montana

@Artemus and his wife Becky graciously invited my family to join them on their backpacking trip across the Gallatin Range in the northwest quadrant of Yellowstone National Park. The trip would include summiting Electric Peak and staying at Sportsman Lake. While my wife was unable to join in, my...

August 4th 2018 Despite the Chandler Family Glacier Trip being a bi-annual affair for a few years now, its also been those few years that I have been working as a seasonal ranger during the summer. I was pretty psyched to finally get the chance to go back. So far it seems to be the one perk...

For the third year in a row, we did a librarian hike. We're down to two of us, but we still went for our three day hike. This year Nancy wanted to get back to a spot where she had hiked with her son, Becker Lake, so off we went. The trailhead is at Island Lake, on the Beartooth Highway. We...

Hopefully you guys don't mind me digging back in the archives a bit. I want to get some of my trips posted so you guys know me better. My son and I did a packrafting trip in the Bob Marshall Wilderness with a friend of ours back in 2014. Our route was a 115 mile loop with about 65 miles hiking...

August 5, 2017 The area immediately to the NW of West Yellowstone has been special to my family for a few generations now. This report is from one of their favorite spots up there. @Jessica and I were visiting my grandparents at their cabin near Cameron, and we went on this 8-mile hike with...

[Note - this post was originally written for my blog, in which I wax the purple at great length, boring everybody except my family. Thus the vast amount of background, which may be unnecessary for this audience. Also they're cell phone pictures and I'm no photographer. But figured I'd post a...

On this 3 day backpacking trip into the SBW, me and my girlfriend Erin, hiked up the infamous Big Creek to Big Lake on March 12- 15. A wonderous 18 mile round trip, this trail takes you up another one of the majestic and rugged Bitterroot Canyons of the Montana side of the wilderness. This...

The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness is in Idaho and Montana. Its an extremely diverse wilderness. High rugged mountains on the east side where the border of the 2 states sits on the crest of the mighty Bitterroot Mountains. This trip took place in one of the 23 deep glaciar carved canyons on the...

This is the Glacier trip I did last summer with Joey, Dave and Matt. Joey does such an amazing job editing and publishing these videos. They're not just highlights, but the entire adventure. While I realize most people won't spend an hour to watch this in its entirety, you have to acknowledge...

Finally posting a very long overdue trip report from a 6-day hike in the Beartooths in August. I've put off making any sort of trip report for this one because it just wasn't a very enjoyable trip for me overall. The route itself was OK, save for one part which about did me in, and that part...

I took advantage of a recent snowstorm in the mountains and a nice day to do a little snowshoeing. It's a time of year where you can end up in mixed conditions, with stretches of snow followed by bare ground. The Elkhorns, however, which are just a few miles outside of Helena, tend to trap...

The Elkhorn Mountains Southeast of Helena have long been my stomping grounds. They offer a wealth of outdoor opportunities that include hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, and photography . The highest point is Crow Peak at 9,414', above the town of Elkhorn, an old mining camp rich in history...

My wife and I did this trip a couple weeks back-strictly Jeep camping and day hikes as it is getting too cold for the elderly to backpack all the cold weather gear. The first day, after driving over to Sheridan, MT from Bozeman, we parked the JK about a half mile above Leiterville on Wisconsin...

Lewis & Clark Pass, near Lincoln, MT, is the crossing where the explorers crossed the divide on July 6, 1806. It's accessed by an easy 1.5 mile trail that takes off from the end of Alice Creek Rd. The pass was used by ancient Indians and you still can find arrow heads right on the trail...

My wife and I did this short backpack trip a couple weeks back and although it didn't end up exactly as planned, anytime in the sticks is good time. The goal was Thompson Reservoir on the South Fork and we accessed it via Mill Creek Road (FS 111) and FS Trail 6015. FS 6015 from Upper Branham...

Living in Helena, MT, presents a wealth of hiking options. I've hiked extensively in the Elkhorn Mountains, which are a few miles southeast of town. They're an "island range," and run about 30 miles north-south, with the tallest peaks at around 9,400'. Today, I visited Horsethief Park, which...

I guess that I've re-discovered the Tobacco Roots. I've been to the popular Lost Cabin and Louise Lakes a few times, but not for five years or so. From my home in Helena, a trip up the South Fork of the Boulder River is at least 80 miles. I decided to spend a few days before summer's end...

A few photos from the past Wednesday and Thursday. We day hiked this on the 4th of July, but a much better experience with an over-nighter. For location info, check some of my previous North Meadow Creek thrreads. My wife and the first use of the new tent (MSR Mutha Hubba NX). It was a good...

This is a 3 night, 4 day backpacking loop in Glacier National Park. From late June, 2015. We started at Packer's Roost, hiking in the first night to the Flattop Mountain Campsite. Day 2 we hiked to the Fifty Mountain Camp, and Day 3 we hiked the northern section of the Highline trail to...

This is the second part of a two part post about a trip to Glacier National Park by Holly and Tim V. We were camped for a couple of days at St Mary campground on the East side of Glacier. Our particular loop appeared to have been cleared out by a fire at sometime in the past because there was...