This is the [Ranger] Life!: Going-to-the-Sun!

Sunday, May 3, 2009
Well, I took at trip down the Going-to-the-Sun Road today. The road is only open up to Rising Sun, so I parked my car there and rode my bike. I stopped at Wild Goose Island overlook and snapped a few photos.

There wasn’t much snow on the road, but I did have to get off my bike to cross a few small patches. The worst patch of snow was at Dead Horse Point. Luckily, the snow has melted enough in the last few warm days to allow a person to walk along the edge of the snow mass. There’s probably several feet of built up snow from the winter. This will probably be the hardest section for the road crew to clear, til they get up higher. BUT, I was able to get past that and ride on to the Sun Point junction…it was too snowy down there so I didn’t go…I peddled on to Sunrift Gorge. It was really amazing riding along a road that I am usually driving on & there was no traffic. I started to feel a bit nervous about wildlife, so I called out every now and again to keep the bears away. I didn’t see much, though. I with the snow on the ground it really highlights the “deepness” of the forest and made me feel a tad bit scared. But only for a second…I just kept calling out.

Sunrift Gorge was amazing! There were huge icicles hanging down from each side of the skinny gorge. I even switched to a zoom lens and got some close ups. I did the same with all the snowy peaks. I was able to see a bit of Fusillade Mtn, Dusty Star Mtn., Citadel Mtn, Little Chief, Mahtotopa Mtn, Red Eagle, and on the other side of the lake: Going-to-the-Sun Mtn, Goat Mtn and of course Singleshot Mtn!
It was a good day!

Weather: 50's, mostly cloudy, some sprinkles at higher elevations.