I got up at 4:00 and was on the road by 5:15 which got me to my Nephew’s Forest Service barracks (Hungry Horse, MT) in time to give him a hug and have a 15 minute catch up conversation in the parking lot.
The road got a little bad before Hungry Horse but afterwords, there was a separate paved bike path all the way to Glacier National Park.
My plan was to stop by the Apgar Campground, sign up for a”Hiker /Biker” campsite, climb the Going to the Sun Road unloaded and come back to the campground for the night. I wanted to do this because cars were still not allowed on the upper sections of Going to the Sun Road this season which makes it much easier for a cyclist to enjoy the views. Logan Pass is the highest point of the road but the last five miles before the pass was closed because of bear activity.
There were lots of folks riding bikes and e-bikes up on the section closed to cars. There were buses taking people to a place called Avalanche where the road closure (to cars) began and they would hop on rented e-bikes and go on up. I was thinking it was the way the park should be enjoyed by everyone, all of the time. It would make stopping and enjoying the view so much easier. With only a few scenic turnouts barely big enough to accommodate a couple cars along the road, it is hard to stop and take in the view in a car. I’m sure you could fit 20 or 30 folks on bikes in the same space. But instead the limits put on vehicles are a bit liberal, 8’x10’x21’.
There was a wonderful bike path from the entrance of glacier to the Apgar campground. However, when I arrived at the Apgar campground, I was a little confused about how to register for a hiker/biker campsite. Luckily I ran into Steve riding a tandem bicycle by himself. He and his wife Karen are riding across the US on the ACA’s Northern Tier route. They have been at the campground 6 days waiting for the road to fully open through the park.
I dropped most of my bags (and weight) at the campground once I went to the visitor’s center and used their WiFi and figured out how to download the reservation app and make a hiker/ biker camping reservation. Then I started up Going -to -the -Sun-Highway.
At first the grade was pretty gentle and there was a fair bit of car traffic. But past a place called Avalanche there were no private cars. There were a few of the classic red White Motor Company buses, that Glacier has used for tour buses since the 1930s, coming by and a few other authorized vehicles but for the most part bicycles ruled the road.
It didn’t take too long for the grade to increase and for me to find myself in my granny gear. But that was okay the grade was pretty steady and I just kept the peddles going round and enjoying the awe inspiring view. Thanks to Jeff and Chris at Bike Line in Middletown, DE who helped me swap out my smallest front chain ring to loose a couple teeth and make this climb possible or at least a lot easier.
Eventually I came to a barrier, five miles short of Logan Pass. There were three Park Service Staff answering people’s questions and making sure nobody went past the barrier. It was closed because someone let a black bear get ahold of their backpack and they were trying to trap the bear for relocation.
I had a blast descending the road but unfortunately have no pictures or video. When I got back to the hiker biker campsite I met the rest of the folks staying there. Carrie and Patsee were waiting on an elusive permit to hike the Continental Divide trail through Glacier and continue along the trail to the Mexican border! And Elliot was waiting, like Karen and Steve for the bear activity to end and be able to pass through Glacier on Going to the Sun road and continue on their cross country odysseys.
Good fortune was on their side, late in the day it was announced that going to the Sun Road would be open for bicycle travel through the park and Patsee and Carrie got the permit they were hoping for and would be hitching a ride to the Canadian boarder to start their through hike of the Continental Divide Trail.
I on the other hand would be going backwards to stash my bike in Somers, Montana and get a ride back to Missoula to meet my wife, my son and my sister in law for a week off the bike.
Slow and Steady 
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