Day 25 - 8/9/2004 - Playing chicken with mountain goats...

Glacier NP - what a beautiful place -  not at all like Idaho (OK I guess to see the ensuing theme here).  We REALLY slept in this morning - until 9:30.  It was nice not to have to pack up and feel like we had to be somewhere.  We decided to head up to Logan's Pass (the midpoint of the drive through the park) and see what it looked like.  First of all, it is a steep road, sharp dropoffs, and lots of construction.  OK, maybe a Red Bull is in order - maybe two.  The view is really gorge-ous (sorry).  Lots of avalanche chutes and ice.  By the time we got to the pass, it was 2pm.  We packed up some snacks, and decided to take a short hike on the "Garden Wall" trail.

The trail starts out with a walk along the edge of a cliff, 80 feet above the road.  They have a steel cable bolted to the rock "just in case".  I felt pretty good about it - Hunter looked a little wary.  I knew he could do it, and we made through some of the tougher parts with some "just a little farther" coaching.  By the end of the hike, he was practically dancing bon the trail.

The trail winds around several mountains/buttes, and continues on to a camping sight (one way 8 miles).  We only did the first two miles out (4 round trip).  Just before our turnaround point, we started running into (er...encountering) mountain goats.  They really seem to have reached an equilibrium with the hikers.  As one species approaches the other, one gives way by stepping up the hill (usually the goats).  See pictures below.

Our original plan was to spend the afternoon hiking, and stick around into the evening to see if we could catch and early comet activity.  After the hiking, a picnic dinner, and a cloudy sky on top, we decided to call it a night.  After a couple of episodes of Hunger Force, we were both ready to crash.