Go East, young man. At least in Glacier pre-season.

Glacier Park is a million acres, roughly 40 x 40 miles. The west and east sides are divided by the Continental Divide and connected by the Going to the Sun Road. Although a preference either way is purely subjective, the beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.

And I just think that the East side, especially the more accessible areas like the St Mary Valley, just have a lot to behold. But don’t take my word for it. Let’s take a look at the numbers.

Going to the Sun Road is about 50 miles long, gate-to-gate. And the West side has roughly 30 miles of it, while the remaining 20 miles belong to the East. Hmmmm. That doesn’t seem fair.

Some would say, “There you have it.” There is more for Park visitors to see on the West side, just based on mileage alone. Or is there? I think you have to keep in mind the quality of those miles.

Of those 30 miles, in reality, a solid ten of them are driving up the shore of Lake McDonald. With that great view of burned-out Howe Ridge and some little bumps called the Apgar Mountains. Kind of boring.

At Lake McDonald Lodge, you do get a good look at the local peaks. But you are stuck in a 3000 foot valley, so any trail is going to be straight up and down. But what about those other 20 miles?

Oh, yeah. I call it the Tunnel of Trees for most of the next fifteen miles. You get little breaks as you drive down the valley, but there are no grand views. Not until you get to the final stretch, about five miles from Logan Pass.

So you get about five miles of the “wow” factor, but it will cost you a solid fifty miles of round-trip to get that payout. Hmmmm. Factor in the crowds around Lake McD; is the West side really that great?

As for the East Side, you get a solid twenty miles of unhindered views. Even when traveling along the equally long St Mary Lake, the Reynold Creek fire has really kept the views open and, if I may say so, majestic.

But the East has more than just physical grandeur. It has history. Of the Blackfeet summering in the same valleys for countless generations. Hunting and gathering amid these peaks they considered sacred.

Even the person who would someday be called the Father of Glacier Park almost exclusively explored East of the divide. It was in these very valleys, and in the shadows of these very peaks, he hiked and climbed.

This is the land, the forests, the glaciers that inspired him to spend twenty-five years of his life pushing to save this place as a national park. A treasure worth fighting for, to protect and preserve for those to come.

From the Great Plains to the Lewis Overthrust, you can experience this part of Glacier as others have for hundreds (if not thousands) of years. The rocks change slowly, as we are just a blink in the eye of this timeless geology.

With breathtaking backdrops. Where the snow and mountains meet, and the clouds and waters collide. All in a kaleidoscope of color, where the cacophony of man’s world is replaced with the symphony of nature.

But of course, you will always get those people who jump into your shot. Like this half of a mother-daughter duo with CA plates. They kept screaming back and forth, trying to compose the pictures. In what I can only call very ear-piercing and shrill Vietnamese.

I think she could have pulled this off if Mom made her roll and writhe around on the stump instead of the rocks. I hate it when people half-ass trying to be a dumb-ass in public. So close.

But I did stop at the Triple Divide pullout and take a look at the NPS sign there. I talk about it on tour all the time, but after all of these years, I have never actually gotten out of the vehicle. But hey, what’s this off to the left?

Wow. Did not know there was a 75-yard path that meanders thru the willows and meadows, taking you right down to the shoreline of St Mary. And amazingly flat. Great views, and since there’s parking for only a couple of vehicles, I’m thinking low use. Note to self.

And that is mid-May on the East side of Glacier Park. No concessions, no lodging, no stores; basically, nothing is open yet. But it is becoming one of GoatBoy’s favorite times for a relaxing visit.

Out! But not forgotten.