Sat. August 4 Daily miles: 10.5Cumulative miles: 55.2 The concerns raised about the trail Beaver Woman Lake had intrigued me and now I wondered if this section would be more interesting than the rest of the Nyack Loop. I break camp within 15 minutes of waking, the order of each morning now falling into a … Continue reading Coal Creek to Beaver Woman Lake
FRI. August 3 Daily miles: 11.8 Cumulative miles: 44.7 My bowels finally realize what I’m up to this morning. I jolt awake with the dire urge to relieve myself. There’s no question of using the WAG Bag, but neither is there any time to dig a cat-hole. In general, I try to adhere to Leave … Continue reading Middle Fork Flathead River to Coal Creek
Thurs. August 2 Daily miles: 15.4 Cumulative miles: 32.9 I awake naturally just before dawn, break down the tent, and collect my food bag from the dining area. This process has not yet become routine and I fumble with the order of it all, accidentally packing my food before removing the day's snacks. In a … Continue reading Upper Nyack to Middle Fork Flathead River
Wed. August 1 Daily miles: 17.5 Cumulative miles: 17.5 Our hostel doubles as a bakery so we grab a couple of coffees and pastries before heading out. The valley is misty as we drive back to the Two Medicine entrance. Nice cool weather. Perfect for starting a long trip! I'm bound for Oldman Lake, but … Continue reading Two Medicine to Upper Nyack
TUES. JULY 31 We arrive at the tiny town of East Glacier around 3.00 PM after four hours in the car with an impatient two year old, passing garish tourist campgrounds and motels before taking the road into Glacier National Park. The Park complex is visible for miles before you arrive, a series of walls … Continue reading Permits at Two Medicine
June in Montana is still too early for hiking without snow-shoes above a certain elevation, so we settled on a popular Bozeman-area hike for our Saturday family excursion. Like many of the short trails around Bozeman, this four-mile out-and-back through Sypes Canyon is (unfortunately) a dual purpose trail. Mountain bikers abound—none of whom seem aware of … Continue reading Sypes Canyon
My mother was in Montana recently to see her granddaughter (now 15 months!) and as she orients her travel plans around the timeshares she owns, she booked a stay at Whitefish Mountain Resort—just days before they officially opened for the summer season. The place was deserted, but we made the best of it and tried to determine which … Continue reading Stanton Lake
Crow Creek Falls is variously known as the "jewel of Helena National Forest" and the "Crown Jewel of the Elkhorn Mountains." I'm not sure the hyperbole is entirely deserved, but local thrill-seekers have enjoyed visiting the waterfall since at least 1895, when a local newspaper described the hike as a mere "one day's ramble." These days—thanks to a well maintained … Continue reading Crow Creek Falls
The Trask Lakes lie in the Flint Creek Range just west of Deer Lodge but unless you have a high clearance vehicle, getting there is a bit stressful. The last 12 miles or so traverses dirt roads ranging the spectrum of quality from moderate stretches of cow shit-scattered gravel to what might be described as bisections of … Continue reading The Trask Lakes
After a couple of months abroad, it's good to be back in Montana during the glorious month of August. For my 32nd birthday, we headed to the tiny (ghost) town of Pony, a gateway to the Tobacco Root Mountains with convenient access to a large swath of the Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest. Named for an early prospector of … Continue reading Hollowtop Lake