Wednesday, the 13th, was the day they finally got all the snow cleared and opened Going-to-the-Sun Road all the way through the park, over Logan Pass. The latest opening in the history of the park except for the year the road was completed and opened for the first time.

I had breakfast at Eddie's, my first meal there. A pretty bland omelet, almost like what I'd get if I tried to make one myself. I was glad I had walked down to West Glacier Restaurant for lunch the day before.

I took the free shuttle to Avalanche Creek, since the Avalanche Lake trail looked like the most interesting trail in the park that was open. It branches off Trail of the Cedars, which is a short wheelchair-accessible loop trail that goes through the oldest section of forest in the park (about the only section that hasn't burned in the known history of the park). Avalanche Lake Trail is considered easy, and I was surprised how many "old" people (close to my age) were on the trail. I had been hoping for something more challenging, but this was not the year for that, at least not in July, since the upper trails were still mostly under snow. Someone who was coming back as I was going out said the lake was beautiful and the water was crystal clear. I guess they've never seen Crater Lake. I've seen cleaner water in the L.A. River.

I followed the trail partway around the lake, and water was running across it at many points. I chose my footing carefully, but not carefully enough at one point, and my right foot slipped and the toe went in the water so I had a wet sock the rest of the day. Wet socks and hiking don't mix, but I had no choice but to hike back down to the shuttle. The lake was a bit of a disappointment. It was nice, but hardly the high point of my trip. Parts of the trail were prettier than the lake itself.

When I got back to Trail of the Cedars someone asked me if I had seen the bear. No, the only wildlife I saw was a chipmunk. Someone had seen a mother bear with 2 cubs. Bears are a big deal in the park. Everybody hopes to see one, even though everybody is afraid of them. Bear spray is probably the biggest selling item in the park.

On the shuttle ride back, I stopped at Lake McDonald Lodge for a while to check out the area. Much more "upper class" than Apgar Village, with a huge lobby in the lodge as well as a restaurant. I had lunch at Jammer Joe's Grill and Pizzeria. Lake McDonald Lodge has two choices for food, Apgar Village only has Eddie's.

On the shuttle back to Apgar Village I was sitting across from the girl who got off the train with me but didn't take the shuttle from the station. She said she wanted to, but when she called to make a reservation they told her they wouldn't pick her up unless she was staying at one of their properties, and she was staying at Apgar Campground. She had to walk there from the train station (about 3 miles). I thought that was odd, since I wasn't staying at one of their properties and they accepted me, although they did seem a bit surprised that I wasn't staying at one of their properties.

I spent some more time reading Blue Highways when I got back to my room. It rained again around 6:00, harder than the night before. I walked around for a while after it stopped. Once again my lunch was big enough and late enough that I didn't need dinner. I went to bed at 10:00 again.