“Get off the tracks at Belton Station (now West Glacier), and in a few minutes you will find yourself in the midst of what you are sure to say is the best care-killing scenery on the continent. Give a month at least to this precious reserve. The time will not be taken from the sum of your life. Instead of shortening, it will indefinitely lengthen it and make you truly immortal. Nevermore will time seem short or long, and cares will never again fall heavily on you, but gently and kindly as gifts from heaven.” - John Muir - Our National Parks, 1901
This has always been one of my favorite quotes on Glacier. It is also one of those things I sincerely hope to accomplish some year - giving at least a month at one continuous time to this precious reserve!
And a Happy Birthday to John Muir! He would be 184 today were he still out there… I think he’s still “out there,” don’t you?!😉
I wasn’t even going to be here that night. I had left Bowman Lake campground and was sitting back in West Glacier on midday of the day I was going to exit Glacier and begin the return journey home. I was on the phone with Anna, and as we were talking, I started thinking to myself - maybe one more day/night here…
I had woken up that morning to rain falling on my exposed hammock set up. Having not been expecting rain AT ALL, I did not not put my rain fly over! Oh well, a little soggy but no harm done in the long run.
As I was driving that morning back to West Glacier, the light and storms kept fighting back and forth, and ‘I just had a feeling I wanted to go with.’
Of my 4 visits to Glacier National Park, I have yet to hike the Highline Trail. This is one of the most popular hikes in the Park and one of those hikes that is consistently rated on all the top National Parks hike lists.
Basically, anytime I think about hiking or planning to hike the Highline on a certain day I am there, the trail is closed due to Grizzly activity. This had been the case on this adventure as well. But, the trail had opened back up a day or two before and I had the thought that maybe a mile or two out could provide a nice sunset opportunity.
I remind you that storms were moving in and out this entire day…
I was down to just 3 sheets of film (and I really wanted to try and save at least 1 for my plan to spend a night in Badlands National Park for the first time on my return journey home!)…
Despite being mid-late August, the weather conditions up on Logan Pass were quite brisk and very windy as early evening descended. I set out on the Highline and hiked roughly a mile and a half to where this vantage point lay before me. I decided this would be the spot and as I began breaking out my camera gear, I was watching a storm and bands of rain move from those distant mountains straight towards me. ‘Oh man, I am going to get hammered!’ I thought to myself. But behind the storm, through the veil of rain and mist I could see the sun softly illuminating everything… ‘Oh man, this could be epic!!!’ I now thought.
So, I got myself rain-geared up, set up the camera as rapidly as I could muster and got the little poncho I keep for it secured. As I was finishing this all up, it was upon me. The wind was whipping and it felt like little rain-icicles were pelting me, but I was too stoked by what was happening beyond me to really care! The golden illumination of everything off in the distance grew more and more intense and the storm passed over almost as rapidly as it had come upon me.
I freed the camera, got back to composing and metering in what seemed like a fury to not miss the opportune moment! I was ready. And just in the nick of time, for moments later, what you see below is what happened!!!
As I watched, waiting to hopefully capture the glory at its fullest, yet not miss the perfect moment, the clouds slowly broke apart and revealed the sun. Within seconds, the sun began its descent behind the mountain peak. Not only was every break in the sky glowing gold, but it was as if the mountain peak itself broke and shaped those heavenly rays of light just so, just for me…
I snapped the shutter, this was it. ‘Man I hope I didn’t botch that exposure!!!’ as within moments, it was gone. As the sun continued to set, the clouds began to glow orange, pink and purple as they do when conditions are oh so right. I decided to fire off an exposure of that as well and that was that. One sheet of film left for the Badlands.
I took in the total sunset experience and everything that had just occurred fully before I began packing up and continuing on my headlamp hike back to Logan Pass parking. The chill in the air seemed not to matter as I was so alive with what had just come to pass. I drove down Going-to-the-Sun Road and exited West Glacier to find an easy car camp pullout spot in the National Forest that night and awoke to begin my journey home the next morning.
As you might imagine, when I finally came to process this film, I was so excited and nervous as to find out if I got it or not…
This is one of my most insanely beautiful moments ever witnessed and I am so proud of the end result on film. This is a once in a lifetime moment and I had very little leeway to nail it as conditions were changing rapidly (AND I only had 3 sheets of film left!!!) but, nail it I did!
I didn’t even realize this at the time, but it just recently occurred to me that one of those peaks in this photograph might actually be Heaven’s Peak?! I got out my National Geographic Glacier National Park map and took a good gander… Eureka! It isn’t the peak where the sun is directly behind, but Heaven’s Peak is the left most mountain in the composition, where the tuft of clouds are resting upon the summit and the shaft of light is piercing underneath! Just kind of a neat little something extra if you ask me. :-)
Back up top to John Muir’s quote - “Nevermore will time seem short or long, and cares will never again fall heavily on you, but gently and kindly as gifts from heaven.”
In referral to my journal quote from yesterday’s post - talk about “fortune and glory of this blessed life!” I can never stop thinking that I wasn’t even going to be here this night. To quote Indiana Jones - “But why Dr. Jones?” - Shortround. “For Fortune and Glory kid, Fortune and Glory.” - Indiana. ;-)
Fortune and Glory indeed.
All my best,
Brandon
“Fortune and Glory” - Brandon Kline
“Fortune and Glory” - Brandon Kline