Fifteen minutes later, Roger had detailed, written, instructions and we headed back towards West Glacier--Roger first, then me, then Jeff and Vince bringing up the rear. Within two miles, Jeff and Vince had vanished! We pulled over to wait. Then turned around to search. Waited some more, gave up and set out to find the sun without them.
Ten miles to the east and about 45 miles to the north and we found ourselves, quite suddenly, riding a 13-mile mountainous stretch of "improved" dirt. (Riding the ties between a set of railroad tracks would have been smoother and much less treacherous!) We both managed to stay upright all the way through...don't ask how cause I'm still not sure. I stood on the pegs for much of it and was pretty exhausted when we finally reached pavement again.
I was in the lead and just hitting third gear for the first time when a real mountain lion bounded across the road right in front of us--making the 13 miles of torture worth every pain! That's the first time either of us had ever seen a cat in the wild and it was truly an awesome sight. It crossed the road in a single graceful leap of power and speed, then disappeared into the trees as suddenly as it had appeared.
Two miles further and we'd finally reached the seldom used entrance to Glacier National Park at the North Fork of the Going to the Sun road. (The part no longer shown on the map.)
Anyone who has ever traveled the Going to the Sun road through Glacier knows that words can never adequately describe the spectacular beauty. For those who have never experienced it for themselves, I could never stress this enough, do it! The sun road proper is 52 miles long (plus 45 if you do the north fork) and reaches the height of 6,645 feet. (Yes, there was still snow up there.) The road is narrow and snakes its way around, through and over. We rode, quite literally, on the edge...on the very edge of the world, stopping often to fully appreciate as much as we could possibly absorb. We stood under the glacier waterfalls and let the cold, clear water wash away the dust and grime. We drank the water from cupped hands. We watched a mountain goat graze while we rested, amazed at the goat's ability to balance so easily on the sheer cliff surface.
I've traveled through about 38 of our states, and I know that I've yet to see it all, but I have no doubt that the Going to the Sun road through Glacier is one of the most spectacular rides this country has to offer.
Besides the raw beauty of the mountains themselves, there is also an impressive variety of wildflowers growing naturally throughout the park. Many, I had never before seen. And, there was the sky. I now know the true meaning behind the Montana nickname--Big Sky Country. When you're standing on top of the world, you are standing alone in the sky. It isn't just above you--it is beside you, it is below you, it envelops you. And you become part of it..........
We did eventually meet up with Jeff and Vince. Just as we were coming out of a one-lane construction area, we spotted them reclining on their bikes in the stopped lane of traffic headed the other direction! I said, "Hi, guys," as I passed. Roger said, "Hey, you're going the wrong way!"
We pulled over and Roger turned around to try to catch them, but their lane of traffic had moved on so he turned back around and joined me to wait. When an hour had passed and they still hadn't arrived, we gave up guessing at their story and moved on--completing our Going to the Sun road run and exiting Glacier at St. Mary's with evening drawing near.
Skip the rest of the story and return home.
CLM -- 8/18/96