An evening ski brings rewards

We have to fully admit that skiing the Going-to-the-Sun Road is not our favorite winter route. The first couple of miles are deadly boring.

However, the Lake McDonald Valley Trail, which is tucked just inside the trees and parallels the road is actually quite fun. It has plenty of twists and turns and hills which can be a challenge on skis, particularly when the snow is thin, like it was Sunday, after a week of warm weather.

You find yourself on a rather icy track with exposed rocks, which adds to the charm of the potential of a broken arm or rib.

Still, it was quiet and raining and by 5 p.m. we were at McDonald Falls.

I did eventually hit a patch of gravel, which stopped the skis completely and sent me head over heels. It took awhile to get the skis off and get re-situated. No broken bones, just a toe that was stretched out a bit too far (it was nearly under my chin when I landed) and some knees that felt like they were bleeding, but they weren’t.

There was no one around save for an abandoned snowmobile in the middle of the North Lake McDonald Road, an odd sight considering Glacier banned the rigs decades ago.

Was it a Park Service snowmobile gone bad, or a scofflaw out for a joy ride?

The machine had no windshield, which doesn’t seem typical of the Park Service, which uses snowmobiles in emergency situations.

Whatever the case, as darkness fell the skies turned yellow and then pinkish-red as the sun dropped down through angry clouds that eventually brought a steady wind-driven rain.

Deer fed on the flats and a flock of geese swam by as the rain made its way across the lake in a gloomy black veil.

I stayed, shooting photos until the dark was complete and slogged back home on the road in the gray.

Another memorable Glacier moment, burned into the memory.