Heading Out - Beartooth Mountains

From Crow Lake, we followed Hellroaring Creek to the Plateau, where we broke camp.

Then, we followed the cairns across the plateau to the trail.

Clouds were rolling in as we headed down the trail.

We got wet. It started to rain when we were about 10 minutes from the trailhead. We'd hiked over 10 miles that day, and we both had sore calves for a couple of days afterward.

Crow Lake in the Beartooth Mountains

The approach to Crow Lake requires a bit of rock jumping. This (above) is the outlet of Crow Lake.

Sylvan Peak rises majestically above Crow Lake.

Again, we only stayed a little while - I guess we ate lunch, then we were on our way back down the trail.

Sylvan Lake Grouse

This Mama Ruffed Grouse had some babies with her. They were hiding in the brush while she kept an eye on us - posing for some nice pictures!

Our time at Sylvan Lake was short. We had a long day ahead of us so we headed down the trail.

Sylvan Lake Golden Trout

We dayhiked from our camp to Sylvan Lake and arrived around 8 AM. The water was completely smooth and so clear. We saw many trout rising to the surface. We started fishing right away.

It wasn't long before I caught my first Golden Trout.

Small, but brightly colored.

Released back into the lake.

Camping on the Red Lodge Plateau

Our camp on the plateau

This picture was taken about 6:30 AM, as the sun was reaching our campsite.
We'd camped atop the plateau because I was experiencing extreme leg cramps and felt I could not make it the next 1 1/2 miles to Sylvan Lake before dark.
It turned out to be one of the most peaceful camps I have ever experienced in the wilderness.
At this altitude, plant life is stunted and animals are infrequent. Our camp was completely silent. No sounds of wind, moving water, insects, or animals. It was a very unique experience!
And when we got up in the night to relieve ourselves - the stars were AMAZING with a 360 degree view and SO BRIGHT!

The cairns guided us across the plateau, and then the trail started dropping down into the Hellroaring Creek Valley.

One of the few animals we saw on the plateau - this

Pelidne Sulphur Butterfly. I used this website to identify it!

East Rosebud Trail to Sylvan Lake

East Rosebud Trailhead - you can see East Rosebud Lake to the right.

I wanted to see a Golden trout, and there are only a few lakes in the Beartooth's where that's possible. The only one accessible by trail is Sylvan Lake. This hike involves a 3000 foot altitude gain in just 5 miles, so I knew it would be tough for me. I thought if we got an early start - it would be manageable.
We'd planned to do this trip two weeks earlier, but Joe had a cold, so the trip was delayed. Then we had house guests for 8 days. Finally, the day our guests left, we packed up and headed for the trailhead. We got into road construction between Columbus and Roscoe, and did not arrive at the trailhead until 3 PM. It was HOT - over 80 degrees, and we would need to climb to the top before we could hope to find a spot level enough for camping.

I was packing 30 lb and Joe had a 40 lb pack. We each had 3 bottles of water.

The climb offered spectacular views of the East Rosebud drainage.
The trail was overgrown with berry bushes of all kinds. But we couldn't spare the time to stop and taste. These colorful berries - I don't think are edible.

A huge forest fire burned through much of this valley in 1996. It was exciting to see the new growth of the forest coming along so well! Soon the views will be gone - hidden in the trees!

When we reached the plateau, the trail disappeared and some very well built cairns began to appear.

It was getting late and we were tired and low on water. We consulted the map to estimate the distance to Sylvan Lake, where we hoped to camp. My legs were cramping severely! We had just done the equivalent of 4 hours of stair climbing in the gym! I was not sure I could make it another mile and a half to the lake!

Calamity Falls Dayhike, Beartooth Mountains

We recently did a family hike with our niece and two grandkids. The kids ranged from 10 years to 4 years old and it was the first hike for all of them.

We hiked 1 1/4 miles to Calamity Falls from the West Fork Rock Creek Trailhead.

The view was terrific.

We stopped at a nice wide spot in the creek for our lunch.

Then, the clouds started building so we hit the trail.
We got rained on during the hike back to the car. Even so, nobody complained and all seemed to really enjoy the hike!

Zoo Montana

I recently visited Zoo Montana with my niece and step-grand daughter.
We were fortunate to get a great view of the bear!

Enjoying it's bone.

This was our best viewing at the zoo. I counted just 7 animals we saw outside, although we viewed at least a dozen small rodents and reptiles inside. We were disappointed that we did not see the otters, wolverine, porcupine, deer, etc. - as they were all being kept inside during our visit!

Design Wall

Here, I am messing around with some of my screen printed hand dyed fabrics. This group is on my design wall, currently. I am hoping to come up with a combination that will be a suitable background for some of the petrified wood chips I picked up (which I want to sew on the quilt, if possible). The William Henry Holmes drawing is pertinent because it shows the area we visited - Petrified Forest in Tom Miner Basin.