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| Piegan through the smoke |
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| Climbing toward the saddle |
I drove with my friends Chris and Alysa into Glacier National Park and we met Stuart at Logan Pass. We drove down to Siyeh Bend to start the hike. The original plan that Chris suggested was to climb Pollock and Bishops Cap. Entering the park and driving along Lake McDonald we could tell it would be a hazy, smokey day. As we climbed along the Going-To-The-Sun Road we could see the extent of the smoke. Views were clouded by the haze and further peaks were just dark shapes. It was windier as we climbed too and when we made it to the pass to pick up Stuart it was very windy. We decided then to have an alternate as the routes up Pollock and Bishops Cap were ridge lines we'd rather not traverse in a stiff breeze. We talked about going up Matahpi because it was straightforward and would be less troublesome in the wind. Either climb could be done from the trailhead.
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| View of Matahpi from the saddle |
At the trailhead we decided to climb Matahpi. Not two minutes in we hit avalanche debris and hard packed snow lining the far side of the creek from where it had initially exploded off the shoulder of Piegan. Other avalanches have ripped here in the past and it can be seen by all the trees broken and fallen or leaning in the uphill direction pointing away from the blasts of bigger Piegan slides. Some are a couple hundred feet up the slope above the creek.
The well-maintained trail from there is quick walking and before long we were to the climber's trail that led up through the black cliffs to the saddle between Matahpi and Going-To-The-Sun Mountain. From the beautiful meadow where the climber's trail leaves the main trail you can see the black cliffs. They are not dangerous as there is a climber's trail that ascends and traverses from ledge to ledge until the top is reached. It is actually quite fun through that section. Much more so than the talus and scree slope that leads to the saddle. Occasionally a band of larger talus could be followed, but in general, this is the most taxing section.
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| Chris climbing with Going-To-The-Sun in back |
We stopped at the saddle so everyone could get on more layers. The stiff breeze from earlier was now a ravenous gale. The saddle has quite a drop straight down to the Sexton Glacier on the east side and the wind was pushing us toward the east, wanting to fling us off the mountain. We pushed on toward the summit and saw another group of four coming down from the top. We stopped and shouted to one another over the howl of the wind. They were headed over to Going-To-The-Sun. Near the top of the mountain there are many ledges and cracks that offer many options. If we wanted we could take the easiest way, which was equivalent to a steep rocky trail, or we could take harder ways that allowed us to scramble a bit. It was fun to "choose our own adventure" all the way to the top.
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| Top of Matahpi |
Another beauty of the top, other than the fantastic, albeit smokey views, was that just off the summit to the east were great spots to sit and hang out without the wind. Down just low enough, 15-20 feet, we were completely out of the wind. The only problem was that it brought us a bit closer to the edge of an even more massive cliff that dropped straight to the Sexton Glacier. We weren't right on the edge or anything, but we definitely always knew the cliff was there. Alysa didn't feel comfortable dropping below the summit and stayed right on the ridge in the wind.
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| Flowers and rocks along the ridge line |
After having a snack we decided to head down. It was hard to tell what the weather was doing because of the smoke. It was obviously overcast, but we found it difficult to determine if weather was moving in or if the clouds looked much darker because of the smoke. We worked our way down the ridge and eventually came to one of the other group that decided not to climb the other peak. She was huddled behind the only boulder of any size big enough to block the wind. She looked a bit cold and we each said hello as we passed her. From the saddle, we dropped back down to the trail through the black cliffs. We stopped down below the cliffs and had a snack and enjoyed the views of a place we all loved.
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| Chris and Alysa heading down |
From there it was short getting down to the main trail and then a quick walk down to the car. The wind in the trees was much diminished and we enjoyed the hiking so much more as we dropped lower and lower. Despite not climbing two peaks like originally planned and despite the smoke and wind, it had been a great day in Glacier National Park.
Elevation gain: 3515' Total gain: 99,465'
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