Into the Wild Before the Snow Flies

October was upon me.  It wouldn’t  be long before the snow is here.  So, I packed the 4 Runner and aimed it north back towards Glacier National Park.  It was a perfect time to try out my new diesel heater along with the tire stand for it.  A new air mattress added to the winter makeover of the rooftop tent.  With the temps dropping into the 20’s at night it was a must to think of staying warm.  

As I had just been to Glacier in September, I was anxious to see the change in colors before the landscape was covered with snow.  The Going to the Sun road was open. It shuts down the third week of October or when snow forces it.  Whichever comes first. This time of year there were few tourists compared to the summer months. The crowded shores and trails give way to emptiness and silence.

To say I hit it at the right time is an understatement.  To say it was perfect is a more proper description.  Just as hitting the sweet spot in baseball or golf.  Or making the perfect throw or catch in football.  I couldn’t have written a better weekend to visit.  

The temperature during the day was 50 degrees and sunny.  The Autumn tapestry of colors was magnificent.  I made my way along hwy 200 in Montana.  This route follows the Clark Fork River.  It winds its way through towns  such as Hope and Clarkfork Idaho.  Trout Creek, Thompson Falls, and Plains Montana.  Then I took the cutoff up and over the high plains, where Buffalo used to roam these grassy lands.  I dropped down to Flathead Lake’s west shore.  Finally stopping in Whitefish Montana and having lunch at the base of Big Mountain ski area overlooking Whitefish Lake.  

Now it was time to enter the Park.  I traveled along the shoreline of Lake McDonald and up to the 7,000 foot  Logan Pass.  Here I walked along the trail to Hidden Lake.  I had a few hours of daylight left so I headed down the eastside of the pass.  This ends at St. Mary’s Montana just outside the park’s borders.  

The trees were turning to their goldens, reds, burnt oranges which contrasted with the forest greens of the pines.

To not let this utopian weekend weather escape without admiring all I could under it’s sunny skies and star lit nights.  I headed to Priest Lake in north Idaho’s panhandle.  This lake is a crystal clear body of water situated mere miles from Canada’s 49th parallel.  The beaches are a white sand wonderland.  Lionhead campground is closed at this time.  This makes it possible to walk the shoreline alone. Lionhead Creek flows down through slate mountains and forms natural waterslides.  During the summer months campers from Priest Lake bring plastic bags to sit on and take the slide into emerald ponds along the creek’s journey to the lake.  

As the sun set on my weekend that added 400 miles on my odometer of my 4 Runner which now reads 20,000 since buying it at the end of April, I headed back to my wall tent.