26 Aug 2022 - Logan Pass (second attempt) and Saint Mary Falls

 26 Aug

This morning we bugged out early with our hiking gear including trekking poles, backpack, water, snacks, bear spray, monocular, jackets and other items and drove to the Saint Mary Visitor Center to get in line for the first express shuttle bus of the day to Logan Pass.  This first bus departs promptly at 0800 hrs and goes straight to Logan Pass without stops.  Later shuttle busses stop at each bus stop along the way going up and coming back down.

Logan Pass is the highest elevation (6646ft/2025m) reachable by motor vehicle in the park from either the east side or the west side. Therefore it is an extremely popular place for visitors and the parking lot is usually full between 8:30 am and 4:00 pm.  So they recommend taking the shuttle bus, which is exactly what we did.  Yesterday we were here as part of our Red Bus Tour and it was "pea soup".  You could not decern that we were surrounded by beautiful mountains, specifically Reynolds Mountain and Clements Mountain, and fields of wild flowers.

The weather had cleared slightly compared to the last few days, so we had high hopes about seeing the mountains.

Some sunshine illuminating the mountain across from our campground.

We got to the Visitor Center around 0730 hrs.  There were already people in line when we arrived!  The express bus departed as scheduled at 0800 hrs and was able to accommodate everyone in line. About five minutes into the ride and they announced that the required use of masks on board the shuttle had been lifted!  

On the way up we took a few pictures of the mountains.  These have been mostly obscured recently.

About 30 minutes later we arrived at Logan Pass.  Visibility was initially better than yesterday, but the clouds quickly rolled in and visibility diminished quickly like yesterday.  We did get a few pictures before that occurred.

Those heading down one of the trails from Logan Pass.  The clouds rolling in

Still pretty good vis.

A hearty ground squirrel of some sort.

The clouds/fog starting to roll in on the nearly full parking lot

At the peak of Logans Pass - the continental divide.

And in it rolls.  Vehicles barely seen in the parking lot now.

Since we visited Logan Pass yesterday, we did not spend a lot of time here especially since the visibility declined.  Our plan was to revisit the Pass and then take a shuttle bus back down to the Saint Mary Falls shuttle stop and hike to Saint Mary Falls which is one of many waterfalls with a fairly easy hike. 

 

We arrived at Saint Mary shuttle stop and headed down the trail.  It was not busy at all, which was nice, but we could see many hikers in the distance since the 2015 fire cleared much of the cover.

Saint Mary Lake in the distance

Doreen with some new growth.  Just awesome!

Saint Mary Falls is a relatively easy-rated hike with a roundtrip length of  1.7 Miles.  Total elevation gain is 215 Feet.  Avg. elevation gain/mile is 253 Feet.  Highest elevation is 4737 Feet.  We did manage to take a wrong turn which added maybe a tenth of a mile but we discovered the error soon and corrected our route.  

This really shows the devastation of the fire.  Per our tour guide yesterday, these trees exude some sort of sap when exposed to fire that protects the tree.  That is why you see so many trees standing with only the bark burned.  They also produce a pinecone that supposedly only releases it's seeds after being exposed to fire.

Doreen making her way through a small stream

Soon Saint Mary Falls came into view, plus we could hear it quite a ways away.  .   

A bridge that crosses the stream formed by the falls

There was a guy swimming in the water which was extremely cold.

We stayed at the falls for a little while and admired the beauty of the area, took several pictures and then checked the time.  Virginia Falls is another one on down the trail 0.8 miles (one way) from here, but we needed to start back in order to not be gone too long for Liberty.

The hike back looked amazingly similar to the hike in LOL.  A few more pictures:

Looking downstream below the falls

Possibly Virginia Falls in the distance

The skies continued to clear

W returned to the RV for some lunch and then took a break for a while.  We met Connie and Alicia for dinner at the local pizza restaurant and then they joined us at our RV for a bit.  It is so great to see them again.  

Tomorrow we plan to visit the Many Glacier entrance to the park and then hike Fishercap Lake and possibly Redrock Lake, and then depending on time, move to Swiftcurrent Lake.