The Trail of the Cedars leads you through Temperate Rainforest in Glacier National Park.

A Quick Answer to Prayer

In my mind, Beth and Dave’s visit was too short and their children’s was even shorter. With Jackie, Ryan and Paul delivered to the airport for their flight east; Beth, Dave and I used our remaining half-day to take a leisurely hike on The Trail of the Cedars.

The Trail of the Cedars is basically a 1 mile long, virtually level, loop that meanders through a good representation of the temperate rainforest. We usually think of the temperate rainforest as being in northern California and western Oregon and Washington State. However, the precipitous northern Rocky Mountains in Glacier National Park act much like the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges, forcing westerly winds from the Pacific Ocean to rise sharply and release their moisture. Enough water falls on the western side of Glacier to sustain vegetation typical of the temperate rainforest.  

The Trail of the Cedars is named for one of those temperate rainforest species, the Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) that populates the area. When Beth and I first hiked this trail around 1988 we also enjoyed the presence of massive Western Hemlocks and Black Cottonwoods. It has changed noticeably since then. Many of the Western Hemlocks and Cottonwoods have died. I suspect the cause is largely due to uncharacteristically prolonged periods of drought and insect and disease problems exacerbated by the drought. 

Avalanche Gorge. Flowing down from Avalanche Lake, 4 miles upstream, Avalanche Creek zigzags its way through the gorge.
Drought was not an issue this year. What was clear during our hike this year is that some of the trees have been impacted by the shifting route of Avalanche Creek. There were a large number of trees that had fallen into the stream after having been undercut by powerful currents. The new course of the stream had buried tree roots under several inches of sediment. I don’t know how western tree species may respond to such impacts, but in the eastern U.S. that amount of sediment is more than enough to kill the impacted trees. 

One highlight of the hike is Avalanche Gorge, where the creek has carved a very narrow zigzag path through colorful rocks. A well-placed bridge gives photo opportunities of this beautiful gorge.

The gorge is impressive. And more dangerous than it looks. Just this year a trio of visitors got too close to the edge while taking a group photo. I suspect they left the path to take the photo. In any case, all three fell into the gorge. One fellow managed to cling to an overhanging tree, from which he was rescued. But the other two were swept downstream and nearly drown, suffering serious injuries before being rescued and flown via helicopter to the hospital.

Beth and Dave find their happy place with each other, big trees and Glacier National Park. Here they are beside Avalanche Creek on The Trail of the Cedars.

We played it safe, taking our time and enjoying the beauty of this old-growth forest. I learned that Dave, a professional carpenter, enjoys big trees every bit as much as I do. Trees are good in every way. Living, dead, young, old, standing, fallen, creating habitat, being beautiful individually and collectively; as a resource that gives us furniture, paneling, food, medicines, fuel and much more; and as a resource utilized by multitudes of wildlife. 

When the time came to drive back to down Going to the Sun Road, I commented that I was bummed we had not seen any bear at all during their visit. Beth mentioned that was because she had prayed we wouldn’t see any.  “What?” I chided her. “Oh, were you the ‘momma bear’ wanting to protect your kids?”

“Well, yes.”

“Well, the kids have made their flight now. What were you thinking? You need to rescind that prayer.” 

Which Beth immediately did. “Lord, thank you for keeping us safe while Jackie, Ryan and Paul were here. Would you bring us a bear to see from a safe distance?”

I tell you the truth. Not one minute had passed before we saw the cars ahead of us hitting their brake lights. O me of little faith. I said, “It’s probably just some deer by the side of the road.”

We came to a stop and did the little inching forward routine until we came upon the source of the traffic jam. A large cinnamon black bear was feeding on the plants in the roadside ditch. Both he and we were safe and close. Gotta like it when God comes through so quickly.

A mature cinnamon black bear along Going to the Sun Road. I wonder if he knew he was an answer to prayer.

All photos, videos and text are Copyright ©Julia Flanagan unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. 

Next Up:  the Idyllic Lake 1, My First Loon Survey