Spring Ride and Float

Easter Sunday has been the best day so far this spring! Camas Road is still closed for cars and GTTSR at Lake McDougall Lodge. The bike ride turned out to be 70 miles (112km) to the end of the road and back- made for a happy day! The river is running beautifully. I think I might be done skiing!

McDonald Valley and Heavens Peak
looking towards Logan Pass
at the end of the road
McDonald Creek looking the Garden Wall just pas Avalanche Creek
North Fork at Camas Bridge
Mc Donald Creek at Red Rocks
near red rocks
floating the north fork

Bowman Lake

Calypsos and Clematis were out all along the Bowman Lake Trail

Bike Rafting

There are very few other things I’d rather do on a hot spring day than to ride my bike past the road closure and hop on the river to float back to the Hostel. The Hostel will be open next month: Time to Play!

Bowman, Kintla and GTTSR

The first bike rides of the season are always a treat!

Hiking and Biking season has just started

There is still plenty of snow patches and lots of mud around but the hiking is going and riding a bike into Big Prairie makes me appreciates spring and the coming summer. A truly beautiful weekend to be outdoors.

A Haze over the Livingston Range
A Haze over the Livingston Range
You never get tired of this view!
You never get tired of this view!
It is about 50/50 dirt and snow to get up to the lake
It is about 50/50 dirt and snow to get up to the lake
a tree on glacier view
a tree on glacier view
What a day!
What a day!
panorama shot from glacier view
panorama shot from glacier view

Going-to-the-sun IV

Another great ride up the sun road that last weekend in May. I dragged Philipp from Germany along. He had fun getting out of the cleats when we stopped 🙂 No Bears, Bighorns or Marmots along the road during this ride but we saw a Mama Black Bear with her three cubs on our way back on the Camas Road.

Philpp getting off the bike!
Philipp getting off the bike!
spring in Glacier
spring in Glacier
roaring waters
roaring waters
Logan Pass visitor center and equipment
Logan Pass visitor center and equipment
looking down the east side
looking down the east side
dressing up for the ride back down
dressing up for the ride back down
Logan Pass parking lot
Logan Pass parking lot

GTTSR The Third

This time around I almost didn’t make it to Oberlin Bend, where the plows were parked: one of my chain links broke just below Haystack Butte. I was looking at the prospect of limping my trusted Tourmallet back, not worried about the downhill but I had parked way back at Lake McDonald Lodge 🙁

As it happens first guy I asked for a chain breaker had one along and the ride and day was saved! Thank you Mike!

Besides bumping into friends I saw my share of flowers, sheep and a marmot.

  
  

GTTSR #2

Another great weekend for riding the Going-to-the-sun road. Besides Glacier Lilies this  

  

  

 time around we saw Trilliums, Spring Beauties, Paintbrushes and lots of varieties of violets. Three Bighorn Rams crossed the road just above the Weeping Wall, heading up, where else? Photos of the equipment, Clements Moutain and looking north up into the McDonald Valley and over Flattop Mountain.

It makes me weep

gttsr
plenty of snow up here

all the way to the weeping wall, which wasn’t weeping at all. Can’t help it but Going-to-the-sun road is probably the best bike ride around. Glacier Lilies are out, a small brown black bear was feeding alongside the road just below the tunnel by the loop and likeminded people all around riding their bikes. I busted my rear derailleur on my mountain bike during the last ride to Bowman Lake so it is road biking for a bit and I don’t mind it at all. Here is a panorama from just around the corner of the weeping wall and some other shots, just a great day to be up here!

The Divide
Looking at the Divide
IMG_0538
riding by a small black bear
IMG_0537
feeding along Going-to-the-sun road
upgttsr
how far the plows got by last Sunday