Mines

Mines from the old days leave a big mess.  When the rock is exposed it becomes very acidy.  That is why years later, nothing can grow on the mine tailings.

But the mess from old time mines can't compare with the mess modern mines leave.

The Optimist and the Pessimist

Since we were blessed with weather in the 70's yesterday and Kristy came to visit, we decided to go four wheeling on Occidental Plateau.  Four wheeling this time of year is a dicey proposition.  What looks like a dry mountain perfect for four wheeling, often turns out to have walls of drifts.  My optimistic spouse plows through the snow, certain that if he can only bust through the drift, the remainder of the route will be clear.  From experience with the spring, I know that one drift leads to another until we reach the drift we cannot pass.  Turning around on a steep, icy  hillside is not my idea of fun.  When four wheeling with my optimist our conversations usually are something like this:

Me:  Is this where the REALLY steep road is?   You know, the road where I choke trying to go down it, and you have to drive my four wheeler down.

Him:  This time you will be able to go down it.

Me: Do you see that huge drift over there?  That is Occidental Plateau.  We won't be able to get up there.

Him:  Let's try it and see.

Me:  See these patches of snow?  You know how it always is. Before long, we'll find the one patch we can't get through.

Him:  If we can get by this one place, we can make it to the top.

Me:  Here is the drift that marks the end of the trail.

Him:  Let's drive five miles over and try to get to the top from there.

The optimist

Kristy visited this weekend

Me:  Let's stop for lunch.

Him:  After we eat, I'm going to try to plow through some drifts down the trail.

Me: Are we having fun yet?

Hauser Lake

The first day above 50 degrees was mid March this year.  The nice weather inspired us to consult Helena Area HIking Guide, by Cedron Jones.  We decided to try out hike No. 6. and hike to the Fins.

Because it was the first balmy Saturday of 2013, everyone and their dog was out fishing and walking. Maybe because I'm a native Montanan, I consider it a crowd if I see more than a couple of people on the trail during a hike.  So many people were out that we could barely find a place to park.  I don't like walking into someone else's spot when he/she is fishing. According to my upbringing, I am intruding if I do that.

One enjoyable aspect of this hike is the birds along the river in this area. We saw numerous waterbirds cavorting in the water.  They were fun to watch.  Next time I'm bringing my binoculars.

Cedron Jone's book was accurate about the trail:  the first part of the hike was across rocks near the river, but the trail became easier when we found the track 20 feet or so above the river.

If I do this hike again, I am picking a week day and bringing my fishing pole.

Cliffs along the Missouri

The Fins

One of numerous fly fisherman on the river that day.

Hauser Dam

The Importance of Memory

One morning in the summer of 1998 I received a phone call from my friend, Lynn.

"Let's climb Casey Peak today," she invited.

"Isn't that kind of a long, steep hike?"  I asked uneasily.

"It's not bad.  I've done it before."

"But I thought the map showed it at ten miles."

"Oh no. It's not that long. We can do it."

So I gave my 12 year old son permission to play at a friend's house until 3:00 pm when I would pick him up.  Then I set off on the hike with Lynn.  The three mile hike into Casey Meadows was uneventful and went as expected. When we saw the sign stating: Casey Peak 1, it seemed like Lynn's recollection about the length of the hike was on target.

Then reality set in.  The sign proclaiming  "Casey Peak 1"  meant that the trailhead to Casey Peak began in 1 mile, NOT that the top of Casey Peak was 1 mile.  We ran out of water and refilled at a spring.  You never know about the water quality of springs.  An isolated storm cloud hovered over us and hailed on us while all around was blue sky.

As we wound our way up a boulder laden trail with a healthy incline, I blessed my high top hiking boots.  And at 3:00 pm, instead of picking my boy up at a friends', I was arriving at the top of Casey Peak, watching an elk scamper down a mountain to the side of me.

At the top of the mountain I checked my watch and realized that unless the transporter beam from Star Trek was perfected within the next five minutes, I would not be able to pick up my son at the appointed hour. Having no cell phone to make other arrangements, I started hoofing it down the trail.  Then, Lynn suddenly recollected that when she last climbed Casey Peak, they had camped overnight at the meadows.   THAT was why she had remembered the hike as not being that long - they had chopped six miles off of it by camping at the meadows.

 After 5:00 pm I arrived home hoping to find that my son had NOT been dropped of at child protective services as an abandoned child.  Fortunately, the parents had called up my teenage daughters to pick up my boy.  Luckily, my son seemed to survive with mental health intact.   I gathered that from his perspective, I was welcome to stay out on that mountain for the next week and he'd be fine with the arrangement.  I apologized profusely to the friend's parents who, although gracious, gave me the impression that I had the manners of an iguana.  No Mother of the Year Award for me.

So the moral of the story for me was:  1) If the map indicates the hike is ten miles long, it is probably at least that long,  no matter what anyone says.  2) Also, unless you have a topographical map and maybe even if you do, you have no idea how rugged that ten miles is and how long it might take to hike it.  3) In view of 1 and 2, make arrangements for someone else to pick up your children when you go hiking.

Climbing Casey Peak

The spring where we refilled our water

View near the top of the peak.  The area burned in 1988.

Bushwhacking

This week Gail took me on hike off trail.  We bushwhacked up the hill near her place south of town.  The uphills weren't too bad.  Trekking poles would have come in handy on the down hills.  We found our first spring flowers, a flag someone had posted, an old mine, and a view.

Douglasia

We hope to live worthy of our blessings, especially liberty.

Old mine.  Where we live, they are usually old gold mines.

Hiking companions

The other hiking companion.

Yarrow braving the elements.

The view.