Bob's Rocky Mountain Blog

Life from God's Country

Glacier National Park 2021: God’s Autumnal Extravaganza! Day Two

by · Published · Updated

Day 2: Tuesday, 9/28/2021:

Perhaps the best spot of color during our entire trip. This group of “fire” was along the Looking Glass Highway segment of Montana State Route 49.

After a night’s rest at the Mountain Pine Motel, we hit the road before sunrise, headed for Two Medicine Lake, a mere fourteen miles up Montana State Highway 49. There was enough light that we could see well enough to drive safely, though wildlife was not a problem on this day. In fact, we saw very little wildlife during our entire trip.

Having left East Glacier Park Village at 7:04 AM it took just twenty-nine minutes to arrive at the Two Medicine Lake Parking Lot, our first of many destinations on this day. The good Lord really treated us to a spectacular fall-foliage display on our way to Two Medicine. I’ll let Doug tell the story. “Almost from the moment we departed East Glacier, the corridor traversed by the Looking Glass Highway (MT 49) and the surrounding landscape is virtually carpeted with aspens, most of which is at or approaching peak color.”

Montana 49, known as Looking Glass Highway, is a twelve-mile road that connects US Highway 2, in East Glacier Park Village, with US Route 89 at a junction known as Kiowa. The first four miles are relatively level and easy driving. It is the last eight miles, however, the part that passes over Looking Glass Hill, that is the most spectacular, and also, the most dangerous. It is a steep and narrow, winding road, which is subject to rockslides. The entire route, however, is lined with aspen, and they were in a magnificent shade of yellow and gold.

After traveling about three-and-a-half miles, we came to the intersection with Two Medicine Park Road. This artery, of about eleven miles, took us to the shores of Two Medicine Lake. The first seven-and-a-half miles followed the north shore of Lower Two Medicine Lake. The last 3.2 miles took us past Running Eagle Falls before reaching the parking area at Two Medicine Lake, which sits at 5,164 feet. There is a campground, ranger station and even general store along the eastern shore of this small, yet splendid little lake.

As Doug points out, the aspens “that border this road show excellent color but a bit more variety in terms of the color transformation process, i.e., more trees in the light-green phase.”

Entering Glacier National Park for the first time in our 2021 Fall-Foliage trip. You can see some of the aspen have turned a nice yellowish-color. It would get much better before this journey was finished.

We arrived at the east shore of Two Medicine Lake at 7:33 AM. Though the view of Mt. Sinopah across the lake was spectacular, the water was choppy so there would be no “mirror-type” images on this day. Although I have seen some beautiful photographs of Two Medicine Lake completely still, where the photographer captured that mirror look, I have never been to Two Medicine where the water was calm. That was our purpose for arriving early, but to no avail. I took a few pictures from this great spot in Glacier National Park, but the purpose of our early-morning trip was the fall-color and there wasn’t a lot to see from the area around Two Medicine Lake, so we left the area and returned to Montana 49.

That is Sinopah Mountain. From the eastern shore of Two Medicine Lake, this view is looking southwest. It is the iconic view of this region of Glacier National Park. Though I have seen mirror-like images where the lake is totally calm, I have never been to Two Medicine when it was not windy and the waves had that chop to them Maybe someday!
This is Painted Tepee Peak, to the left, or southeast of Sinopah Mountain. It is 7,650 feet in height.
This large rock, that the early-morning sun is casting a nice rosy look on its southern flank, is Rising Wolf Peak. Named for Hugh Monroe, a fur trader who lived with the Pikunis band of the Blackfeet tribe in the early 19th century, this mountain tops out at 9,513 feet and is the tallest peak in the Two Medicine area. Not as well known as its sister, Sinopah Mountain, Rising Wolf rises more than 4,450 feet above Two Medicine Lake.
That rugged mountain to the left, behind the tall pines, is Chief Lodgepole Peak. The smaller conical one between Chief Lodgepole and Sinopah is Painted Tepee Peak.
To the right, or north of Sinopah are: Lone Walker Mountain (8,502), Pumpelly Pillar, a part of Mt. Helen (8,538), and the southern flank of Rising Wolf Peak.

Along the way, I managed to capture some really nice images of aspens, as they line Two Medicine Park Road for as far as you can see. But, as Doug mentioned, many of these trees had not fully changed colors. After returning to Montana State Route 49, we continued north, toward Kiowa via the Looking Glass Hill Road section of MT-49. As Doug noted, the color was fantastic. I’ll let his own words tell what we saw. “Color saturation among aspens that bordered the Looking Glass Hill Road was absolutely brilliant, to the point of electric gold that resembled Tennessee orange. As we got closer to Kiowa, the Northern Plains became visible, and protected lowlands are carpeted extensively with a mosaic of aspens in island-like configurations.”

As we returned to Montana 49 via Two Medicine Park Road, I stopped several times to take photographs of the aspens which lined this eleven-mile road. Doug pointed out that there were a lot of aspen but not all of them were at peak color. This shot shows the various stages of aspen, from bright yellow/gold to a light green and in a few cases even the more darker, summer, green.

Just one of many photos I took of the area around Two Medicine Creek, which connected Lower Two Medicine Lake with Two Medicine Lake. Note the pockets of aspen with the surrounding conifers. There is a reason I have always loved the colors of the Green Bay Packers uniforms.

Another shot of God’s beauty with his giant paintbrush. This image was taken before we reached Lower Two Medicine Lake.

It is a little less than eight miles, 7.7 to be precise, from the junction of Montana 49 with the Two Medicine Lake Road and the northern terminus of MT-49 at Kiowa. And the views were spectacular. This portion of the state highway is known as Looking Glass Hill Road, and it is the more dangerous segment of the thoroughfare.

After reaching the junction of Looking Glass Hill Road (MT-49) and US Highway 89 we turned around and retraced our steps back to East Glacier Park Village. On a map, that junction is known as Kiowa, but there was nothing at the intersection. As we made our return trip south, we were able to get a different perspective on the aspens and cottonwoods that lined the road. I’ll let Doug tell his viewpoint of this drive: “Round two of observations pertaining to the Looking Glass Hill Road, oriented and sequenced from north to south: Areas to the east of the road are, in many instances, absolutely carpeted with aspens. Many of these groves occupy regions that are more protected from wind and at lower altitudes than those to the west of Looking Glass Hill Road. A tightly clustered, relatively small aspen stand, which exhibited maximum color saturation (Tennessee orange), is located just to the right of the road near mile marker 9.”

Doug’s impressions of the northern portion of Montana 49 stated that “the Looking Glass Hill Road is an excellent, short (12 miles in length) fall-foliage drive. Portions of it are winding and in relatively poor condition. Unfortunately, safe pullouts are in short supply.”

An image from Looking Glass Hill Road. The 7.9 miles of the Looking Glass Hill Road portion of Montana State Route 49 might have been the finest artistic work the Lord painted in Glacier National Park. As Doug said, the aspens, in many places, looked like they were on fire.

That is a truly beautiful shot of aspens interspersed with conifers.
Looking down into the valley. This entire section of MT-49 was electrifying in the simple beauty of the aspen and conifers.
Another valley shot. Outstanding color. In the lower part of the photo, you can tell the various stages of the aspen. They are a dark green during the summer, before changing to light green, then light yellow before going to that final dark yellow/gold look. And of course, the dark green of the conifers just make the aspen stand out that much more.
We were coming up on, what I think, was the best fall-foliage section of Glacier during this trip.
This, and the next two images was a magnificent display of aspen at their finest peak color intermingled with conifers.

Using the zoom lens made this image even better.

A lot of people talk about New England, particularly Vermont, in the fall. And the mosaic look of the various reds, purple, yellows and orange colors from the oaks, maples and sumacs is very nice. And I would like to visit someday. As for me, however, when you take the brilliant yellows and golds of the aspens and cottonwoods along with the dark green of the conifers, and throw in a background of the Rocky Mountains, there is nothing better.

And one last look at the magnificent views from the Looking Glass Road.

We refueled at East Glacier Park Village before heading west along US Highway 2 toward West Glacier. Including our drive into, and back out of Two Medicine, we had driven just thirty-nine miles north to Kiowa and back to East Glacier. The fall color, aspens, and cottonwoods were gorgeous.

After refueling at East Glacier Park Village, we took US Highway 2, which parallels the southern border of Glacier National Park, to the west side of the park. It is right at fifty-nine miles to West Glacier, the entrance to the famed Going-to-the-Sun Highway of Glacier National Park. The aspens near East Glacier, are abundant and, for the most part, at or near peak color. These deciduous trees are adjacent, on either side, to the corridor traversed by US-2, however, they disappeared as we approached Marias Pass. This pass, at just over one mile high (5,216 feet) is the lowest point on the Continental Divide in Montana. It is 11.3 miles from East Glacier Park Village.

This is the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Monument. William H. Morrison donated the land for this monument. The obelisk stands 60 feet tall, and was built in 1931. It stands in the middle of Marias Pass.

Just one of several plaques around the Monument. This tells the tale of “Slippery Bill” Morrison.

Memorial Square at Marias Pass, which had a large parking lot with public toilets (probably pit toilets, though I did not use them on this trip), and of course the giant obelisk was built in 1989.

John Stevens, an engineer for the Great Northern Railroad, located the pass and helped build the first rail line through this area. Later, he was credited with setting up the infrastructure for the building of the Panama Canal.

After descending from Marias Pass, we began to see aspens again, but not with the consistency or abundance of the segment closest to East Glacier Park Village. Continued loss of altitude by mile marker 186 is associated with more extensive aspen stands but nothing approaching those found on the east side of the park. Doug noted that the short spur road to Goat Lick Overlook, which is located 25.9 miles from East Glacier, or 14.6 miles from Marias Pass, was now closed, presumably for the season.

There were extensive stands of aspens and, perhaps, cottonwoods on both sides of the Middle Fork of the Flathead near mile marker 167. This was roughly 14 miles from West Glacier.

The Middle Fork of the Flathead River, near mile marker 167 on US-2. We were driving west, well past Marias Pass and starting to approach West Glacier. Though we did not see many aspens at the Pass, there were extensive stands of aspens and, perhaps, cottonwoods on both sides of the Middle Fork of the Flathead. This was roughly 14 miles from West Glacier.
Looking the other way, back toward the east, this is the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, near mile marker 167 on US-2.

Since we had reset the tripmeter, with the fill up at East Glacier, we know it is exactly 56.3 miles from East Glacier Park Village to West Glacier via US Highway 2, following the southern border of Glacier National Park.

We began our west-to-east traverse of the Going-to-the-Sun Road from West Glacier with the odometer reading 175,195 and the tripmeter set at 56.3 miles.

On our September journey, we started the first trip traversing the Going-to-the-Sun Highway, this time from the west side. The weather forecast for this day was one of some rain. The next two days, however, were projective to be clear weather.

From the Lake McDonald Lodge onward, cottonwoods and aspens begin to more prominently accentuate the corridor traversed by the Going-to-the-Sun Road. For the most part, these trees, were earlier in the color transformation process. Twenty miles from West Glacier, however, aspens have become much more extensive in coverage and were approaching peak color along McDonald Creek and vast swaths of mountain slopes to either side.

After twenty-five miles of mountain driving, we reached “The Loop,” a nice stopping point along our journey through the heart of Glacier National Park. As impressive as the Going-to-the-Sun Highway is, there is only one switchback on the entire roadway, and that is at the Loop. There are parking areas on both sides of the loop and there is even a restroom. Right at halfway through the park, it is the perfect breaking point. The odometer was sitting on 175,220 miles while the tripmeter read 81.3. Logan Pass was just 7.9 miles away. It’s hard to believe that things could get better, but they did. The next eight miles, especially in the fall when God is doing some of his most majestic painting, were quite possibly the most beautiful terrain I have ever seen.  

At The Loop, approximately halfway through the Going-to-the-Sun Highway, this area was the perfect place to stop and take a break. Not only were there parking spaces on the lower side, this photo area, but also on the other side, just past the switchback. And that building on the left is a very nice restroom in the middle of nowhere. the sign points to the right, toward Heaven’s Peak, but low cloud cover kept us from seeing the mountain.

There are seventeen (17) pullouts between The Loop and Logan Pass, and we stopped at everyone. The tripmeter at the beginning of this segment was 81.3 at the Loop, and the end was the Logan Pass Visitor Center with a reading of 89.2 miles. Doug says it much better than I can, so I’ll let his words tell the tale, “Note: Given the heavy concentrations of aspens and impressive views up the length of McDonald Valley toward Logan Pass, pullouts on the right (for eastbound travelers) are located between The Loop and Logan Pass at the following tripmeter readings: 82.0, 82.1, 82.4, 82.9, 83.1, 83.4, 83.7, 83.8, 83.9, 84.0, 84.2 (Bird Woman Falls pullout), 84.3 (just west of the Triple Arches), 84.9 (roadside exhibit of McDonald Valley), 85.4, 86.3 (“Blending in” sign), 88.3 (at this altitude, snow began to fall today), 88.7, 89.2 (Logan Pass Visitor Center), 89.6, 89.9, 90.0, 90.2, 90.6, 90.9 (Heavy Runner Mtn.), 91.1, 91.3, and 91.9. To reiterate, tripmeter designations for these pullouts sequentially convey their relative proximity to The Loop and, conversely, their distance from West Glacier. There are 17 pullouts between The Loop and Logan Pass, all of which are on the right as you travel from west to east.”

I believe that is Haystack Creek. I took this photo from the Bird Woman Falls pullout, which was at tripmeter reading 84.2 which is almost twenty-eight miles from the entrance to the Going-to-the-Sun Highway at West Glacier.

Haystack Creek as it goes under the Going-to-the-Sun Highway.

There were another nine pullouts within the first two-and-one-half miles after passing Logan Pass. My favorite spot on this magnificent highway to the sun was at the Wild Goose Island Overlook, which is just seven miles (actually 7.7 miles according to Google Maps) inside the park from the east, or St. Mary entrance to the Going-to-the-Sun Highway. From Logan Pass, it was a little under five miles to the Jackson Glacier Overlook and another 6.2 miles to Wild Goose Island. Unfortunately, the weather did not play nice, when we stopped at the Wild Goose Island overlook. It was still raining a little and windy. Cloud cover blocked the views of the “March of the Mountains” to the left, or south, of St. Mary Lake, and you couldn’t make out Gunsight Mountain at the far end of the lake. So we moved on. There will be other days. For great images of this spot, check out my blog: Spring is in the Air! My 2019 Glacier National Park Trip Part 2

My favorite place in Glacier National Park, the Wild Goose Island overlook is a little over eleven miles from Logan Pass. Clouds had moved in and socked in a lot of the preceding views coming down from the Pass, and though we could see Wild Goose Island in the middle of St. Mary Lake, photographic opportunities just weren’t favorable.

A short distance after passing through the St. Mary entrance station from the east, there is a pulloff on the left before reaching Two Dog Flats that has an interpretive sign. Aspen stands in the foreground, St. Mary River, and mountains in the St. Mary Valley hold promise as a photographic composition.

That is Singleshot Mountain. We stopped at the Two Dogs Flat pullout, just 3.7 miles from the end of the road at St. Mary. Singleshot did not quite make 8,000 feet, at 7,930 feet. But it is still impressive.
That is Red Eagle Mountain, first of five mountains known as “the Grand March of Mountains” by Jack Holterman in his book Grand March of Mountains. These are the magnificent peaks that tower on the left side of St. Mary Lake from the Wild Goose Island overlook.


That is an impressive array of aspens with Singleshot Mountain in the background. As you can see, the sun was shining after we came down from the high country around Logan Pass.
One last look at Singleshot Mountain before leaving the park.

Since we would be spending the next two nights at the St. Mary/East Glacier KOA, we stopped and picked up the key to our rented cabin. Then we headed north to see the Chief Mountain area before sunset. I wanted to take as many photographs of this iconic spot as possible, and over the  three days we spent in Glacier National Park, we stopped there four times. Doug had one last comment to say about the journey across the continental divide, and I’ll let his words do the talking: “Final point of emphasis: The Enjoyyourparks.com article (http://enjoyyourparks.com/ Autumn-Fall-Glacier-Park.html) did not overstate the impressiveness of aspen concen-trations that are visible on the west side of the Going-to-the-Sun Road between The Loop and Logan Pass, specifically as one heads east and looks up the length of McDonald Valley toward Logan Pass at the vast swaths of aspen that cloak mountain slopes on both sides of McDonald Valley.”

You may also like...

Leave a Reply