Unaware of how crowded it gets in summer, I headed into the park and started my ascent as the sun was going down. The sunset did not disappoint that day and I ended up stopping at the Logan Pass Visitor Center to call it. Picture a medium sized parking lot at 6646ft surrounded by mountains. Apparently you can’t sleep there and security drives around at night but I just kept it chill and hid in the trunk and got away with it.
It started getting chilly so I spent my time sitting in the car drinking some beers and watching Netflix. The stars really started to come out, so I forced myself to snap photos of the milky way which quickly turned into my first time taking photos of the northern lights. Apparently the lights aren’t always visible by color and some times they are grey scale and sparkle in the sky. Only when you take the photo is when you see the colors. Needless to say, I was freaking out and shivering from the cold.
That next morning, I pulled myself out of the trunk to a major surprise. The empty parking lot turned into a Walmart. There was no where to park, people were lining up for bus tours, and there was traffic! This put a fire under my ass to get to the pull out for the hike I wanted to do. Luckily it was still empty at 10am so I took my time loading my backpack with all the gear I would need and fueling up with food. Due to all this time hanging out by the car, I would end up finding out later that I left my drivers side window down with $3,000 worth of electronics and gear unattended. Luckily nothing happened.
The hike was nothing short of strenuous and long. Not distance long but in the sense of time. I’m pretty fast paced but hiking/climbing Mount Siyeh was one for the books. Round trip for me was 9.5 miles and it starts by a river heading up Siyeh Pass, winding through the forest. It was a perfect area for grizzly bears to feed and roam around during their hyperphagia state. Luckily I didn’t come across one but definitely saw signs until I started my climb to the summit. This is where it’s no joke, the torture to the top wasn’t much fun. At times, I would have to take a minute break (I rarely take breaks) to subdue the pain and heavy breathing. You basically do 1,200 feet of elevation gain in half a mile. You can view my route and stats on alltrails.
After you get through the climbing section, you are greeted with a scree field that takes forever to get through. Completely terrible to get up and rather fun to come down if you accept the fact that you’re going to fall on your ass. The summit, sitting at 10,014 feet above sea level is very colorful and the view is incredible. If this view didn’t exist, there would be no reason to torture yourself on this “trail”. There is a 4,164 foot vertical drop towards Cracker lake which is a bright blue color.
