Moonlighting in Glacier Park

Photo by Adam Grim

Late last night I checked off another one of the goals that I have wanted to accomplish for quite some time. I biked Going to the Sun Road after dark, at near midnight under the luminous glow of a full “big-sky” Montana moon.

Awesome!

[ left to right: Ryan, Justin, Garren, Bryan -Not pictured - (he went for a quick hike :) ]

I was joined by my three friends and fellow adventure seekers, Garren, Justin, and Bryan. I borrowed the above picture from Garren, because the batteries in my camera went dead shortly after our ride commenced. (You can see Garren’s blogging of the experience here).

We started from “The Loop” and rode approximately 8 miles up to the summit at Logan Pass gaining about 3,500 feet in elevation. Yeah… a bit intense. Especially considering that we had to share the roughly 12 foot wide road with two lanes of traffic and construction equipment (Glacier Park closed the road today for road maintenance and construction).



Several of the motorists and motor cyclists who passed us along the way cheered and gave us the “thumbs up” to say “good job… keep going… you got more stamina and guts than we do.” That helped us press on in several of the spots were the climb was steep and the legs were jello.

We started the ride at about 6:00pm and arrived at the summit shortly after 9:00pm but we stopped several times along the way to watch the sunset over the Glacier horizon and beautiful Heavens Peak.

A little over three quarters of the way up to the summit we passed a few of our friends who had picnicked on the east side of the park and were now driving back home. They were kind enough to bless us with some nourishment (a fatty submarine sandwich which was one of the tastiest sandwiches I think I have ever eaten in my life. ;-)

We got to the top just after the moon ascended the 10,000-plus Glacier peaks, and chilled at Logan Pass for a little while, resting, enjoying the moon-lit scenery and adding to our layers of cloths in preparation for the brisk ride back down the mountain.

The moon-glow on the face of the cliffs and mountain sides was breathtaking, a whole different experience than driving the road in the daylight. Truly an experience I will not soon forget.

As we started back down the mountain after night-fall under the quiet glow of the starlight and moon, you could see the twinkling lights of a few straggling motorists as they curved and winded their way down the Sun Road several miles ahead.

The muted flashing lights of the construction zones added to the midnight ambiance as they lit up the mountainside in colorful red, amber and green hues.


The trip back down the mountain was over much quicker than the laborious ride up, but it certainly made the previous strain and pain well worth the effort.

What a blessing to live at the feet of such an awe-inspiring natural paradise like Glacier park and have the ability to visit and enjoy its natural beauty in every season, every month and every hour of the day.