Logan Pass will close Sept. 16

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

If you haven't driven to Logan Pass this year, you'd better do it in the next couple of weeks.

Glacier National Park announced last week that access to the Pass would be shut off after 10 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16.

This marks the shortest season ever at Logan Pass, because the road didn't open until July 1 due to flood damage.

The early closure will allow HK Contractors do begin full-scale work on both lanes of the highway. HK is working on road rehabilitation on the highway's west side from the west side tunnel area to an area near Haystack Creek.

On the east side, the company has to shore up the temporary repairs that were made this spring. If they don't, there is the possibility that they could lose the road again over the winter, noted Glacier National Park Superintendent Mick Holm.

The road saw huge washouts from flooding in November last year. The largest washout has a temporary bridge over it. The bridge needs to be removed and the road repairs need to be completed.

"HK Contractors, Inc., is proposing to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will fill the east side washout at the bridge site with a mechanically-stabilized earthen wall. They will also continue west side rehabilitation work. By starting work in the middle of September, we are better positioning ourselves for next summer's opening of the road," Holm said.

Hikers and bikers will be able to travel almost six miles beyond the vehicle closure at Avalanche to the Packers Roost Road, but there will be no additional hiker/biker access beyond Siyeh Bend.

The Park notes that many other areas of Glacier are still open, including Marias Pass, Two Medicine and the North Fork.

As the summer season winds down, crowds thin considerably and all of those places offer great trails, views and wildlife viewing opportunities.

The roads also usually stay open well into October, until the first snows close them for the winter.

Many campgrounds also remain open deep into the fall, though they go to primitive status, meaning there is no running water available. Many park concessionaires continue to provide service beyond Sept. 16. For more information about those services, visit the Park's Web site at www.nps.gov/glac.