Tim was right last night. It took 1 1/2 hours to break camp, even without cooking breakfast. I was actually glad to hear him say it was taking him an hour and 15 minutes because I thought I must be moving at a ridiculously slow pace. It doesn't take anywhere near that amount of time to set up camp!
Back to the riding. It was definitely a hard climb - and harder than the other time I rode up Going to the Sun Highway, but that time I wasn't riding a loaded bike. I rode with Gerard and Corry for a while, then saw them again at the summit.
I walked to the Hidden Lake overlook with some people from Connecticut. I also spoke with some of the Tri-cities cyclists again - seems to be a really nice group.
I ended up spending several hours at Logan Pass. What an amazing place. I really think it is the most beautiful place I have seen. There were marmots, Columbian ground squirrels and mountain goats wandering around. The wildflowers were in bloom and were gorgeous. A number of trails were closed due to bear activity. In fact, the Hidden Lake overlook was as far as you could go in the direction I was walking before you hit a trail closure. I didn't get to see a bear today. The squirrels were really funny through. They weren't begging for food, but they did seem to be posing for the camera. They had a short tail, a fat little body, and made a loud cheeping sound.
My friends, the ground squirrels
A marmot, on his way to?
I decided to ride to Saint Mary. Headed down the east side of Logan Pass. The road condition wasn't too smooth, so I was using the brakes quite a bit. I had to stop several times to let my rims cool down.
I checked out the St. Mary national park campground and found out that they didn't have a hiker biker site. I could have stayed in a regular site, but for the same price I could stay at a private campground just outside of the park and have access to a shower. So I opted for Johnson's campground. I met a couple from the Netherlands at the campsite across from mine. They are also riding the Adventure Cycling Great Parks route, but in the other direction. They confirmed the 12% grade out of Radium Hot Springs, but said that it wasn't that long. I think I need to not worry about it - if my legs (or knees) decide they don't want to ride that grade, I can always walk it! I do need to figure out the days between now and when I need to be in Banff - but I'll do that later. Tomorrow I'm going to head to Many Glacier to do some hiking.
St. Mary Lake
