402 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



to the head of Lake McDonald skirts the southern base 

 of Fusillade Mountain and at Gunsight Lake rises to 

 an elevation sufficient to bring out the reflections of the 

 ridge in the little lake below. 



The trail from St. Mary Camp to Gunsight Pass is 

 for some eight miles along a comparatively level stretch 

 of ground at 

 the bottom of 

 the St. Mary 

 Canyon a n d 

 skirts the 

 meadows and 

 beaver lakes 

 which dot the 

 valley floor 

 from the up- 

 per end of St. 

 Mary Lake 

 t o Gunsight 

 Lake. By 

 leaving St. 

 Mary at a rea- 

 sonably early 

 hour, Gunsight 

 Lake and the 

 chale t on its 

 border are 

 easily reached 

 by noon, where 

 a surprisingly 

 good lunch is 

 served with 

 which one can 

 fortify himself 

 for the climb 

 to the Pass. 



G u n si g h t 

 Pass lies ap- 

 proximately 

 m i d w a y be- 

 t w e e n the 

 camp at Gun- 

 sight Lake and 

 the S p e r r y 



Camp im the west side of the Divide. If the trip is 

 taken in the direction of east to west, the Pass bears no 

 resemblance whatever to a gunsight until the western 

 edge of Lake Ellen Wilson is reached. From this point, 

 by looking back, the distant shoulder of Mt. Jackson may 

 be seen through the notch of the Pass like the front sight 

 of a gun. If the time is about four in the afternoon the 

 picture is one that will never be forgotten, for the notch 

 will probably be in shadow while the peak in the distance 

 will be aglow with the afternoon rays. It is but a mile or 

 two from the lake to Sperry Camp at the head of 

 Sprague Creek where food and shelter can be had for 

 the night. The camp is located at an elevation of about 

 6,500 feet and commands a view of Lake McDonald, over 

 3,000 feet below, and the pine-covered ridges of the 

 Blackfeet National Forest further to the west. From 



A VIEW ALONG THE TRAIL 



Along tlie entire trail from Piegan Pass to McDermott Lal<e, the towering lieights of the Garden Wall 

 dominate the scenery. The knife-like ridge of this portion of the Great Divide seems to be but a 

 few hundred feet in thickness where it peeps over the crest of the formations in the foreground. 

 Snow-white streams of snow and ice water trickle down the faces of the cliffs to keep the fields of 

 wiid-Huwers fresh throughout the summer. 



this chalet it is but two miles to the Sperry Glacier, which 

 lies on the northern slope of Gunsight Mountain and 

 supplies Avalanche Lake with the milky water that makes 

 it one of the most beautiful gems of color in the Park. 

 From Sperry chalet to Lewis's, at the head of Lake 

 McDonald, is but a short trip through the dense forest 



covering the 

 western slope 

 along Sprague 

 Creek. If 

 properly timed, 

 arrival at this 

 unusually good 

 hotel is suffi- 

 ciently early to 

 permit of some 

 loitering in the 

 vicinity which 

 will invariably 

 prove to be 

 well wort h 

 while. Fro m 

 the hotel to 

 Helton the trip 

 is made by 

 boat on Lake 

 McDonald and 

 a ■ three-mile 

 drive Ijy stage 

 friim the foot 

 of the lake to 

 the railroad 

 station. 



This route 

 constitutes the 

 one generally 

 taken by tour- 

 ists who wish 

 to travel more 

 or less de luxe, 

 and while it 

 seems particu- 

 larly strenuous 

 and somewhat 

 terrifying at the time, it is one that can really be taken 

 with little or no inconvenience and without any serious 

 delay in westward travel. If the tourist, however, has 

 more time at his disposal, there are other trips that would 

 more than justify the time necessary. For example, from 

 Going-to-the-Sun Camp at the head of St. Mary Lake 

 there is a trail leading to the north up Reynolds Creek 

 to Piegan Pass. The trail is almost wide enough to 

 accommodate a small motor throughout a large portion 

 of its length, and climbs steadily and gradually to an 

 elevation of about 7,200 feet at the summit of the Pass. 

 From this point the view to the south is astoundingl}} 

 impressive. Most of the Blackfeet Glacier, covering sev- 

 eral square miles, lies sparkling in the sunshine like a 

 white diamond held in the forked setting formed by the 

 ring of lofty and pagged peaks that make a semicircle 

 in the Great Divide about the head of St. Marv Canyon. 



