Afternoon Run

Lakeshore Preserve with Brady!

Tuesday Run Club - stairs edition

[Glacier HOtel Running Tour]

My biggest day ever, by time, vert and miles.

Breakfast at 6:30 at the Lake McDonald Lodge, then we got started a bit late (8ish) after futzing with gear. It took a couple of wrong turns at the start to get on the right trail, then we started cruising toward Avalanche Creek.

The air was misty, the ground was carpeted with moss, and the cedar trees were dripping with lichen. There are supposedly few bears in this area of the park but we were the only ones out and the vegetation was pretty thick, so we didn't risk running. 

After about six miles the trail ended and we ran along the Going to the Sun Road. Was nice to be able to run and the views were incredible, but the narrow shoulders and traffic made us nervous, and the exhaust fumes were a stark contrast from the smell of cedar we'd left behind.

Another six miles and we were back on trail. Here we hit the worst mud of the day, from all the rain and snow from earlier in the week.

We soon started heading up the 3500' climb where things started going (figuratively) downhill. Brian was struggling to catch his breath. He did a 50 miler earlier this year and is faster than me, so he's definitely in shape for the trip; we think the altitude was probably starting to get to him.

We stopped at a waterfall to eat a bit, which is where I found some free sunglasses - gaudy (but polarized) Pit Vipers. I had left mine at home but turns out that was a bad choice, so I'm glad I found some. 

We ran out of water about two miles before the chalet, but came across a few dwindling piles off snow which we scooped into our bottles.

At the chalet Brian got a Gatorade and some snacks and rested for a while, while I found a small mountain stream to filter water out of and fill our bottles and reservoirs. I hid from the sun behind a little pine sapling while I pumped, and a curious deer came up and started munching some bushes about 20' away.

After 45 minutes or so we made the last push up over Swiftcurrent Pass, one of the things I was most looking forward to from my last visit here. The view of Swiftcurrent Glacier feeding the chain of lakes that run down the valley is breathtaking.

We'd hoped to run down from the pass but the terrain was too steep, then at the bottom the vegetation was too thick to safely run. Eventually we hit the day hike crowds from Many Glacier area so we were able to run the last few miles back.

At the hotel we got ice cream, showered, did laundry, restocked food for tomorrow, got dinner, and went to bed.

No bear or Moose sightings today, just one black bear print and three scats. Maybe tomorrow!

Top Sports

Lee Shaver

GHoRT day one: Motel Lake McDonald to Swiftcurrent Motor Inn

11 Photos

2 Comments

Splits

Sign up to view more activities from Lee Shaver

Afternoon Run

Lakeshore Preserve with Brady!

Afternoon Run

Afternoon Run

Tuesday Run Club - stairs edition

Want to see more?

The #1 app for runners and cyclists

Sign Up for Free. Track your progress and reach goals. Join 100 million active people on Strava.

See More from Lee