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the HAEDDI TRIBUNE.AY TO FIEBGE THE HEART OF GLACIER PAR; OPEN NEW WONDERLANDPIEGAN PASS, SHOWING A SECTION OP THE PARK THROUGH WHICH THE NEW SCENIC HIGHWAY WILL PASS.That the government has under contemplation the construction ol an automobile highway across Glacier park is an announcement of the department of the interior at Washington, which will be of great interest to transcontinental tourists and in particular to the promoters of overland touring in Montana and to auto tourists of this state. The government plan contemplates a five-year period to complete the road.Although there are three park-to-park roads in Montana between Yellowstone and Glacier national parks, not one of these roads is complete because it has been necessary for the tourists to ship their cars through the park over the Great Northern railway between Belton on the west and Glacier Park station on the east. The proposed route of the new road to traverse the park as announced by the department of the interior, will open to auto tourists with easy, safe grades, the most magnificent scenery in America. When this road is completed a five or six hundred mile trip will enable the tourist to view all the splendor of the Yellow stone and then in a drive of a day and a half to visit the myriad of cataracts and waterfalls and the glaciers of wonderful Glacier park. Pine state highways now lead to both the east and west entrances of the park. The east entrance is at Glacier Park station on the Great Northern main line. From this point a road has been built into the park for a short distance to St. Mary’s. The autothae c for you.Nutssod to taste ose nourish-A/hich make i energy, grown-ups eady-cooked ana maltedroad does not, however, penetrate any of the mouptain barriers. The state highway dh the east leads from Great Falls. On the west an excellent road runs from Kalispell to Belton and thence inside the park limits to Apgar, at the mouth of shimmering Lake McDonald. From Kalispell this road connects with theso drained and laid out that but little upkeep work is required from season to season.The finest and most difficult piece of road so constructed is that along the Kootenai river between Troy and Libby in the northwestern corner of the state. The road is cut out of the solid rock on a bench in the face ofPitamakan, or Running Eagle falls, better known as “Trick Falls,” which bursts forth from the rock at a point between Upper and Lower St. Mary’s lakes, along the route of the proposed scenic highway. This falls was named by the Blackfelt;t seventy years ago in memory of their famous woman war chief. Running Eagle, who was railed the Blackfeet Joan of Arc by Hudson Bay Cepnpany traders. .She was killed about 1850 in an expedition against the Flatheads.State highway chain around Flathead lake and across the Flathead reservation to Missoula and thence via the Yellowstone train to Butte.Easy GradesRoad engineers who have laid out the route announce that nowhere in the park will the mountain grades exceed 8 per cent, which is-easy and comfortable climbing for a present-day autefi The plans call for dirt road, well graded and 20 feet wide, with easy curves and rustic bridges.The department of the interior and the forest service both are famed for the magnificent roads they have built in Montana. At several points in the state these government bureaus, in order to make access to the forest reserves easier and to expedite fire fighters in reaching the innermost recesses of the forests, have aided the counties and the state highway commission in putting roads through some of the most difficult mountain passes of the state. All these roads constructed with the aid of the federal bureaus have been proven excellent and safe highways. Grades are made easy and the roadsthe construction of a transmountain road crossing the continental divide and connecting the east and west Bides of Glacier national park. Today no road crosses through the park and motorists viBlting either the east or west side are forced to ship their cars over the railroad or detour far to the south to cross the mountain range. For this reason motor travel to Glacier park has not kept pace with that of others of the major national parks.The construction of the transmountain road will remedy this condition and motor travel to Glacier will increase enormously. It will complete Jhe one missing link in the great circle tour afforded by the national park-to-park highway. It will offer to the motor tourists probably the most spectacular and highly scenic road in America.The SpecificationsThe project as submitted to congress calls for a graded dirt road to the width of 20 feet, including sidearrant the road could be hard-surfaced throughout its entire length without additional excavation work. The total length of the highway will be 39.275 miles and the total estimated cost will be approximately $563,000.Over Logan PassThe route selected by the park service engineers after careful consideration of the development of the scenic features of the park, as well as of the ultimate road development, is that known as the Logan pass route. Logan pass, altitude 6,635 feet, is the lowest pass in the central section of the park and has the most gradual approach, especially on the east side, of any of the passes except Brown’s pass, far to the north, and the head walls of the valleys by which the pass is approached are the lowest of any of the other passes.Starting from the end of the present Belton-Lake McDonald road at the foot of Lake McDonald the transmountain road will follow along the east shore of Lake McDonald through the pine and tamarack forests to Glacier hotel, located about one mile below the head of the lake, then continuing along the lake shorfe to McDonald creek Just below Logan falls. Here a branch road will cross Mc-a cliff 400 feet above the river forllonald c,r1eek- Fron* L-0**** thedistance of several miles. This road opened to the public the fascinating wonders of Kootenai falls, where a mammoth body of water tumbles and cascades over a series of precipices.One of the longest and most imposing pieces of work done by the federal government in its road-building activities In Montana is the mountain section of the Big Hole-Bitter Root road, which passes the Nez Perces battlefield above Wisdom. Here the government built 25 miles of excellent road over the pass between the headwaters of the Illg Hole and Bitter Root rivers. This pass Is part of one of the Park-to-Park roads and brings the tourist over a comfortable drive to inspiring scen-f.Following Is the department of the Interior announcement regarding the status of the proposed road In Glacier national park:Estimates Submitted Estimate* have been submitted to congresa by the national park service of the department of the interior forroad will closely follow McDonald creek along the east bank for about eight miles, passing many beautiful waterfalls, cataracts, and gorges through magnificent forests or large cedar, spruce, fir, hemlock and cottonwood trees, ascending the McDonald creek valley on easy grades averaging about 1 per cent. From this point it will leave the McDonald creek valley, gradually swinging to the right, climbing the west and north toe of Mount Cannon through heavy timber at a grade varying from 5 to 8 per cent and ascend into the valley of Trapper creek. Here the road will cross Trapper creek about two miles below its confluence with McDonald creek. From the first crossing of Trapper creek to the summit of Logan pass the road by a system of long loops and switchbackB ascends the Trapper creek valley, crossing that stream seven times and In genera] climbing the sides of Haystack butte and Pollock mountain, taking advantage of the various level places on which to turn and keeping on the open hlllsldel. It will rinally surmount the head walls on the westside of Logan pass at its lowest point and attains the summit of the in 19 miles from Glacier hotel on an average grade of somewhat less than3.3 per cent. The average grade from McDonald creek valley to the summit of the pass is slightly lessthan 6.3 per cent.Down East HideFrom the summit of Logan pass the road follows east down the north bank of the west fork of Reynolds creek. The head wall of the pass on the east side being traversed on a favorable location and the descent being made along the open mountain side to the head of Reynolds creek valley by means of only two switchback loops, this point is reached In 1 3-4 miles with an average grade of 6.2 per cent. From the crossing of the west fork of Reynolds creek for about two miles the road will be in the open or in low brush, following the south slope of Piegan mountain to the crossing of the north fork of Reynolds creek. This distance of about 2.2 miles will have an average grade of 6 per cent. The road then continues through the timber along the south slope of Going-to-the Sun mountain to Going-to-the-Sun chalets, a distance of 5.2 miles, coming out on the bluffs along the shore of St. Mary’s lake. The average grade through this stretch is only 2.8 per cent.Fjom Sun Camp chalet through to. Mary chalet at the foot of St. Mary’s lake the road will have a general level grade but winds in and out over the bluffs and along the hillsides in close proximity to the shore of the lake, sometimes being in the pine forests and then coming out on the open bluffs where beautiful vistas of the lake and the magnificent massing of the mountains can be obtained. It will cross the vertical cliffs at Deadhorse gulch and go through a slight depression in the north promontory at the Narrows, skirting a vertical cliff for about 1,000 feet with the lake just below and comes out in the open meadows and foothills through which it will traverse for about seven miles to St. Mary chalet, where it connects with the present east side Blackfeet highway.Safe and Easy to TravelTaken as a whole the route is perfectly feasible and possesses no real engineering or construction difficulties as it will have fairly uniform and stable support throughout its length, although like all mountain roads through the Rockies on easy grades and curvature much heavy work will be encountered and much of the excavated material will be solid or loose rock. The road will be safe and easy to travel, economical in construction and maintenance, as free from snow conditiqns as possible and at the same time will develop in so far as practicable the magnificent scenery of the region through which it passes and undoubtedly it will become the base upon which the ultimate plan for future road development will be built. Because of its general southern and western exposure and the low altitude of Logan pass It will be free from snow early in the season. Ofdinarily it will be open to travel in June and remain open until some time in October. This wlU make it a valuable route for commercial travel as well as for tourist travel.Most Scenic in AmericaIt is unquestioned that the road will be one of the most scenic, If not the most jcenic, in America, as from Logan pass and the section developed by the road, scenery of unrivaled grandeur and beauty is ever before one and from the higher elevations the almost countless rugged mountains with their serrated escarpment* and hanging glaciers present to the observer an unparalleled skyline and an abruptness and boldness of confound elsewhere in America.The project as submitted contemplates the expenditure of $100,-000 annually and the highway to be completely built in slightly over five years. The first section to be built will be from the foot of Lake McDonald to Glacier hotel and on to-Logan falls. The second ysw’s work would be from St. Mary chalets on the present Blackfeet highway along the north shore of St. Mary’s lake toward Going-to-the-Sun chalet and thereafter work would be prosecuted each year on each side of the divide advancing both fronts towards Logan pass as rapidly as funds and climatic conditions would permit.The construction of the transmountain road considered solely as an investment is sound. The number of motor cars coming into Glacier park at the present time is less than 2,600 annually. On the completion of the transmountain road it is conservatively estlmAted that the travel through northwestern Montana to Glacier national park will number between 10,000 and 15,000 care annually.LUCKY STRIKEcigarette. Flavor is
Newspaper Details
Hardin Tribune
Hardin, Montana, US
Fri, Feb 18, 1921
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
University O.
USA 12 Nov 2024
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