Day 58 - Glacial Waters

Trip Start May 19, 2008
1
60
161
Trip End Nov 08, 2008


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow
Where I stayed
Avalanche Creek Campground

Flag of United States  , Montana,
Tuesday, July 15, 2008

We packed up at a leisurely pace and Neil did a spot of sewing to make the shoddily made cab curtain more user-friendly. On the way up to the campground last night we had to drive across the top of the Hungry Horse Dam and this morning we had to drive back across it, so we stopped off at the visitor centre. It really is a very impressive piece of engineering. Construction began in 1948 and the dam was completed in 1953. It is 564 ft high (when will the Americans go metric?), 2115 ft long at the crest , comprises 2,934,500 cu yds of concrete and the reservoir stores almost 3.5 million acre-feet of water (whatever they are!)

After about another 15 miles we arrived at the West Entrance to Glacier National Park, and thanks to our annual pass were fast-tracked through the queue. First stop was the visitor centre at Apgar Village, where one of the rangers gave a very interesting and informative talk about the main features of the park Hungry Horse Dam
Hungry Horse Dam
 . The piece of information that really stuck with us is the fact that by 2030 there will no longer be glaciers in G.N.P. due to the rapid rate of climate change.

We also met a very nice young woman who, after previously working as a ranger, was now working to promote awareness of climate change. It was very refreshing and comforting to know that there are other people out there who share the same beliefs and ideals as us. They have been very thin on the ground these last few weeks. After a good chat with her, we took the Going To The Sun Road which goes directly through the middle of the park. The scenery was immediately stunning, the road following the eastern edge of Lake McDonald from one end to the other. After a brief stop at McDonald Falls for a few photos, we travelled on just a little bit further to our camp-site at Avalanche Creek.

Once settled into our pitch, we relaxed with tea, coffee and biscuits and watched in amazement as deer wandered through the site. With our batteries slightly re-charged, we took a short trail out of the camp-site through ancient Cedar trees. There are now only a few Cedar left in the park as they were almost wiped out by fire in the 1920's and were replaced by pine trees. The trail runs alongside Avalanche Creek and we saw beautiful, crystal clear waters running around fallen trees, brought down by faster-flowing melt waters McDonald Falls
McDonald Falls
 . The water has a wonderful blue-green hue to it and you can almost feel how cold it is just by looking at it. The trail also took us past a stunning cascade of waterfalls, the rocks worn shiny-smooth by the action of the fast-flowing water.

Miles travelled: 36

Total miles travelled: 4064

Days on road: 38

States visited: 8

National Parks visited: 7
Slideshow Print this entry