Going-to-the-Sun Road - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 292

Hiking trails around the Garden Wall offer breathtaking views of this stunning glacial landform, especially in summer,
when wildflowers bloom in a display of vibrant color.
3. Garden Wall
As the road begins its steady ascent, the cedars and hemlocks give way to scattered stands
of spruces and firs. Once past Red Rock Point, you may gasp as the Garden Wall first
comes into view. A sheer ridge cresting thousands of feet above, its spine makes up part of
the Continental Divide. Water falling to the west of the divide drains toward the Pacific; to
the east it flows toward the Atlantic.
A fire in 1967, sparked by lightning, blazed through the woodlands in this area. Re-
duced to mere matchsticks, the charred skeletons of trees now punctuate the slopes, which
are turning green again as shrubs and fledgling pines make a comeback, reclaiming this
rugged, once-devastated landscape.
4. Birdwoman Falls
Just beneath the Garden Wall's great shadow, the drive meanders along a lengthy zigzag
known as the Loop. Climbing ever higher into the thinning air, it arrives at a landscape
of waterfalls, peaks, and plunging valleys. Perched above the timberline, this realm boasts
many wonders, including Birdwoman Falls. At its best when bolstered by meltwaters, the
cascade gushes down a mountainside. Two miles farther along lies Weeping Wall, where
severalstreamsdescendacraggycliff.Somesaythecascadeslamentwinter'send,butper-
haps they shed tears of joy, celebrating the advent of spring.