Day Spent Above 8000 Feet

Imagine passing up sales at the big box stores for this.

Hikers' Honey Fruit Squares - Arleen R. Egan

2 eggs
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup currants or snipped dates, figs, or prunes
1 cup walnuts, pecans or almonds
 
Beat eggs until light and fluffy.  Then gradually beat in honey, pouring in very thin stream.  Add flour, cracker crumbs, and salt.  Stir in fruit and nuts.  Pour into greased and floured 8x8x2 inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes until top is well browned and cake is firm in the center.  Cut in squares with damp knife while still warm.  Cool on rack.  Put squares in plastic bags or wrap.
Makes - 6 squares.  Tastes best the next day.

Things Learned on a Hike with My Webelos

• Running down the trail is easier than walking down it.
• Pine is a specific enough variety of tree to count for our tree identification requirement.
• The amount of oxygen at a 10 foot rise in the trail will be significantly less than at a spot ten feet lower.  This is why you feel tired when you go uphill.
• The purpose of bringing a snack is so that you can be entertained by watching the dog eat it.
• Three miles is verrrrrry loooong

Louise Lake

Louise Lake is another hike that is accessible for a few months of the year.  It's worth the wait.

Directions:  Drive to Cardwell and take Highway 359.  Look  on your right for a road sign saying "South Fork of the Boulder."  This road runs to Mammoth and Forest Service Road 107, passing through Mammoth.  Mammoth is a small town comprised of private cabins.  Continue driving to the Trailhead No. 168, Deer Lodge National Forest.  The last part of the road gets REALLY rough and has huge boulders.

The trailhead is well marked, at least it was the last time I was there. (You never know when a drunk with a gun will shoot up signs.)  The trail is wide and well maintained.  The hike is not long, only three miles or so in.  It seems longer because it switchbacks all the way to the lake.  This is a gorgeous hike with beautiful views.  Even the rocks along the trail with their black and gray stripes are unique.

View of the  main road to the trailhead

View of Louise Lake

View of the Tobacco Root Mountains from the trail

Trail to the Lake

White Mountain Heather in the area

Pink Mountain Heath

A Hike that is High!

In July we can finally access hikes with high elevations.  Here is a hike that we enjoy:

Directions. Take the Montana City Exit and turn left.  Turn left at Johns Street on the right.  The street runs into McClellan Creek Road.  Stay on McClellan Creek Road as it runs up over the hill and into the national forest.  Keep on the road until you see Crystal Creek Road on your right.  Turn onto Crystal Creek road and follow it to the Casey Meadows Trailhead No. 343.  Start out on  343 and hike across the log foot bridge over the creek.  Look left for the Jackson Creek trail marker Trail No. 346. Take No. 346.  Ignore any trails that veer off on the right.  Sad experience led us back onto the Casey Meadows trails when we took those trails.   There are some cairns to help hikers stay on the correct trail.  Follow No. 346 down a hill until you come to a creek.

I always bring some sandals because the trail runs through the creek for a 20 yards or so.  Look for a break in the trees on the left the size of a road.  Exit the creek.  You will see a road coming from the left and heading up hill.  Go up hill.  You will see a meadow on your left with a trail.  Ignore it and keep following the road up hill.   Now the trail is up hill , becoming steeper until you reach  Montgomery Park Trail No. 301.  Follow the creek as you hike if the trail becomes faint.  Look for the sign for Montgomery Park Trail No. 301 as it merges with the trail you are on, No. 346.  Where the trails merge, turn right onto the trail, (No. 301) which leads you across a mountain.   There are dead falls galore from the 1988 fire, but there are still few pines along this part of the route. Lots of springs at intervals across the trail make up for little shade.  Follow the trail as you come to another high meadow where you can look down into Casey Meadows.  Here you have to find your route with numerous paths winding in and out.  There are a few cairns.  The route leads down to  Casey Meadows. After reaching Casey Meadows,  cross the creek and find No. 343, Casey Meadows trail and hike down to the Casey Meadows trailhead where you began. 


Tale of the trail.


Probably because of the 1988 burn, it took Gail and I several tries before we found the entire route of this trail.  Over the years, the Forest Service and hikers have made the trail more distinct.  Possibly cows in this area have made some of the offshoot trails that lead nowhere.

One thing I know, cows along this trail have improved my cardiovascular conditioning.  While hiking one July, Kristy and I stopped at the creek to change from boots to sandals for wading through Jackson Creek.  While changing our shoes, we heard the bellowing of unhappy cows.  Just as I pulled on my last sandal and huge bull stampeded into the creek followed by a number of cows.  I could see the whites of the eyes of the bull as he barged through the creek toward us.

Kristy and I jumped to our feet and scooted backwards into the trees.  Because of the burn, the new trees are so thick that there are only inches between them.  We scraped our way through, but so did the bull.  Evidently, he had decided we were the root of all his woes, and he was out for revenge!  Scared doesn't begin to describe our feelings. Just as it seemed certain we were to be tromped by 1000 lbs or more of bull, we heard a guy on a horse shout at the bull.  The brush was so thick that the rider had no idea why his bull was charging into the trees.  He didn't even know his bull was chasing two hikers.  We were too scared to look back and see if the rider was successful at herding the bull back to the trail.  We just prayed and hustled through the brush as fast as we could go.

We wound through the brush back to the creek to find another cowboy crossing it.  Kristy and I told him about our brush with death as calmly as we could, but our white faces probably relayed more information than our words did.  Both parties conferred on directions to make sure our paths wouldn't cross again.  We checked for injuries, which were numerous from running through thick brush in sandals.  One cut took weeks to heal up.  But considering what could have happened, we were lucky.  Still, I wish we didn't have to contend with bulls so often when hiking.  Couldn't they keep them back at the ranch?

Floating the Blackfoot

Yesterday was the first Saturday of the summer that was over 80 degrees and without wind.  Because the snow melt is about done, we knew the river water levels will now begin to drop. So my husband, a friend, myself, and several hundred other people all decided to float the Blackfoot this weekend.  The parking lot where we launched our raft looked like Wal Mart the day after Thanksgiving by 3:00 in the afternoon.

Since we had already launched our raft, I had the luxury of being amused when some rafters displayed their ignorance of river etiquette and consideration for others.  The launch point put me in mind of movies I've seen portraying Grand Central Station at 5:15 pm. The busyness of the ramp didn't phase my oblivious rafters.  They unloaded their deflated raft directly onto the ramp and tied up one side of a very busy launch for forty-five minutes while they inflated their raft and stowed their gear.  I'm not positive, but I think they were  making lunches and folding a batch of laundry, while one of the women updated her recipe file before launching. Meanwhile, two drift boats who were ready tried to squeeze by them.


Fortunately, we saw only a few other watercraft once we were on the water.   During our float we saw two bald eagles, cliff swallows, and a trout that Dave reeled in.  All in all, a great day.