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Reynolds Mountain (9125'), located in northern Montana's Glacier National Park, looks like something straight out of a Star Wars movie. This incredible slab of sedimentary rock, formed during the Jurassic era nearly 170 million years ago, is easily seen for miles along the park's famous Going to the Sun Road. There are five established routes on the mountain, four of which are too technical and dangerous for me, so I chose the Southwestern Talus Slope Route, which is described on SummitPost as a class 2/3 route on loose scree and talus. I would describe it as a very steep, but manageable hike; I do not recall encountering any class 3 sections on the route, at most class 2.
The route begins at the Logan Pass Visitor Center, which, at peak season, even with an entry quota, is completely full by 6am. The first two miles of the hike is on the same trail as the Hidden Lake route, which is one of the most popular hikes in the park. This section is mostly on wooden planks and has several slippery snow crossings. It is also as crowded as a trail can be, with visitors from all walks of life eager to feast their eyes upon the magnificent beauty of Hidden Lake. This means that in the narrower sections, there is often quite the backlog of traffic. Reynolds and Clements peaks stand ominously on either side of the trail, striking fear into the beholder (only the one who wishes to summit).
After reaching the Hidden Lake overlook, which offers stunning views of Hidden Lake, Bearhat Peak, Dragon's Tail, and Reynolds, I backtracked a quarter mile and turned off the main trail to the left (south) toward my destination. Almost immediately I stumbled across two mountain goats (a mother and a kid). The mountain goats here are not afraid of people in the slightest and simply go about their business as everyone walks around. At this point in the season, they were shedding their winter coats, which gave them a rather ragged, sickly look. I then had to make my first of three snow crossings, where another mountain goat smugly observed me from above as I struggled to stay upright on the slippery snow.
From the trail split to the base of Reynolds is approximately 1.5 miles. Without a map, it is difficult to see where exaclty to begin the climb up Reynolds. There is a steep and narrow chimney that almost functions like a ladder, right in between Dragon's Tail and Reynolds. At first, the climb is on solid rock, so I began to think that the difficulty discussed online was overblown. Soon, however, I saw what was meant by "loose scree and talus." I was reminded of the trail on Mount Shasta: this was a comparable steepness and was just as slippery. At certain points, I was compelled to go on all fours in order to maintain my balance. Near the top, the trail bends to the north around the headwall and becomes a pleasant, non-technical jaunt to the summit.
My jaw dropped. Not only did I have the summit to myself, but the views were unlike anything I had ever seen. There were glaciers in every direction, and the view stretched likely clear up to Canada, not to mention the entirety of Glacier National Park. The coolest part was that there was not a soul on the mountain, whereas only two miles ago, I was surrounded by tourists. On the way down I continued across to Dragon's Tail, but it began to rain, so I turned around. Next time.
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