On June 11, 2015, the Going-To-The-Sun Road opened. I went to Glacier National Park to be one of the first up the road, especially when there would be no traffic. I mostly succeeded (there were a few people already at Logan Pass). I took this picture at Logan Pass toward the east.
Logan Pass
When I got to the bottom, I took this picture of Lake McDonald:
Lake McDonald
On Thursday, August 27, I took the shuttle up to Logan Pass and hiked the Hidden Lake Trail to the overlook. As you can see, it has become hard to see anything for the smoke from the 101 (or so) fires in Montana, plus Idaho, Oregon and parts of Canada.
Logan Pass on August 27
I made it to the overlook for Hidden Lake and this is what I saw:
Hidden Lake is really there
Besides the smoke making things difficult to see, it is very hard on the lungs and eyes. I was coughing by the time I got back to Logan Pass.
This isn't the dire straits that Foresterbob wrote about, but I thought the members of the EPIC visit in late June might want to see what GNP looks like right now. I understand, also, that Hwy 2 (around the south of the park) has been closed and the town of Essex has been evacuated.
It is so sad to see the West on fire. Rain without more lightning is sorely needed!