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.