Before the road is closed I wanted to go on a few more hikes from Logan Pass. All summer I had been eying Mt. Oberlin from the Pass - from the time Brian and I visited the Park in July to a few weeks ago when Bill, Sue Ann, and I hiked to Hidden Lake.The weather was perfect Friday September 14 so it was the time to climb Mt Oberlin. Beside the Valley was thick with smoke from some forest fire. It was as bad as it had been during the worst of the fire season. I had hopes in the Park I would be away from, or at least above, the smoke. It was a good decision as the Park was pretty smoke free.
I had stuff to do in the morning so I never left until a little before noon. My optimistic nature had me doing this hike, and possibly one to Haystack Butte, and then back home early evening. I never reached Logan Pass until after 1 pm. Part of the delay was that I stopped along the Sun Road a number of times to take photos of Mt Oberlin to show you how the mountain looks from the road.
The red X marks where I was on Oberlin. In the first photo the middle bump (under the X) is the highest point (though in this photo is doesn't look the highest). In the second photo I hike up from the saddle, that is, from the left X to the right X at the top. On the left side is Clements Mountain. Don't forget that you can click on the photos to get a larger image.
During one of my stops a couple guys got out of their car and one started to play a set of bagpipes. He wasn't half bad but I didn't stay to listen to him - I was on a mission to climb Oberlin.The parking lot at the Pass was full. Really full as cars circled and circled looking for a parking space. Cars would follow people walking back to their cars in hopes they were leaving. I had a couple of red herrings as a few people went back to their car to retrieve items. Darn!
After more than 15 minutes of circling I got a parking space. Because I didn't trust my car's battery would later start my car I wanted to park on the uphill side of the parking lot, but I took this spot. I still had some of the lot to roll my car down if I had to pop the clutch to start it.
I stopped at the visitor center to ask the rangers where the trail to Mt Oberlin started. Sarah, who I met last October during my first hike to Dragon Tail, was there. She was helping a very old lady so I didn't interrupt. I planned to talk to her after I got back from the hike.
The other ranger pulled out a form for me to fill out. It was for people planning to climb Oberlin and was voluntary. A full sheet of things to answer. Oberlin is not a technical hike so I didn't fill the form out.It turns out the trail to Mt Oberlin is well defined and easy to find. Instead of taking the paved path to Hidden Lake immediately take the paved path to the right and after a short distance one can find the path to Oberlin.
I hiked through the sub alpine trees. Off the trail were two structures. One was a building and the other looked to be a water tank. A park ranger was inside the building as I passed.
I started to go up. I missed the spot where the trail branched into two. It turns out that was a good thing as the right trail - while it looked easier and safer - went up scree. Scree is better hiking down as one can sink into it with each step. Going up takes more effort as one sinks back with each step and one has to probably make 1 and 1/2 times the effort to move upward and forward.The route I took did have a short section of scree that was a pain to get up. This route was also initially steeper, but once one got to the top of the saddle the rest of the way had generally a gentler slope to the top of Oberlin. In the photo I didn't have anything to give perspective as to the steepness, but trust me, this is a steep section.
Another advantage to this trail was that you reached the saddle close to Clements Mountain whereby you could look down into the valley on the other side. On the other side was snow and a high valley above Bird Woman Falls (which I could not see from this point).
Across the valley was Mt Cannon (left side of the photo).
I walked the gravely saddle over to where the rock rose up. I could see down where I came and could see the other trail which was well defined. How did I miss it? By focusing where I was going and only looking straight ahead. I briefly thought of heading back down to go on the other trail, but, nah, that would be too much effort. Besides I could see the trail cross the saddle to the rocks and I trusted there was a trail through and up the rocks - though I could not see a passage from where I stood.
From the high valley trees rose up the rock gravel side of Oberlin. It was odd, but neat, to see trees behaving how one expects grass or moss to move along bare ground to fill in an area. I'm not sure how the trees could grow in the gravely rock.As I started up the rock a woman with a faint European accent came down. There is a trail up to the top of Oberlin from here. She had taken the other trail up and was now coming down this way. She claimed her way was better but I had doubts about climbing scree.
I made my way though the rock area though I did have to stop a number of times and decide where the trail went. One time I climbed up through a gap in the rock only to find it went down the same amount the other side and there was a trail that went around the rock that was easier to use.
In the last two previous photos, the top X and the Y show where I went (X through the gap in the last photo), and Y is where I could have gone, which was easier.
Photo 1: shows the top of the rocks seen in the previous photos. I came up to the top of these rocks then over to where I took this photo, which is the top of Mt. Oberlin.
Photo 2: high valley above Bird Woman Falls and the McDonald Valley
Photo 3: McDonald Valley and the Going-to-the-Sun road
In the first photo, Haystack Butte is the green mountain in the center of the photo. Looks close, doesn't it? It's not. The rock column on the right is part of the rock columns seen in the early photos of Mt Oberlin.
As I approached the top of Mt Oberlin I could see a young man sitting alone up there. He started down as I neared the top. We had a long chat. He had done this climb to Oberlin before and agreed with me that the route I took was easier than doing the route in reverse with the scree section first. He not only knew of Mt Thoma, he actually hiked it and recommended it. He is the first person I met who knew of Mt Thoma. Then I learned he worked for the National Forest Service. No wonder he knew of Mt Thoma.
Back in June when I hiked Mt Aeneas I met the guys who worked for the forest service in the Bob Marshall wilderness. Now this guy. When the forest service people get time off work they seem to like to climb mountains.
After this guy left a young guy climbed up. He looked to be maybe 20. He was from Indiana and was working at the Rising Sun camp store for the summer. This was his first time to Glacier Park. He had hiked over 200 miles on his days off. Hhe and friend climbed to the top of Bearhat Mountain from it's northern side. They camped out overnight at the top and was able to see the sunrise and sunset.
Another one of his hikes was from the Waterton townsite to the Granite Park Chalet via the Highline Trail, then down to Many Glacier. He didn't take the boat from Waterton to Goat Haunt but walked the seven miles along the lake. In all he walked 37 miles between 8 am and 10 pm. Pretty amazing, but he is young.
While talking to this young guy a 29 year old woman came up and stood a little bit away and stretched. She wore black tights so she was distracting as she bent and stretched her legs. A bit later her guy finally came up to the top. He didn't look to be as in as fit shape as she was.
Talking to them I learned they were from Seattle here for a family reunion on his side. He was originally from Langdon, North Dakota. I learned she was originally from Rochester, Minnesota where I used to live. She graduated from John Marshall high school in 1996 and immediately left Rochester. I asked, now having lived in the Pacific NW, would she ever moved back? No way! The only tug to move back would be because her family still lived in Rochester. That proved her sanity as given the choice between living in Minnesota and in the Pacific NW or the mountain states, the choice is clear.
After the other people left I lingered on at the top snacking on the lunch I brought. I knew that this would be the last time I would be up here until next year and I didn't want to leave. The weather was great with a warm temperature and clear sky. Occasionally a small breeze blew andI immediately held on to my straw hat. I didn't want a repeat of the wind blowing my hat over the cliff. I had cliffs on three sides and the valley was a long way down.
I had views of the entire Going-to-the-Sun road from where it came up from McDonald Creek to the Loop then all the way up to Logan Pass. I had views of mountains one could not see from Logan Pass.
I plan to make a hike to the top of Mt Oberlin a yearly event.
Garden Wall
Going-to-the Sun road, Highline trail above the road, Logan Pass and the visitor center.
The view south
This isn't quite a 360 view as the photos into the sun didn't turn out. Think of it as a 300 degree view: from west, north, east, to south.
Photo 1: view of Logan Pass and the visitor center from part way up Mt Oberlin.
Photo 2: view of Logan Pass and the visitor center from the top of Mt Oberlin. The mountain on the right is Piegan Mountain with Going-to-the-Sun Mountain behind it.
Photo 3: Piegan Mountain as seen from near the visitor center. Notice how the view from the visitor center is only of the end of the mountain as compared to how the mountain looks in photo 2.
Eventually I had to leave. I wanted to also climb Haystack Butte and it was getting later. Below the summit I took the scree trail down the mountain. It was steep especially the upper part of the trail. I sunk into the loose scree and slid with each step.
Photo 1: Sun Road and the end of Oberlin
Photo 2: looking up the scree trail
Photo 3: looking down the scree trail
Closer to Logan Pass I came upon a herd of bighorn sheep on the trail. They weren't moving and a large ram stood in the middle of the trail. I had to go off the trail and around them.
When I got back to my car I found it was just after 4:30 pm - early than I imagined.The visitor center had closed at 4:30 pm, too late to go back inside to talk with Sarah.
On the ground next to my car's driver's door I found a small rock. Huh? The next day I learned that Dan and Theresa left it there for me. We had discussed being at Logan Pass the same day and time and described each other's car. The parking lot was so full I didn't see their car but they found mine before they left. While I was on Mt Oberlin they were on the trail to Hidden Lake. So now I have a "Theresa" rock to go with my "Colleen" rock.
Then it was off to Haystack Butte.
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