The first sign you come to, past the Ranger gate, sets the attitude of those who work and live in the area. The park takes its bears seriously, and produces quite a bit of literature about encounters with the animal, specifically making a lot of noise while walking as it generally causes bears to move on. Their slogan “A fed bear is a dead bear” is printed everywhere. A mile or so down the road, Camas Road ran off to the left. This took us to the Apgar Visitor Center. Situated at the southwest end of McDonald Lake, there is a photo opportunity here where snow covered mountains reflect in a shimmering lake, as many a postcard will attest. Returning to the “Going-To-The-Sun Road “ we traveled along the east side of the lake. Many of the park’s campgrounds lay along this stretch of the road. There is a photo-op around every corner, as we proceeded to Avalanche Creek where we stopped for a while. We then crossed the street and continued on foot for some distance before arriving at the only handicapped equipped trail in the park. The Trail of the Cedars is a little less than a mile of raised boardwalk through an old growth Cedar forest, culminating at a short but picturesque waterfall. Ground squirrels and chipmunks are prevalent on the path.

Back in the car, we proceeded up the road toward the only swichback, called the Loop. Just before getting there, with much pushing and prodding on my part, Laura pulled over at a somewhat insufficient pullout and, drawing our favorite walking stick, we proceeded to enter the Packer’s Roost hiking trail. Upon reaching the staging area which was nothing more then a parking lot, we proceeded to the trailhead and observed the posted sign which explained it all. “Enter at your own RISK” This is where the bears hang out. Off we went hoping for a sighting. I can’t imagine why we didn’t find any, especially with Laura shouting in a loud clear voice “Here Bear” “Here Bear”, just like the literature had said to do. A few hours later we plodded our tired bodies and cameras back to the truck, We noted, that after entering this less frequented trail, a strong feeling of being very far away from everybody and everything civilized, was quite strong. That 4 to 6 inch depression we were walking on became a life line back to the world we knew. I didn’t dare wander off it. After the Loop switch back, the ride became a “white knuckle ride” as we climbed to Logan’s Pass. Laura was driving the truck and said, as we drove higher and higher “  I always wanted to go to Heaven when I died, but I didn’t think I was going to drive there in our truck.”