Hiking the Garden Wall with Dick and Gaila

Well, today was Day #3 of our visit to Waterton-Glacier, and this was our day to meet up with our friends Dick and Gaila.  We were introduced to them by our mutual friends George and Nan last January in Quartzsite, and we've kept in touch with them, looking for points where our itineraries might cross.  Finally they did, and Logan Pass in Glacier National Park isn't a half bad place for that to happen.

We planned to meet up at Logan Pass and hike the Highline Trail along the Garden Wall.  Dick and Gaila were camping with old friends who were leaving today, so we agreed to meet them around 11:30 am.  We got to Logan Pass earlier in the morning and walked around, looking for information and photo opportunities.  In the process, we got this great photo of the entire Garden Wall as it stretches west from the summit of Logan Pass:

Gaila and Dick arrived just on time despite the vagaries of the Glacier shuttle bus system.  We repaired directly to the trailhead and drafted a passing hiker who obligingly took our trailhead photo:

Then off we went on our 6-mile walk.  This is one of our favorite routes because it rewards the hiker at every step with absolutely giddy views:

All along the trail, we could look up and wonder at the beauties of this glacial arete, this Garden Wall:

Looking the other way across the canyon, we had dramatic views of other peaks in the park:

But, as dramatic as the views were, far more enjoyable was our trail talk with the Mallerys.  Here is a shot of Dick being his inimitable self:

Three miles out, we stopped for lunch in a large boulder-scree field tumbling down from one of the peaks.  After lunch, Gaila asked the other three of us to pose, first looking east from whence we had hiked --

-- and then looking west toward Granite Park:

The ladies were absolutely full of mischief.  Here they toy with the camera as we approached one of the narrow, steep portions of the trail.  They told Dick and David to hold the cameras as they scampered on down the trail --

-- with this result, giving scale to the cliff, the trail and the canyon below:

As we hiked back to the Logan Pass Visitor Center, it began first to spit, then sprinkle, then the wind picked up and the temperature dropped.  We were pretty sure we were going to get drenched, but the weather held off, and it only began to rain with any seriousness after we got back to our shuttle stops. We waved Gaila and Dick off as they caught their shuttle west down to Apgar.  We, on the other hand, waited another hour and a half under the threat of rain for a shuttle to take us back to St. Mary on the east side of the park.  Luckily, just as the heavens opened up, a shuttle bus arrived and we climbed in for shelter and warmth.  We rode down the Going-to-the-Sun Road in the merry company of other hikers, including, coincidentally, a couple from near Amarillo, Texas, whom we had met in the shuttle up to the pass this morning.

We felt sad having to say goodbye to the Mallerys, but we are thankful we had a chance to spend a wonderful hiking afternoon with them, enjoying a park we all love so much.

Until our next meeting, Mallerys, Happy Trails!