JimmyW
Member
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2015
- Messages
- 29
I've posted before about the Tizer Lakes country, so I won't repeat too much about the trip up there. Basically, it's reached by a Forest Service road out of Jefferson City, 15 miles south of Helena, MT, in the Elkhorn Mountains. The 5 mile drive to the top is a good hour, and that's before you head over to the lakes or around the Bullock Hill loop. Manley Park sits on a ridge between Tizer and Little Tizer Creeks. I've been there many times, but heretofore hiked in from the other side from the Crow Creek drainage.
Bow season is open in Montana and coincides with the elk rut. That means that it's not uncommon to hear the bulls bugling. The first trailhead to the park is a mile from the top of the main Tizer road. From the trailhead, it's an easy hike of about 1.5 miles. Manley is a pretty large park, and well-marked with posts. It offers some rather striking views of the Elkhorns. Here are a few shots.
Entering the park from the timber.
The next couple views looks south, over 9,000' Crow and Elkhorn Peaks. You also can get a sense of the devastation caused by the pone beetle infestation of a few years ago.
The next shot looks northward toward Crazy Peak, which is the "camel-humped" peak on the horizon, and the third-highest in the Elkhorns. (It's the only "peak" in the ElkhornsI haven't summitted, but it's a looong slog, which I should've attempted in my younger days.)
The next shot looks eastward at Poe Park (on the horizon), from which I made all of my previous trips to Manley. The Poe trailhead comes in from the Crow Creek drainage, and makes a very pretty, but longer and tougher hike to Manley. Wer've seen elk in Poe, but I've seen them more often in Manley. With binocs, you can see whether the elk are out in Manly.
Like many places in our mountains, the Elkhorns are mining country. In and around Manley you can find artifacts from the old days. The first shot looks like a drill of some kind.
I hiked across the top of the park and down about a mile to Tizer Creek. You can hike down either side of the park and hit other trails. I hear a bull bugling nearby while heading down, but never saw him. However, just about then, a cow elk trotted out about 25 yards in front of me, but not long enough to grab a pic.
Bow season is open in Montana and coincides with the elk rut. That means that it's not uncommon to hear the bulls bugling. The first trailhead to the park is a mile from the top of the main Tizer road. From the trailhead, it's an easy hike of about 1.5 miles. Manley is a pretty large park, and well-marked with posts. It offers some rather striking views of the Elkhorns. Here are a few shots.
Entering the park from the timber.
The next couple views looks south, over 9,000' Crow and Elkhorn Peaks. You also can get a sense of the devastation caused by the pone beetle infestation of a few years ago.
The next shot looks northward toward Crazy Peak, which is the "camel-humped" peak on the horizon, and the third-highest in the Elkhorns. (It's the only "peak" in the ElkhornsI haven't summitted, but it's a looong slog, which I should've attempted in my younger days.)
The next shot looks eastward at Poe Park (on the horizon), from which I made all of my previous trips to Manley. The Poe trailhead comes in from the Crow Creek drainage, and makes a very pretty, but longer and tougher hike to Manley. Wer've seen elk in Poe, but I've seen them more often in Manley. With binocs, you can see whether the elk are out in Manly.
Like many places in our mountains, the Elkhorns are mining country. In and around Manley you can find artifacts from the old days. The first shot looks like a drill of some kind.
I hiked across the top of the park and down about a mile to Tizer Creek. You can hike down either side of the park and hit other trails. I hear a bull bugling nearby while heading down, but never saw him. However, just about then, a cow elk trotted out about 25 yards in front of me, but not long enough to grab a pic.