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Day 5 Rising Sun Campground, Glacier NP
After a big breakfast in camp, and dropping off my surly note for the
ranger, we drive west along the Going-to-the-Sun Road to a trailhead
just past Sunrift Gorge, then head down the trail to St. Mary Falls.
Unlike the vast open prairies of the Great Plains, or even the relative
flatlands of our home in the upper midwest, weather can really sneak up
on you here in the confines of mountainous terrain. No sooner do we get
a half-mile into the woods than rumbling thunderclouds suddenly swoop
in over the crest of the Continental Divide, spewing lightening and
spitting rain. We take shelter under a cedar tree to wait out the
storm, and are glad the storm blows over just as quickly as it arrived.
The St. Mary River falls spectacularly over a
redrock ledge here before being later joined by Virginia Creek, finally
emptying into St. Mary Lake. Hiking up Virginia Creek, we find two more
sets of falls, the upper of which is by far the most dramatic, plunging
over one hundred feet to crash upon a broad flat ledge. |

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Along the trail we see several other people, most, like us,
wearing small packs and boots and carrying hiking sticks. Some,
however, don't seem to belong out here in the woods—with their
polyester slacks and shiny loafers, big dangly earrings and clouds of
perfume—but rather in a poolside bingo hall at a condo in Orlando.
There are small mobs of shrieking children, running along the trail and
whacking trees with
sticks.
But one pair we encounter does not fit in anywhere: two guys, one
middle-aged, the other about nineteen, wearing dirty jeans, torn and
sweaty T-shirts, and steel-toed work boots. They are trudging along the
trail, the older one leading the way with an expression of grim
determination. They have no gear whatsoever, but the older one clutches
a small paper sack held out in front of him, his fist tightly wrapped
around its neck as though he's trying to choke it to death. It almost
appears the bag
is leading him up the trail
toward the falls. There is a frightful fire
in his eyes as they approach, and instead of the customary smile or
'hello', they both just grunt in Neanderthal fashion.
As we continue, feeling lucky to have gotten
out of their way in time, we speculate aloud on their mission here in
the forest, and on the contents of the paper sack. Perhaps they are a
father-and-son construction team who built a faulty footbridge over the
falls, and have now been ordered by the Park Service to hike back in
there and add some more lag screws. "You brought the wrench, right?", I
can imagine the father growling to the hapless kid.
Or maybe the bag contains the cremated remains
of a deceased family member or beloved guinea pig, now destined to be
cast upon the cascading waters.
"I never shoulda promised to do this."
Or perhaps something more sinister is
afoot …
"I told ya we shouldn't
have cut 'er up in such little pieces!"
We hurry on, hoping that if they follow us, we
are able to find a large bear to hide behind. |
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Rolling back down to the edge of St.
Mary Lake, we pop the Westy's top and enjoy a pleasant lunch on the
lakeshore, then motor farther north along the park's eastern side,
taking a campsite at the Many Glacier campground. In addition to the
usual warnings and signs, there is another notice here: "Bears have
killed and injured people in this campground!" Indeed, a short stroll
through the campground to the parking lot of the nearby Swiftcurrent
Motor Inn reveals a handful of grizzly and black bears browsing on the
lower slopes of Mount Henkel, less than a mile away.
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