are traveling through.

Just pass the bridge the trail is gated making this a pedestrian or bicycling only experience. Beyond this point the railroad bed is open for recreational traffic. I had maybe seven side by side ATV’s pass me on the rest of the trip, mostly close to Saltese.

The trail now heads back down the side canyon and within another mile you are again high above Interstate 90. There are nice views of the Bitterroot Mountains along the way.

Just before I made it to Saltese, a tiny Montana town, I came across this sign. I kept riding on the high grade but soon the trail surface became much rougher. It looked like from here on that the railroad was mostly used by ATV’s and dirt bikes.

I ended up walking my bike the last quarter mile or so to the Saltese high bridge which was my goal for todays ride. I didn’t want to take a chance on a bent rim since I needed my bike to carry me back up eight and a half miles to the trailhead.

From the deck of this bridge you could see pretty much all of Saltese. The community does have one of those roadside casinos found through out Montana so I guess you could take the connection to the lower grade to get a cold beverage if you wanted. As you can see in the photo by now the trail isn’t that much higher than the interstate. From what I can tell within a couple of more miles they are at the same level.

This is what the bridge looks like from below. To get to the East Portal Trailhead I had to take a detour through this town due to road construction That added ten miles to the drive but gave me the opportunity to see this bridge from below without having to ride down the side trail.

On the way back up I had more time to appreciate the scenery. Going up hill wasn’t that bad. I just put it in low gear and accepted that I was only going to make single digits as far as my miles per hour.

I didn’t run it a lot in the way of wildlife. Since I was the only cyclist on the trail the entire time I had high hopes for some animal action. I had to settle for a harmless snake.

On the way back I stopped at the Dominion Bridge again and spent a good half hour comptenplating the views. If I had a lawn chair and some cold drinks I would have stayed the rest of the afternoon. It was unbelievable to have this place to myself.

Beyond the bridge and tunnel I could make out the railroad grade across the side canyon I had recently biked up. It was a scaled down version of looking across Loop Creek on the Hiawatha.

Just before I made it back to East Portal and the crowds I had a feeling I was being watched so I stopped and returned the favor.

By the time I made it back to the trailhead for the Hiawatha folks had started parking beyond the lot on both sides of the old easement. It had to be a zoo on the Hiawatha that day. I felt like to smartest person in the room having enjoyed a scenic seventeen mile long bike ride in complete solitude while everyone else had to battle the crowds.

So the Olympian Trail continues down hill another twenty miles or so to St. Regis. I’ve seen parts of it from the Interstate during my travels and it appears to stay down on the valley floor beyond Saltese. I have no idea what the surface and use conflicts are like, but the first eight and a half miles from East Portal are wonderful. It would be nice if they had a trailhead just beyond Saltese and an improved surface over the Saltese bridge.