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| Cloudy McDonald Valley guarded by Cannon and Heavens |
I knew that the 15th of July would be my last day up at Granite Park. I wanted to get another hike in before heading down and I thought about going north on the Highline to try to see some more bears. In the end, I decided to head south on the Highline. I figured that I had been north the day before and it was a rare opportunity to hike the southern Highline with no one on the trail. It was still closed from Logan Pass to Haystack Butte.
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| Approaching Haystack Butte |
I left the chalet and hiked south. It was a bit overcast but the temperature was perfect for hiking. As I had expected it was great to be hiking all alone on the southern Highline. I enjoyed it thoroughly and stopped from time to time to look for wildlife. I made my way through the alpine meadows and boulder fields as the trail wound into and out of small drainages. I came around a corner and saw that a couple snow drifts had been shoveled by the trail crew. I wondered if I would see any of them this day. Shortly after, I found myself at the snowy Haystack saddle. I had been watching the time as I needed to hike down and meet a ride. I figured if I moved quickly I could get up and down Haystack Butte and leave enough time to get back to the chalet, pack, and hike down.
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| Start of cliffs and traverse slope on left |
I left where the trail would have been under the snow and started climbing up the ridge toward Haystack. Eventually I came to the main cliffs on the ridge. I knew there were Class 3 routes through a bit to the southwest. I had wanted to climb up these breaks as when I had climbed Haystack Butte in 2008 it had been mostly on snow through the steep section. I traversed under the cliffs and looked for the route. I found the two best options, but the beginning was covered by steep snow. I didn't feel like climbing the steep snow to have to climb onto the rocks. I knew I could keep traversing and eventually get to the south slope which was a walk-up. That is what I chose to do.
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| Mount Gould |
I carried on below the steep cliffs and slopes. After a bit, I started angling up as the slopes above were less steep. Eventually I could see all the way up. It was a steep grassy slope and I knew I could get up it to the top. I worked hard on that slope and was rewarded with better views as I climbed. After maybe only 15-20 minutes of climbing I topped out pretty much at the large cairn. I walked along the ridge back toward the northeast to get better views of Mount Gould. The views were incredible all around and I was glad I could be atop another Glacier National Park summit.
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| Bishops Cap |
Before heading down, I saw a couple trail crew workers far below on the trail. I could recognize Mark from the summit but not the other. I felt bad I didn't have the time to hike down and have lunch with them. I needed to head back and worked back down the grassy slope and then below the cliffs to the ridge. As I was mostly down the ridge I saw another worker just above the saddle. I yelled out to him and hiked up to talk. I could tell it was R.J. and climbed up the snow to the trail to say hello. We caught up for about 15 minutes and he had to get back to work and I had to get back to the chalet.
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| The peaks near Logan Pass |
I made it back and rushed to pack my bag and eat some lunch. Then I found out the ride was delayed an hour and I relaxed a bit before hiking out of Granite Park, my home for the previous three weeks. I hiked down the Loop Trail and carried on down to Packer's Roost, where I caught my ride.
Elevation gain: 2045' Total gain: 89,960'
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