For as long as I can remember I have wanted to see
Beargrass. It is a beautiful flower but no more than some others. Maybe it is
because the name conjures up a bunch of bears playing in a grassy meadow. But
in reality Beargrass is not a grass, but a member of the Melanthiaceae family.
 |
| Beargrass and Friend |
 |
| My first Beargrass |
The plant is native to Montana, but can also be found in subalpine meadows and coastal mountains throughout the Pacific Northwest, extending from British Columbia to northern California and eastward to Alberta and northwestern Wyoming. Beargrass can grow up to five feet in height with long and wiry, grass-like basal leaves at the base of the stalk and a cluster of small, dense white flowers at the top.
Bears do not eat the plant, but they will use leaves as denning material. Sheep, deer, elk, and goats are known to eat Beargrass. It isn’t particularly rare but I just never hit the right place at the right time.
Last year Glacier had epic blooms of Beargrass and the
theory is that if you have a good year then you have a couple not so good years
in between another good one. I was hoping for a fair year at least as this year
I would be here to find it.
It was the beginning of June and I had heard from a few
other photographers that Beargrass was starting to blooming some parts of the
park. We had to go look! Plus it was the opening of the Going to the Sun Road
another thing that had eluded me for years. The Going to the Sun Road as told
by Glacier National Park “spans 50 miles and crosses the Continental Divide at Logan Pass. During your traverse you will see impressive glaciers, beautiful valleys, cascading waterfalls, towering mountains and colorful wildflowers. Most visitors will also witness wildlife sightings on their trip across the Sun Road!” The road is only open after the snow is cleared in early June and closes in October so as I have vacationed here in years past in Spring and fall and have missed out.
 |
| Going to the Sun Rd , Spring 2019 |
It was opening day on the Going to the sun road and I was excited, what would it look like, would we see animals and would I find Beargrass! Now one thing they forget to tell you is that while Going to the Sun Rd is beautiful it is also very dangerous. Steep and narrow with turnouts that only fit a car or two. Animals will sometimes randomly cross in front sometimes scaring you, sometimes creating traffic jams. Beautiful scenery making it difficult to concentrate and lots of tourists randomly stopping anywhere at any time. Many people die on the road each year so it is never without the excitement. The drive began cold and it rained off and on but we didn’t care.
 |
| Lake McDonald |
Lake McDonald was the first stop and it was beautiful as always, then we
stopped and admired steep waterfalls and amazing mountain scenery and finally
got to the steep narrow part of the road. We also saw what looked like it could
be Beargrass just starting but weren’t sure. On one side the road was narrow with
amazingly long drop-offs close to a small barrier keeping us safe.
 |
| Looking down from Going to the Sun Road |
The other
side was a giant cliff with water continuously falling on the cars driving the
other direction. If that wasn’t enough sometimes a car would decide at the last
minute to stop in one of many tiny turnouts and you would just hope everybody
was paying attention.
Today everybody
was except me of course I was on the lookout for animals and Beargrass!
Fortunately Erin was driving and trying to concentrate and not freak out and
doing a great job.
 |
| Icy Waterfall |
We saw amazing sights incredible mountains and valleys, glaciers and waterfalls covered in ice. We even saw a Bighorn sheep cross the road in front of us but no Beargrass.
 |
| Bighorn Sheep |
Finally as we descended altitude I saw it. Beargrass, it was amazing! It was pouring rain and growing in a burnt out forest, but I didn’t care It was there! I jumped out of the car and ran down a slippery trail as Erin laughed and smartly stayed in the car. I returned 20 minutes later soaked but happy I had seen Beargrass.
 |
| Rainy Beargrass |
Since that initial time I have been back and most recently had the opportunity to go with a former boss who was driving through to Canada and stayed with us for a few days. We hit Going to the Sun Rd and he was amazed at the sights the and the mountain goats and marmots but we hit the Beargrass at the optimum time and ran around taking photos it looked like a movie set for the Sound of Music.
 |
| Beargrass near Logan Pass |
We actually said “ I wonder if we will see Julie Andrews singing below us!” It was definitely the highlight of this trip for me
 |
| Beargrass at the top of Going to the Sun Road |
 |
| Beargrass |
Glacier National Park is amazing and I am excited to see what the park has in store for me in fall and winter!!
