First snow!

The Bridger Range & Mt. Baldy; looking north-northeast from campus.

The last day of Summer - Mt. Blackmore (elev. 10,154')

I took advantage of the nice weather (still!) and wanted to get on top of something -- so I hiked Mt. Blackmore, at the head of Hyalite Canyon.

It may very well be the last hike in shorts I get for a while. On the descent, we were greeted with some good-luck snowflakes as the clouds blocked in the endless sky.

Is hiking a mountain a good use of my time? I've got two pending problem sets, a flurry of econometrix, and a Masters thesis to create. But I think all is well when my legs are pumping up the castle walls in God's sandbox. It seems to make me smarter. Or rather, attract some much-needed lucidity to the various efforts I doggie paddle through during the week -- tongue distended, gasping for air, smiling but needing to breathe too.

• Starting elevation: 6,720' (gain of 3,434')
• Distance: 10 miles roundtrip
  

Hunters Feed and Wild Game Cook-off - Ennis, MT

Friday afternoons have a special place in my heart. A full, well-worked week of classes and prudent vegetarianism blossom into the promise of a weekend of incremental excess. For, under the Bozeman gloam and persistent penumbra of the Bridgers, I grotesquely transform...into a wild carnivore, needing wild meats to supplicate and regenerate the taught fibers of my lumbering and steely cloak of armor.

So, it was with quite serendipity that the hunters of Western Montana were cleaning out their freezers of wild game for a cook-off about an hour west of Bozeman. The main street in Ennis is a classic wild west town, not too different from some of the mining towns around Truckee, CA, and maintaining the rickety facades of a bygone era. It still had a soda pop bar, albeit closed down for the festival.

From TravelMT.com, its description:

Hunters Feed and Wild Game Cook Off is a very popular event for locals, neighbors and visiting hunters. Started as a way to clean out the freezer of last years game before hunting season. Merchants on Main Street cook up exotic wild game dishes and serve their culinary delights in front of their shops.

Lining the main street were the warm smiles of proud and earnest cooks of wild meats. They offered in small plastic containers the fruits of their labors in the field and kitchen, all for delicious vote. There were two categories: Chili and Non-chili. And, here, I will list some of the excellent contenders:

• Elk Burger Won-Tons
• "Pesto" Bear Sausage Pizza
• Antelope Bolonese
• Vigilante Stew (secret recipe)
  
• Outstanding Antelope Enchiladas
• Elk Carne Asada
  
• Antelope Cream Chease Jalapeno Popper
  

Along for the glorious culinary jaunt were Luke, Matt, Roger & Patricia. We washed the meats down with a birch beer and shopped for shotguns at the local sports shop. I made sure we departed before I bought a shotgun. Something about being full of savage adrenaline and supple, prairie-fed tissue draws you to the cold steel and promise of a bloody trophy...

We took the long way home, around Ennis Lake along a dirt road. Evening on the Madison River:
A herd of white-tailed deer:

Purple Mtns Majesty

Sunset, from Bridger Range ("M" trail), October 15, 2010.

Bozeman first impressions

The town I now call home:

Bridger Raptor Fest '10

I first learned about the Raptor festival here by a conspicuous advertisement above the urinal in Montana Ale Works. The weather has been utterly phenomenal here, despite all the hoopla about cold weather. The warmth could be the result of man's greenhouse gas emissions, so it is bitter-sweet. If first frost stays away for another three more days, it will be the latest frost in recorded history for the part of Montana. So, it is indeed a warm year by historical standards. They say that last year there was a foot of snow by the second week in October, and it's been in the 60s and sunny for most of the month!

So, it was with beautiful and colorful weather that I took a break from my studies to check out the Raptorfest up at the Bridger Bowl lodge. I took a guided nature hike and learned some new edibles to look for in this area.

1) Wild sage. Easy to spot, thanks to Laura for growing some on the porch in San Francisco, I am now quite familiar with sage. Native American hunters would throw copious amounts onto the fire to hide their smell so they could get close to their targets. Good seasoning on wild meats.
2) Yarrow. Very fragrant and easy to spot. When dried, it makes a tasty and very laxative tea. In case you need a little help in that department on your next camping trip. It's nice to know you have options.
3) Pineapple-smelling plant. Smells like a ripe ol' pineapple. The roots are edible too.

I also saw some Live Birds:
1) Red-tailed Hawk.
2) Turkey Vulture. (just add wild sage and toss into the oven?)
3) Great Horned Owl. (my favorite bird of the day)

And infiltrated the local clandestine network of bird enthusiasts. Check.

Dropping a hook near Axtell Bridge, Gallatin River

Luke and I got an early start on Sunday, each of us itching to get out and fish some in the beautiful fall weather. After a truckers breakfast at The Western Cafe (Main st., Bozeman) and two "Bobcat specials", we headed towards Gallatin Gateway and pulled off the highway at Axtell Bridge.

We were wading into the cool, gentle water of the lower Gallatin River by 10:15am. We're both nubes, so we just started getting some line out and fishing (probably overfishing) some holes. My waders worked great, albeit the rocks are quite slimy and after the current gets above the knees it's tough to balance with a rod in your hand.

Thoughts on the day:

• How long should we fish each hole? I've heard that a three-cast maximum is plenty - then move on.
• Are we using the correct flies? One fisherman I ran into was using a "parachuting Adams" fly which floats down to the water slower than I was getting with my neon magenta synthetic cheap-o. I'll have to stop in a fly shop next time to get some local beta.
• Where should I put my fly in the water, and how should I handle a quicker current? We had to re-cast after only a few seconds of drift yesterday.

The day was pleasant, air crisp, and water refreshing. I'll be back.

Eagle Scout Assault - Mt. Ross (elev. 9,004')

Trailhead: Brackett Creek, Gallatin NF, Bridger range.
Total Distance: +/- 6 miles
Elevation Chg: +4000 / -4000
% Bushwacking/Trail/Scramble: 30/50/20

Our hike started a tad sluggish as everybody had imbibed a la maxima Friday night. Me, I drank some dank Montana beers at MAW (Bozone Cascadia Dark IPA, Bitteroot Huckleberry Wheat, etc.), and the younger of us Doug and Josh drank a heady stew of homemade jungle juice consisting of tequila, vodka, cheap light beers, the kitchen sink, dirty gym socks, etc.

It was slow going.



We were looking for the Fairy Lakes campground/ trailhead, but instead turned off the road early and immediately toned down our visions of hiking the entire 20 mile ridge back to "The M" near Bozeman. Instead we veered off trail and headed cross country toward a nice grassy saddle below Mt. Ross, then scrambled up its face. After three false peaks, we made it up to glorious views of Gallatin valley and the patchwork of agriculture nestles in its verdant bosom. The sky was gaining activity, the dance had begun, and we felt rumblings and darkness as we descended down down the eastern face in search of water and a camping spot.

We were pooped. Like "did-I-just-twist-my-ankle-I-don't-care-no-I-don't-think-I-did-my-hand's-bleeding-ok-I'll-just-wipe-it-on-my-leg" pooped.

We all cooked dinner using small cedar twiglets, each in our own stove setup. Doug had a homemade little double-walled woodstove made out of various food cans. I used my titanium caldera cone, with great success. I think Doug needs to jimmy his design a bit as his stove was consistently starved of air and therefore took a lot longer to boil his water. I give him credit though for making things himself, and would probably have done the same as a budget constrained college student if I knew as much as he did at that age. They both slept under a homemade sil-nylon cat-tarp (The Purple Peopleater) which held up against the gusts and precipitation with only one collapse early in the night due to user error. My Contrail held up, albeit one stake came undone and moistened my cabesa. The Rockies demand you batten down the hatches all the time - the weather just changes too quickly. Luckily, as we were heading to bed the sky cleared and the stars just popped, like a golf course for the Gods I thought. It was my first solid glimpse of the Montana stars outside city lights since moving to Bozeman, and served as another reminder of why I get out and camp.

Overall, a solid one-nighter with two solid kids. Both Josh (freshman) and Doug (sophomore) are Eagle Scouts that grew up together in a Seattle suburb and have had excellent backcountry access their whole lives. Of course I was jealous, they've covered so much of Washington (Olympic Peninsula, Cascades, etc.) already. I thin we all learned a bit from each other, which is the benefit of traveling with the light'n'fast crowd. We'll do it again.

Brackett Creek trailhead is 16 miles from Bozeman.

Feeling good on the Gallatin River

Getting a float in on a Tuesday evening strikes me as something very special about living in Bozeman, Montana. Is that why I'm here? Probably yes. To be able to drive 35 minutes to a beautiful whitewater float, on a world class trout river, with zero traffic on a whim is truly grand. The two fellows I rafted with (Kendall and Matt) represent the epitome of what I like most about fellow packrafters: They love the water, the eloquence of a lightweight packable craft, and are out to have fun period.

As the sun sank behind the Gallatin canyon walls, the mayflies were hovering all over the flat parts of the river shooting around like my image of a chain atomic reaction, particles zipping zipping, colliding, buzzing. It looked like a 'hatch' - which would explain the quietly persistent anglers wading near the holes. The run was an easy Class II with a few drops, a bunch of butt-bumping rocks (low water), and one fun surfable wave where we spent a good half hour. I look forward to seeing this piece of water in higher flows come springtime.

Firsts for me: First packraft in Montana. First non-dam-controlled water I've floated. First nightime-ish float.

See Topo map here


View Larger Map

Put in: Moose Creek Flats Campground
Take out: Lava Lakes trailhead (Gallatin National Forest)
Flow: 500 CFS (low)
Approx. River Miles: 5
Air Temperature: 65F
Water Temperature: 55F
Class: PR II

Crocodile High Lakes Circuit - 14 alpine lakes, 25 miles

Fellow blogger, adventurer-badass, and one of my best friends on this wet spinning planet Matt Pray rolled into town on Friday midday with his red Honda Accord, grinning like the vagabond he is (rrrrooOOAAADDD Trip!). So we decided to go on a hike into the Lee Metcalf Wilderness area, Gallatin National Forest, Spanish Creek trailhead. You know, to stretch the legs a bit and checkout each other's backpacking gear. And take a bite out of the playground nearby -- exactly 43 minutes drive from my new place in Bozeman, MT. It was a 'local' hike...

Miles: 25

Days: 2 (12 hours hiking = 2.1 mph)

% Hike/Float: 100/0

Elevation Chg: +4000, -4000 (loop)

OOO-AAAH Factor: 7

Route description: Starting at Spanish Creek trailhead (west of Rt. 191), we hiked a half mile past Mirror Lake then began our bushwack-scramble up over the ridge, through a spot we coined 'Crocodile Pass' because it looked like an agape crocodile when the western sun shone behind it. Down the other side to Beehive lake, and onto the rest of the loop north -- through Spanish Lakes, Lake Solitude, Upper Falls Creek Lake, Jerome Rock Lakes (14 in total!), and some tasty pine forests, ranchland, and general Rocky Mountain High beautaciousness.

Conditions: Partly cloudy, some light rain showers, and 40-50mph wind gusts throughout the night. Our Tarptent Contrails ate the wind FOR BREAKFAST. They held together well, albeit very noisily, and made it altogether hard to sleep with Zephyr all up in our business. I told Matt to look for me at the bottom of the cliff, blown into the lake if my tent and I were gone the next morning. True story..

The map below shows the loop in all its glory:


View Crocodile High Lakes Circuit in a larger map