SWEET VIRGINIA
Sunday was a recovery
day. We slept in, before dining on
pancakes and eggs. Then we headed over
to the Rising Sun camp store to take showers.
The showers there are a bargain, as each token costs $1.25 but lasts 8
minutes. Unfortunately, there is
exactly one shower stall for men and one for women. Luckily, there was only one person waiting in front of me when we
arrived. I’m not saying that the
bathroom was cramped, but there was just barely enough room for the two of us
to wait inside.
Afterwards, I was waiting
for Christy, and I watched a whole herd of teenage girls coming out of the
women’s shower. Well, I suppose herd
isn’t really the right word. What do
you call a large group of teenage girls?
How about a gaggle? No, I think
that’s geese. A giggle? Yes, that sounds better. It was a whole giggle of teenage girls. Every time the door opened, I looked over,
expecting to see Christy. Instead, it
would be another teenage girl. Where
were they coming from? They must’ve
been standing on the toilets in there.
Every one of them was
dressed up, too. It struck me as being
a little odd, being at a campground in remote national park. Later, I finally remembered that it was
Sunday morning. They must’ve been on
their way to church.
Christy finally emerged, and
we drove to East Glacier. On the way,
we noticed that we picked the right day to skip hiking. It was the hottest day of our trip, and the
smoke and haze were awful, especially around Two Medicine. Later, when we returned, the Two Medicine
area was a little clearer, but the St. Mary valley was completely obscured.
We reached East Glacier just
after noon. Unfortunately, the Mexican
restaurant there isn’t open for lunch.
We settled for burgers at the Glacier Village Restaurant, which was
ok. Then, we drove over to the A Frame
Laundry. I did two loads of laundry
there, and was thrilled to find that the dryers were very effective. While I watched the laundry, Christy drove
to the IGA in Browning to get groceries.
Once we finished our
errands, we headed back to Rising Sun.
We got back at 5, only to find several deer browsing through our
campsite. After watching them for a
bit, I decided to take a short hike after all.
My plan was to visit Baring Falls, St. Mary Falls, and Virginia
Falls. All three waterfalls are located
around St. Mary Lake, and the trails to them are easy. Christy wasn’t interested, but offered to
drop me off at the trailhead at Sun Point.
From there, I’d hike to Virginia Falls before returning to the Going to
the Sun Road, where I could pick up the free shuttle bus. I told Christy after she dropped me off to
come looking for me if I wasn’t back by dark.
At that point, I didn’t have enough confidence in the shuttle system to
assume that I’d make it back without any problems.
I left Sun Point at 5:30,
and a quick, easy hike brought me to Baring Falls. Baring Falls is located at the base of Sunrift Gorge, just above
St. Mary Lake. Although it’s not the
tallest waterfall around, it’s quite scenic.
I spent some time taking photos here, as it was late enough in the day
for good lighting. Unfortunately it was
windy, which created enough spray to make the photography challenging.
I saw a handful of people at
Baring Falls, but hardly anyone on the trail beyond. I passed several junctions, including a trail out to the bus stop
on the Sun Road. From there, easy
walking brought me to a bridge over the St. Mary River just below St. Mary Falls.
This waterfall is a two-tiered beauty, and it was probably my favorite
waterfall on this trip.
The timing of my visit was
perfect. When I reached the falls, a
brilliant red sun, enflamed by the smoke from nearby forest fires, was setting
just above the falls. I couldn’t
believe my luck. By the time I finished
taking photos, I knew I needed to hurry to finish my hike before dark.
I hurried on, reaching
Virginia Creek a few minutes later. I
passed a long series of scenic cascades, but resisted the urge to photograph
them, too. Instead I pushed on, and reached
a junction with a side trail to Virginia Falls a few minutes later. After a modest climb, I reached a split in
the trail. Initially I took the lower
trail, which led out to a view of Virginia Falls. Virginia Falls is on a fairly small stream, but it’s the highest
of the three waterfalls I visited on this hike.
From there, I backtracked
and then hiked to the higher overlook.
This viewpoint is right at the base of the falls. Initially I thought I would be too close for
photos, but I was able to come up with a few interesting shots by isolating the
bottom of the falls.
I left Virginia Falls at
7:30 and raced back. I covered the 1.8
miles back to the bus stop in 30 minutes.
Unfortunately, my haste was a waste.
I was almost at the trailhead when I heard a bus pulling away. Unfortunately, it was the one heading
east. I ended up having to wait a full
30 minutes for the next one. Fortunately,
when it arrived, it was mostly empty.
We were almost back to
Rising Sun when I saw a white Jeep Liberty that looked just like our rental
heading the other way. It was only 8:45,
which was a good 30 minutes before dark.
Apparently though, Christy decided to head out early. Once I got off the bus, I hurried back to
camp, but there was no sign of Christy or the car. I settled in to wait, knowing I’d be in trouble when she got
back.
We had a late dinner that
night, but went to bed early. We had a
17 mile hike planned for the next day, and an early start would be critical.
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