Siyeh Pass

Note: Siyeh is pronounced: sigh - ee, with the accent on ee.

Wednesday, August 1, I hiked the Siyeh Pass trail which is 10.3 miles long.  This trail is just east of Logan Pass (which is just off the map to the left).

Our group hadn't hiked since our Bowman Lake - Goat Haunt - Waterton Lake hike on July 8.  Arnie joined Joyce, Bill, Sue Ann and I on the Siyeh hike. This is the first real hike that Arnie joined us on this year.

The route we chose had a 2240 ft elevation gain.  If we had hiked the opposite direction starting at Sunrift Gorge, it would have been a 3440 ft elevation gain to the pass. Siyeh Pass is at 7750 ft.



At my suggestion, due to the current heat wave of 90 degree temperatures, we met at 7 am instead of our usual 8 pm. I was willing to get up early to beat the heat. Even so, I still didn't get to bed until 2:30 am, which meant 3.5 hours of sleep before I had to get up and get ready before Bill and Joyce arrived to get me.

We decided to use the new Glacier Park shuttle bus system. Bill parked at the Apgar transit center. The buses that drive between this center and Logan Pass only hold 12 people.

The buses are Chrysler vehicles and not very good. They had poor suspension and one could feel every bump and dip in the Going-to-the-Sun road. I also learned later that about half the buses' air conditioning units did not work. This is a problem as only the driver and front passenger's windows could be opened. Our bus also had a cracked windshield. All this after only one month of service.

The road re-construction has started and we had to wait a while. The flagger woman was talkative and told stories about recent bear sightings by flaggers on the road. She had a funny way of talking about it - and was quite nervous about encountering a bear.

At Logan Pass we immediately caught the yellow buses that run between Logan Pass and St. Mary. These buses were wider and longer and held at least twice the number of passengers. Passengers could also stand in the aisle. Small windows above the large windows could be slid open for fresh air. Windows seemed to curve up part of the roof and the bus's interior was more roomy and light.

As the bus started down from the Pass a few large bighorn sheep could be seen sitting near the road. I sat at the front of the bus near some Chinese people and one man said in English, "They are not moving. Are you sure these are not statues?"

At Siyeh Bend we got off the bus and started our hike. Initially we followed Siyeh Creek then turned right and uphill through a pine forest until the trail split left to Piegan (pee - gan) Pass and right to Siyeh Pass.

Quite a number of people were hiking the trail for a Wednesday. It seemed as if half the hikers split to go to each pass.

We then hiked through an area called Preston Park up to Siyeh Pass.

Mt Siyeh:



Photo 1: Looking back the way we came through Preston Park
Photo 2: Peigan Glacier
Photo 3: side of Mt Siyeh looking back towards Piegan Pass

The top of Siyeh Pass looks deceptive as one would think the pass is over the low part of the saddle between Mt Siyeh and Matahpi Peak. But instead of crossing over to the valley with Boulder Creek, the trail climbed part way up the side of Matahpi Peak and around the mountain before dropping to the right into the large valley with Sexton Glacier, Baring Creek, and Sunrift Gorge.

Photo 1: Preston Park and the saddle (we crossed over on the right edge of the photo)
Photo 2: valley with Boulder Creek
Photo 3: valley with Sexton Glacier, Baring Creek, and Sunrift Gorge. (see our trail down below?)

The group is looking for rocks for me to carry to slow me down.

Bighorn sheep on the saddle before I climbed part way up the side of Matahpi Peak.



Views from near Siyeh Pass.

At the Pass a half dozen other hiking groups had stopped to sit and eat their lunch and enjoy the views. Joyce wanted to sit in the shade so we sat in shade along the trail just before the pass.

Arnie sat on the side of the trail with his legs over the side which concerned Joyce. Arnie, now 82, has climbed many of the Glacier Park mountains with his son, and has climbed places that appeared extremely difficult to climb. As we hiked up to Siyeh Pass he pointed out where he has climbed on top of Mt Siyeh and from Matahpi Peak almost directly down to Preston Park.

Sue Ann spent a lot of time talking with the other hikers and mooching Cheetos from one hiking group.

Smoke from the many forest fires burning south of the Park had been in the air all morning. By afternoon when we started down the the valley to Sunrift Gorge it was much worse.

This photo is of the Dusty Star and Citadel mountains with Citadel in the back. Using the topo map above I took this photo from the letter "k" in "Baring Creek". Draw a line from the "k" to the "B" in "Baring Falls" and the mountains are below the Sun road just below where the bottom of the map border is.

One hiking group ahead of us, three women and one man who had hiked this trail before, turned around because they felt the valley was too smoky and the smoke would diminish the views of the waterfalls tumbling from the Sexton Glacier. They returned back to Siyeh Bend.

On the way up to the Pass from Siyeh Bend Joyce counted 14 switchbacks on the trail. There were so many switchbacks on the hike down that she quickly quit counting them.

When we were about level with Sexton Glacier we saw a trail that led over to Sexton Glacier. We still had miles to hike and did not take that trail. Another day.

I was in the lead with Joyce and Arnie following behind me. Later after turning the corner of a switchback I noticed someone on the trail ahead of me. It was Arnie. He may 82 years old, but he is part mountain goat and had gone straight down the mountain from switchback to switchback. Once Joyce and I caught up to him we followed him when he found more shortcuts between switchbacks. Arnie is amazing.

We quickly left Sue Ann and Bill behind as they elected not to follow us on the cutoffs.

More than halfway to the Sun Road and Sunrift Gorge the trail came near Baring Creek. We decided to soak our feet in the creek and wait for Sue Ann and Bill. The water was ice cold. No one could keep their feet in the water more than 30 seconds. The cold rushing water quickly made one's feet ache from the cold. Joyce and I warned Arnie the water was cold, but he apparently didn't believe us judging from his surprised reaction when he put his feet in the water.

Still the water felt good on our hot and tired feet.

A couple of men told us Sue Ann and Bill were not far off so we put our shoes on and continued down the trail confident they would soon catch up to us. We arrived at the Sun Road well before Sue Ann and Bill as they also had stopped to soak their feet. We sat in the shade and talked with a few people while waiting.  A mostly empty yellow bus came and went as we waited for Sue Ann and Bill.

Bill and Sue Ann arrived before the next yellow bus. Our group was first in line and the first to enter the bus. There were more passengers than seats so Arnie and I gave up our seats for other people to use.

Behind me was the couple I originally spoke with on the bus that morning from Apgar to Logan Pass. They thanked me for my suggestions as they enjoyed the boat ride on St Mary Lake and the hikes I suggested they try. They didn't have time to go all the way to St Mary to the Park Cafe to have some pie. They told me not to mention this to Bill so as to not disappoint him.  Bill is a big Park Cafe fan.

The Logan Pass visitor center bus exchange was a mad house. Two buses from Apgar were there and lines of people waiting to board those buses, and also our bus, filled the sidewalk. I quickly got off our bus and made my way over to the Apgar buses. The first one was full but I found enough seats on the second bus. I alerted Arnie and he got a seat. By the time Joyce, Bill and Sue Ann arrived the seats were all taken. They had to wait to the next bus.

We were delayed at the road construction again. We sat in the sun and heat and found out the buses air conditioning didn't work and there were no windows to open. We sat and sat and cooked. No one was allowed off the bus but the old man sitting between Arnie and I got up and asked the bus driver to open the door so he could stand by it and get some fresh air. This old man was funny in a dry sort of way. He was of the same opinion as I in that this bus and its ride was miserable and we both grumbled about it. Both he and I felt we would not ride the Apgar to Logan bus again if we could help it.

We discovered that when traffic was allowed to go the flaggers held our bus and another bus in front of us until all the private cars passed by. That made no sense as we should have priority, or even be able to continue as part of the flow. The private cars had to use the other lane in order to pass us by.

Of the two buses, ours was the one that stopped at the Loop for passengers. This was meaningless as no one got off our full bus. Before we could leave the Loop the bus behind us with Joyce, Bill, and Sue Ann passed us.

We later passed their bus at the Avalanche stop because a car with California license plates had pulled right in front of their bus and almost caused them to crash. Their bus driver so mad he jumped out the bus and got the name and license plate of the California car and planned to report him to the Park rangers along with testimony from people on the bus who would act as witnesses.

Joyce, Bill, and Sue Ann arrived at the Apgar bus station shortly after we did.  We then drove to Sue Ann's condo for some of her homemade huckleberry pie and rhubarb pie. We all had a slice of each pie and they were good.

Everyone but Arnie then went for a swim and a soak in the condo association's swimming pool and jacuzzi before returning home. We had both the pool and jacuzzi to ourselves.

Though my camera didn't capture the color correctly, the sun was a hard red and was disappearing in the smoke well before reaching the horizon. The air in the entire Valley was thick with smoke.

I got home around 8:45 pm. A long satisfying day of hiking. I'm not getting any work done on the ranch but sometimes one has to take opportunities to enjoy life when they can.