Today’s big adventure was hiking the Siyeh Pass Loop, which is actually completed as a point-to-point trail (10+ miles in length and 2,000+ feet elevation gain), starting at Siyeh Bend and ending at Sunrift Gorge. We were originally planning on doing an out-and-back trek to Siyeh Pass, but when we got to our destination, the views were so compelling that we just kept going. The “loop” option only slightly increased the length of our trail, but it added 1,000+ feet to our descent (over 3,000 feet drop in elevation going into the gorge). At the end, we got onto the free shuttle that stopped at the trail head and took it back to our vehicle. Overall, this trail is probably #2 (just behind the Highline Trail) on the list of our favorites for this park, largely because of the variety. We saw several ecosystems, including subalpine meadows and glacially carved valleys, and the trail highlighted what Glacier National Park offers – like a showcase of all the ecosystems that can be found here.
After the Siyeh Pass trail, we decided to do a little scenic driving to rest our feet, and we headed down to the Two Medicine region. While not quite as remote and secluded as North Fork, this area is more difficult to get to because of poorer road conditions and vehicle length restrictions. We walked around the lake briefly and decided that when we come back here, we would like to spend at least two days in order to do the Scenic Point and Dawson-Pitamakan Loop trails.
