Hopping along Big Creek, Bitterroot Mountains
Feeling a little tired and sick, but needing some outside time, Jeff and me decided to hike to pleasantly inclined Big Creek trail. Following the, well, big creek, the sweeps under and through western red cedar, western larch, and ponderosa pine as the stream creates a din of white noise that is occasionally broken by the […]
Scooting up Skookum Butte
It has been 2 years since I have made the short hike to the historic lookout atop Skookum Butte. This time, Vida joined me, well, she rather tolerated me as my hiking speed was limited to a crawl due to a cause of bronchitis and asthma (together in some kind of oxygen-deprived stew of disease). […]
Chaffin Butte – Is It a Summit???
Chaffin Butte or the “C” Hill stands above Corvallis and is accessed via an easement through private property. The flanks of the hill are covered with big sagebrush and scattered stunted ponderosa pine. The soils are rocky and dry, and the plant life can be likened to those communities found in the Big Hole Valley […]
Bass Creek Falls Hike – Winter Edition
We did this hike last year, but with considerably less snow. It has really dumped this year in the Bitterroot Mountains, and the Bass Creek drainage is under a blanket of the white stuff. Were we deterred? Oh hell no, Jeff and I made relatively good time to the old log dam where I flew […]
Wallman Trail – Rattlesnake Recreation Area
Winter hiking offers the bundled hiker the opportunity for solitude and challenge. The solitude comes from the lack of other intrepid souls and the snow dampening any ambient sound. The depth of the snow and unsure footing creates a scenario that can be challenging, especially when breaking trail on a steep slope. So, we took […]
Sawmill Trail 24.1 – Rattlesnake National Recreation Area
Once again, we headed into the Rattlesnake national Recreation Area for an 8-mile loop hike on the Sawmill Trail 24.1 and down Curry Gulch. The day was absolutely brilliant with warm temperatures and bright sunshine. The trail basically gains a ridge and follows that ridge all the way to Stuart Peak, but we turned off […]
Rattlesnake Recreation Area: Curry Cabin and Sawmill Gulch
Even though the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area is immediately adjacent to Missoula, it is an area that I have explored very seldom. Curry Cabin is a place that I have read about in the guidebooks and blog posts, but it was unvisited…until now that is. Curry Cabin lies at the head of Curry Gulch (imagine […]
Big Creek during the extended Autumn
As the snow falls heavily outside my office window, I was looking back on hikes from the tremendous autumn that we experienced in Montana. One of the best was a quick hike along the banks of Big Creek in the Bitterroot Mountains. This trail is a real cruiser with minimal elevation gain and a great […]
Hiking along Cache Creek
We haven’t spent much time in the mountains to the west of Missoula. I have heard of Cache Creek for some time, so we decided to make the trip this past Sunday. The drive to the trailhead from Lolo is great as you travel west on Highway 12, take the Fish Creek Road from around […]
Glen Lake and No Name Lake – Journey through a ghost forest.
The trail was littered with downfall (thanks to last winter’s winds and the trail crews have not yet made it here), but the views – man, the views – were beyond worth a little more effort and a few scraps. Hiking partner Jeff set a brisk pace (okay, the bastard nearly killed me), but we crossed into the Selway-Bitterroot […]
Camas Lake in the Bitterroots
One of the greatest aspects of hiking is the opportunity to explore new areas, even places near your home. Camas Lake is just one of those places…close to home and never explore. That was true until today when Vida and I made the hike to the lake and we were awarded with spectacular views and […]
Morrell Falls – Crowded Beauty
Morrell Falls is a quite popular destination for hikers and families looking for an afternoon stroll to one of the most photogenic waterfalls in Montana. Swan Mountains dominate the skyline as you weave through a rather monotonous lodgepole forest for the first mile and half. These eventually gives way to a spruce-fir forest with Morrell Creek […]
Mount Jumbo from Lincoln Hills
Vida and I shared on the best early season hikes around Missoula, the short, steep ascent to the top of Mount Jumbo. The temperature soared into the upper 60s as we departed from the Lincoln Hills trailhead, which sits below the Saddle. At the saddle, the wildflowers were just starting to pop with Sagebrush buttercup […]
Blue Mountain National Recreation Area – Trails 3.06 & 3.03
Living near Missoula, Montana, we are fortunate have the Blue Mountain National Recreation Area just outside of the city limits. This 4,900-acre recreation area includes 41 miles of system trails, and on this day I hiked along trails 3.03 & 3.06 for a quick 3 miles. In the video, I rant against the militia currently occupying […]
Hiking to Bass Creek Falls in the Bitterroots
[sgpx gpx=”/wp-content/uploads/gpx/Bass Creek to the Falls.gpx”] Happy New Year! And what better way to kickoff 2016, then with a winter hike into the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and, specifically, Bass Creek Falls. The hike is relatively easy at a length of 3.25 miles to the Falls and an elevation gain of slightly more than 1000 feet. The […]