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Published: September 26th 2016
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We had a bit of a late start, since I had to deal with finding an emergency replacement for a museum docent today!
We were going to hike to Avalanche Lake and then go to Logan Pass and hike Hidden Lake trail, but there wasn't time for both and the sun never came out as promised...
The Avalanche Lake Trail was busy, but in grizzly bear country, this is something to be desired! The trail is 4 miles roundtrip with 500 feet of elevation gain, so it is quite easy, and beautiful. There were many Europeans on the trail, along with families and couples of all ages. We saw a one woman by herself, but she was doing trail running. You are told not to hike alone here! The outhouses at the lake have to be kept locked because the bears look for garbage in the toilets...
After the hike (about 2.5 hours), we ate our sandwiches in the car (you are encouraged not to bring food on the trails...) and then headed up to Logan Pass, which was fogged in last time we drove over. We stopped at the Loop Trail and hiked a mile up through
Avalanche Creek
Thousands of years of erosion... a decade old burn, admiring the views and watching for bears at every turn. We also clapped and banged on trees with a stick... People coming down told us that there was a lot of bear scat on the trail and two couples had heard something in the brush... There were a few families with small children on the trail, and that's always reassuring, since we can hope the bear would go for them first...(only kidding, parents..).
After safely returning from that hike, we drove to Logan Pass, where it was very cold and windy. The pass is named for William R. (“Will”) Logan, who was born in 1856 and attended college in Missouri. He served as a scout in the Sioux/Cheyenne campaign of 1876. In 1877, he held the office of Post-Trader at Fort Missoula and in 1898, was appointed an Indian Agent for the Blackfoot Indian Reservation. He was known to have explored the region of what is now Glacier National Park in the 1880’s and became enamored with its uniqueness and beauty. Along with his brother, Sidney, he was greatly responsible for the creation of this iconic national treasure, becoming its first Superintendent in 1910. Logan
Pass, along the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, is named after him in his honor.
His father was not so lucky: "In a fight between an officer and the warrior the warrior was shot down dead. The warrior's sister was standing by him when he fell, and as he lay there, his six-shooter lay by his side. The woman seeing her brother dying and the blood running from his mouth, seized the six-shooter, leveled it at the officer, fired, and shot him through the head and killed him. From all the information I can obtain, I believe the officer was Captain Logan."
We located the trail head for tomorrow's hike to Hidden Lakes, and headed home...
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Montana
Beautiful