montana

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...

There are a lot of photos so I will split this into two parts. My daughter Holly and I continued our tour of the northwest wild lands by driving from Mount Rainier ( see post on hiking forum) to West Glacier where we hoped to hike the well known park day trails but also score on some backcountry...

We did this trip July 26 through August 1st. It began by a rendezvous at the Bozeman, MT I90 rest area 8:00 am on the 26th. We caravan-ed the remaining portion, hitting Swingly Road out of Livingston, down the West Boulder River to MT 298 just south of McLeod, and then MT 298 and FS 6639 to...

Let me preface this by saying I suck at trip reports and I took the wrong lens for my Nikon DSLR (55-200mm). But here goes.................. So every year I spend at least a week in the Tetons. Sometimes 2. Last year I did an off-trail trip in the Northern section of the park with Joey. After...

A few photos from a 2 nighter trip above Pony, MT a few weeks back. FS Trail 6301 to Hollow Top Lake. About 4.5 miles. Hollow Top Lake. The goal was Skytop Lake, the third in the chain, with Deep Lake in the middle. About another mile from Hollow Top Lake to Skytop. Deep Lake...

Another mixed use trip with a good shot of off-roading plus a couple of day hikes-both on and off trail. Location is our annual 4th of July pilgrimage to North Meadow Creek in the Tobacco Root Mountains in Madison County, MT. Trail numbers and access can be found in some of my previous North...

This was another over-nighter my wife and I did last weekend. The destination was Oval and Triangle Lakes that sit in a bowl north of Hill Reservoir and also Bow Basin to the east of the reservoir on one of the branches of the North Fork of Indian Creek. We managed a 5:30 am exit from our...

Just a few photos from our day hike yesterday to Bell Lake. It is a modest 6 mile round trip with about 2,000' of elevation gain. While back in the late 60's and early 70's there was a Jeep trail all the way to Bell Lake and I did have my CJ5 up to the lake, I must profess a bit of guilt...

Another one night adventure, this one up Mill Creek out of Sheridan, MT that combined a little (very little in this case) Jeeping with some backpacking. We left our place about 10:00 am Saturday morning and made it to the end of the Jeep trail up Quartz Creek by lunch. The plan was to backpack...

My wife and I took advantage of a little blue sky to make an approximately 5 hour trip to the Tobacco Roots, mainly to check snow levels. As usual, we hit Norris Road (MT 84) west from Bozeman, up 7 or 8 miles along the Madison River, to Norris. Then up Hot Springs Creek on Swayback Road (also...

While this was definitely off-road, we will put it here. I went up with one of the neighbors this morning and flew both sides of the Bridger Range and a pass along the north end of the Gallatin Range-a very enjoyable hour. Our place about 6 miles north of Bozeman and some of the brush I've been...