June - The Best Month for Discovering Flowers

April showers bring May flowers, but it seems like June is the peak flower viewing season in this part of Montana.  On Wednesday, friends and I hiked in a gulch south of Helena and stumbled on Mountain Lady's Slippers, Cypripedium montanum.  We've hiked in this area for years.  Years go by with nary a sighting of a Lady's Slipper.  But for the second time in 15 years or so, the Mountain Lady's Slippers are out in force.

Never pick a Lady's Slipper.

 Lady's Slipper

 Spotted Coral Root

Penstemon

The Hiawatha

For a great bike ride, try the Hiawatha Trail.   The trail is about an hour west of Missoula off the I-15 Taft exit.  A fee is charged to use the trail which is the bed of the old Hiawatha Railroad.  The trail contains  historical markers which I found to be fascinating.  The markers tell stories from the devastating 1910 fire to the life of workers in the area in the early 1900s. Some explain railroad construction and markings.  The trail has several tunnels and trestles.  Since I am claustrophobic the first tunnel, which is over a mile long, is a once in a lifetime experience for me. Whenever I ride the trail now, I take the road past the first tunnel and start the ride on the other side.  I preferred the trestles because of the spectacular views. The top of the trail has the best views of the entire ride.

Starting at the top, the ride is downhill all the way into Idaho.  At the bottom, you can catch a shuttle to transport you and your bike back to the top. The first time we went, we spotted a moose browsing in the creek.  I loved it!

Blackhall Meadows or: Consult Your Planner

Directions:   Take I-15 South to Clancy.  Take the Clancy exit and go straight past the old Legal Tender Restaurant.   Follow the road up through Lump Gulch into the National Forest.  The road will fork.  Take the right fork – Travis Creek Road.  Look to your left for the North Fork of Travis Creek Road and turn onto this road.  Follow the road to the bitter end.  Sometimes this road is horrible, but occasionally the road is graded.  This hike can be a fun bike ride too.

This short hike can be converted to a seven mile hike, round trip, if you hike through the meadows.  After the meadows, look right for an old road on the right.  Take the road to the top of Colorado Mountain where a few remains of an old lookout tower are still in place.  The view is spectacular.

The tale of the trail:  One June Gail and I decided to take three of my children and her friend’s two children to Blackhall Meadows.  We decided on this hike because it is easy and short.  The first part of the hike is a bit steep.  Then, the hike levels off, passes a swampy area and ends up in a huge meadow.  The trail is an old road into the meadows. 

When we decided to take this hike, the road to the trailhead had pot holes large enough to swallow a school bus. Because I’m such an excellent planner, I forgot to look at the gas gauge before we started out.  Half way to the trail, the light on the instrument panel of my car revealed that I needed to get gas soon, very soon.   Since the hike in is a mile or less, I decided to park my minivan on the top of the hill before the trailhead.   Parking a half mile away from the trailhead saved gas.  It also saved damage to the car from pot holes.

All five children and two adults had a wonderful time on this hike.  We played in the water, ate lunch, and explored an old house foundation.  Then with a start, I remembered one of the children had a dental appointment in an hour.  All seven of us hot footed it out of there at a speed the High School track team could only dream about.  We loaded up the van and then sweated, hoping the car would not run out of gas on the way back to town.  Amazingly enough, we made it to town with enough time to put gas in the car and still arrive at the appointment on time.   Even more amazingly, my hiking partner put up with my disorganization and still ventures out on hikes with me.  She probably looks at my gas gauge before we leave, though.

Some June Hikes

June hikes tend to be cold and rainy.  Although, I wouldn't miss being out in June because it is refreshing to hike when being over-heated is not an issue.  June is the best month of all for finding flowers. Seeing the great outdoors when it is as green as it will ever get is a treat.  Three pictures below are of a hike we took in June of 2000 on the Brooklyn Bridge Trail.  The Brooklyn Bridge Trail is about 8 miles in and out.  The trail is named for the Brooklyn Bridge Mine.  There is a miner's grave near the mine.  Both the small mine and the grave are easily overlooked.  They are located at the beginning of the last uphill trek to the top. The bottom picture is a June hike near the Tizers.

Near the Top of the Brooklynn Bridge Trail

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The top of the Brooklynn Bridge Trail

Checker Lily in the foreground, Oregon Grape in the Background

Near the Tizers

Bitterroots Are Out!

Today I saw a number of Bitterroots at about 4000 ft.  They are beautiful!  I wanted to take a picture but I had to send my camera back east for repairs.  While crossing a very narrow log bridge across a very small, shallow stream of water the camera took a dive into the stream. It's amazing the damage a little bit of water can do to a digital camera.

Summer Hikes for Kids

Today someone with small children asked me about hikes that could be suitable for her family. To my mind, this means hikes that are short, have water, and don’t have much uphill. 

It’s puzzling that small children can jump on and off the couch, climb on the washer, dryer, and counters, but thirty yards into a hike they sit down saying they are exhausted.  Flexibility is the key with children.  They become bored with walking for very long.  Our family used to stop often and try to identify wild flowers using our reference books.  We stopped and took pictures.  We stopped and had special hiking treats.  We stopped and put our feet in the creek.  We stopped and stopped and stopped. For years I wondered if we would ever finish a hike.  But the kids grow up and you can’t keep up with them. 

Here are a few hikes that might be fun with children.  All but the first are in the Helena National Forest.

Hike	Directions	Trail Description	Notes
Spring Meadow Lake	Take Euclid avenue to the west side of town. After Linden Avenue, watch for a Montana State Park Sign. Turn onto Joslyn.  It curves and becomes Country Club Avenue.  Spring Meadow Lake is on the Left.	Flat, paved trail all around the lake. Flush toilets.  Paddle boat rentals	Get a license and a few fishing poles and fish! Kid under twelve don't need a license of the adult has one.  Bring a bathing suit, bucket, towels and swimming toys.  A canoe is great too.
Casey Meadows Tr. No. 343	Take I-15 South.  Exit at the Montana City Exit.  Turn left to cross over the overpass, looking for Johns Street on your right, just after Papa Ray’s Casino.  Turn onto Johns Street.  Soon, it becomes McClellan Creek Road.  Follow McClellan Creek Road for several miles into the Helena National Forest.  Keep following it.  You will go down a hill and cross a plank bridge and curve right.  Keep following.  Look for the Crystal Creek sign on the right. Turn right at the sign.  Follow the road for a few more miles to the Casey Meadows Trailhead.	With small children, I would only hike about ¼ mile to where a log bridge crosses the creek.  We stop there and play in the creek The entire trail is 3 miles into Casey Meadows and 3 miles out again.  It is an old road with a slow incline.  The incline becomes steeper and the trail narrow after you cross the second log bridge before the meadows.	If you play at the first log bridge, watch out for stinging nettles upstream between the creek and bridge. There could be snow here until mid June
Willard Creek Trail Tr. 347	Take I-15 South and exit at the Clancy Exit.  At the off ramp, turn left.  Drive over the overpass and turn right and follow the frontage road to Warm Springs Creek Road. Turn left onto Warm Springs Creek Road (Elkhorn Care Center).  Follow Warm Springs Creek Road for several miles into the national forest.  Stay on the Warm Springs Creek Road until you come to a Forest Service Road on your right to the Willard Creek Trailhead.  Follow this road for a couple of miles, passing the horse trailer parking, to the trailhead.	This trail runs down hill for about a mile to a creek. For small children, I would end the hike at the creek.  At the creek, are picnic tables. Spencer Stratton put new picnic tables in the area for his Eagle Scout project. After the creek, the hike changes from an old road to a trail.  If you turn left, you will hike 2 more miles, for total of 3 miles, and come out at the Casey Meadows trailhead - the lower trailhead.  If you turn right, you end up in the Tizers, after miles and miles.	There could be snow here until mid June You can take a jogging stroller as far as the creek. The barrier across the Willard Creek Road is closed in winter.   In late July and August the grass Sweet Timothy, which many people are REALLY allergic to, abounds in this area.
South Fork Lakes Tr. 127	Take Highway 12 East past Townsend.  Turn right at the Bunk House Bar.  Follow the road past Radersburg into the National forest.  Either take the South Fork Road or the Jenkins Gulch Road off the main road.  Both roads are on the left as you head South up the main road. The road ends at the South Fork Lakes trailhead.	The hike is only about a mile in and a mile out.  The first part is on a boardwalk through a swampy area. After the swampy area, you climb upwards, fairly steeply for a while.   The trail leads to two pond/lakes.	The last part of the road to the trail is very rough, and you may drive through a stream in spring and early summer. The swampy area has an abundance of beautiful flowers. Bring mosquito repellent.

Men Fear Us, Elk Love Us

As anyone who loves the outdoors knows, a  risk of outdoor activities is encounters with wildlife.  My friends and I make noise and stay on the trail.  This cuts down on problems.  So far my most worrisome encounter was with an elk.  Yes, an elk.

In June 2006, my daughter Kristy and I decided to take a hike to Horse Thief Park (I would love to know the story behind that name).   We started on Trail 117 near Pole Creek and hiked to the other side of the Elkhorns down into Casey Meadows, Trail 343 where we left a car to drive out.  

After a long, steep climb, we decided to soak our feet in a streamlet near the bottom of the Park.  As we enjoyed  some rest and  lunch, we noticed a cow elk peeking at us over a rise, her ears twitching.  Then, she started for us.  Kristy and I considered three facts:  1) Elk are large. 2) We were unarmed. 3) Elk calve in June.

In a frenzy, we slipped on our boots and hiked as rapidly as my breathing would allow up the steep meadow. The elk followed, although we soon realized her demeanor was more curious than threatening.  Every now and then, I sounded a mini air horn I kept in my pack to intimidate threatening animals. It was the closest thing we had to a defense.   At least, I thought it was a defense. 

After the elk followed us for a ways, my dog decided enough was enough and began barking at her heels.    She ran off.  To speed the elk on her way, I sounded the mini air horn.  She immediately returned to within 50 feet of us and shadowed us all the way up the meadow.  Evidently, instead of being intimidated by mini air horns, elk LIKE them. 

When we reached the top of the meadow, we found a herd of elk which our friendly elk must have been trying to rejoin.  Relieved, we saw her run off with the herd. 

Now I know that if I want a close view of an elk, I should bring my air horn.  With my luck, if I ever run into a bear I’ll find pepper spray is his favorite flavor and he has a penchant for older women.