The bros rolled in to West Glacier Saturday night and were impressed by the beauty of the park. Since they cut out Yellowstone from the BQ, they decided to spend an extra day in Glacier since it was the raddest park any of them had ever seen.
Going to the Sun Road was opened officially to hikers and bikers Sunday afternoon. There was much rejoicing. The bros ate some amazing blueberry pancakes and gallons of coffee. There was more rejoicing. The bros hung out at West Glacier and drank $1 Miller High Lifes with some really awesome people who knew all the ins and outs of Glacier. There was too much rejoicing. They then camped at Avalanche Creek where they thought they would make a good crack at Logan Pass in the morning. They were mistaken.
Sunday night, the rains moved in. And they stayed. For 30 consecutive hours. The bros spent much of Monday sleeping, reading, and freezing in the tent. They also ate cold cans of Chef Boyardee and pop-tarts in the park bathroom and mourned. The tent smells really bad now. A park ranger told them that since the roads had been opened, there's really no going back on the policy and that the Sun Road should still be open the next day.
On Tuesday morning, the rain let up and the bros were determined to conquer the mountain. They broke camp and set out in wet clothes freezing in the morning hours. By the time they reached the gate to the Going to the Sun Road, they saw signs that it was closed. The bros were perplexed. Was the road open? Was it closed? It didn't matter. There was no going back on a 50 mile detour through dangerous, muddy construction zones.
The bros moved their bikes and trailers around the gate and climbed the rest of the pass. Construction workers along the way waved at them. The bros pulled up to Logan Pass, their highest summit, and rejoiced. Now they had to get down. The roads were icy. The slope was scary. They braked the entire mountain. Eventually the bros pulled up to another construction zone. The construction workers were upset to see the bros at this point. But since they had made it this far, the workers said they should make their way safely down the rest of the pass. "Watch out for those trucks down there," the worker said. At this point, there was a clattering on the rocks below. A bighorn ram jumped the road barrier, leaped over the highway, and jumped 15 feet up the mountain. "Watch out for those big guys too." Patrick's jaw dropped. They made their way to the end of the Sun Road and again crossed their bikes over barricades. The bros were overjoyed by their success. But not for long.
On the way down to St. Mary's two park rangers pulled over Cameron. Then Patrick. Then Stuart. The rangers informed the bros that they had violated park regulations. The road was indeed closed to hikers and bikers. After checking the bros' identification, the rangers determined that they had received conflicting information and did not give citations for their offenses.
The bros left the park, ate lunch in St. Mary's and continued heading east. The hills are leveling out, the wind is at their backs, and there are many more miles to ride. The bros have plenty of adventure ahead...
