Beating the heat at 3 Bitterroot lakes

To beat the heat last Sunday, we took the dogs on a hike to to a trio of lakes that lie just below 10,157-foot Trapper Peak, the highest in the Bitterroot Mountains. The trail to Baker, Middle and Gem lakes is short and steep, but worth the view.



The trail begins uphill to the south of the parking area, then switchbacks steeply west to Boulder Point at a little less than half a mile. After a short section through the forest, the trail crosses a south-facing slope, descending slightly and passing through several open stretches filled with beargrass. The trail then climbs into the forest to Baker Creek, where fallen trees block the way. From here, it's easiest to walk uphill over the flat rock along the creek to the shore of Baker Lake at about 1 1/2 miles. Several campsites are available here, and Trapper Peak stands above the drainage to the west.



Rounding the lake on either side - we went north, through a small boulder field - the trail continues along a marshy stretch of creek though the forest about another mile to Middle Lake, entering the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness along the way.



From Middle Lake, the trail stays north of the creek and rises steeply out of the forest onto more flat rock and along a cascade about 1/3 of a mile to Gem Lake. The clear pool of water sits with snow at its edge even in July, with the false summit of Trapper Peak directly above it to the west. The water was so cold, in fact, that the dogs opted not to swim at Gem.

After a short break - mostly spent swatting at mosquitoes - we made our way back downhill to the trailhead.

Here are more photos from Baker, Middle and Gem lakes.

Distance: 5 1/2 miles round trip.

Trailhead: From Darby, drive about 4 1/3 miles south on U.S. Highway 93 and turn onto West Fork Road. Follow West Fork Road south for 7 miles, then turn northwest onto Pierce Creek Road. (While this turn is listed as being signed in guidebooks and on websites, we found none; the road is adjacent to mile marker 7 and has fenced pastures on each side.) Drive uphill northwest through an intersection; at a second intersection about one mile up, continue northwest as directed by a sign 9 miles to the Baker Lake trailhead.

Canine-friendly cross-country skiing at Como Trails

On Sunday, we traveled south of Hamilton to give the dog-friendly Como Trails cross-country ski area a try and found near solitude, encountering only a handful of people in the first and last mile.

There are plenty of places around Missoula to ski with dogs, but Como is one of only two that allows them on groomed trails. (The other is at Lubrecht Experimental Forest.) It's also the newest cross-country ski area in the region, opening in the winter of 2009-10, and this was our first trip there.

The trails begin above the shores of Lake Como, weaving over and among the ridges to the south. Not being familiar with them, we chose a loop that included Panorama Point, hoping for a good view.



Our route began on a groomed road, then turned onto a narrower trail through the trees. After about 1 1/2 miles, we ascended a steep, untracked section of powder called Uff-Da to Panorama Point. Atop the ridge, we could see the surrounding mountains - the Bitterroots continuing to the west and the Sapphires across the valley to the east - but Lake Como was out of sight, beyond a ridge to the north.

After stopping briefly at the point, we followed a flat trail along the ridge to the next junction, then turned south and skied down to the Chute, which drops steeply to a lower trail at about three miles.

From the bottom of the Chute, it's five miles back to the parking lot on a wide, groomed trail that rolls through a relatively open forest of tall pine trees. Along the way, we passed a couple of parcels of fenced-off property that required a little dog calling - there were horses in one area - but otherwise were no trouble.



We never did get a view of the lake, but there are more trails to explore in the future.

Here are more photos from skiing at Como Trails.

Distance: 8-mile loop. The area has a total of more than 30 miles of groomed trail.

Trailhead: Parking for Como Trails is 12 1/2 miles south of Hamilton on U.S. Highway 93, then 4 miles west on Lake Como Road, above the boat ramp.

Hiking up, up, up to Canyon Lake

Last weekend, with temperatures rising into the 90s around western Montana, we decided to hike up to a lake in the Bitterroot Mountains.

We've hiked the Canyon Lake trail a few times before, but for various reasons never gone all the way to the lake, instead turning back about halfway up the steepest section at an overlook of Canyon Falls. This time, we continued the rest of the way up and found the lake a refreshing spot to stop for lunch.



From the trailhead, the route quickly enters dense forest, roughly paralleling the Canyon Creek to the north. Here, we found an abundance of hairy cat's ear and queen's cup wildflowers.

The trail continues through the forest, occasionally meeting the creek or an opening in the trees revealing the rocky cliffs on the north side of the canyon, for about four miles. Along the way, we began to see beargrass, which is in profusion around western Montana this summer.

After reaching a fairly open aspen stand along the creek where the dogs could could cool off, the trail begins a steep, switchbacked climb up the canyon wall and out of the forest.



About halfway up, the trail reaches the rocky shelf that provides a views of the falls and down the valley to Hamilton. Continuing the climb, we found more wildflowers, including red monkeyflower, larkspur, phlox and purple shooting stars.



The trail re-enters the trees, crosses the high point of the hike, then descends back to the creek and a short distance to the lakeshore at about 5 1/2 miles.



At the lake, several campsites are available and there are several spots on the shore that provide easy access to the water.

After some food and a swim - despite the patches of lingering snow around the lake - we turned back down the canyon and, eventually, the road home.



Here are more pictures from Canyon Lake.

Distance: 11 miles round trip to Canyon Lake.

Trailhead: Just north of Hamilton on U.S. Highway 93, turn west on Bowman Road. After about 3/4 mile, turn south on Ricketts Road. In about 2 miles, the road turns west and continues on Blodgett Camp Road, stopping at an intersection. Continue on Blodgett Camp for about 2 1/2 miles, turning north. Turn west at the intersection with Canyon Creek Road, following the sign, and continue about 2 3/4 miles to the trailhead.

Memories of Mill Creek

Back in May, we took the dogs up the Bitterroot Valley to spend the day hiking at Mill Creek.

A clear, blue sky let the sun shine down on us as spring runoff cascaded through the canyon. Early wildflowers - especially trillium and shooting stars - were abundant.



From the parking area, the trail climbs west gradually on the south side of the creek, past irrigation canals that branch off of it, to a log bridge. After crossing to the north side, the canyon opens up. While a wildfire blackened this part of the canyon in 2000, the green regrowth is evident among the still-standing snags.

The trail continues west on the north side of the creek, past a rock wall that has become popular with climbers in recent years, and at about three miles reaches a rock bench above a cascade that tumbles into a pool - our destination for the day.

After some food, pictures, a dip in the water for the dogs and finding a few ticks, we backtracked to the trailhead.



Here are more pictures of Mill Creek.

Distance: About 6 miles round trip to the cascade, but the trail continues.

Trailhead: From U.S. Highway 93 about 41 miles south of Missoula and 4 3/4 miles north of Hamilton, turn west on Dutch Hill Road and continue 2 1/2 miles. Turn south on Bowman Road and continue about 1/3 mile, then turn west on Mill Creek Trail Road and follow it about 3/4 mile to the parking and picnic area.

Snowshoeing the Bitterroot's Blodgett Canyon

It's been a while since we've been snowshoeing, so last weekend we decided to grab our gear and go to Blodgett Canyon in the Bitterroot Mountains.

While the trail up the canyon is quite popular, we encountered only one other person a short distance from the trailhead at the end of the day, likely because it was Super Bowl Sunday.



We started out in our boots, hiking up the south side of the canyon though a recovering burn area with a mix of young green trees and taller survivors and snags. About half a mile up, we came across a moose in the trees along the trail - fortunately, Belle didn't notice and Josey yipped a couple of times but didn't approach.

After passing the last footprints in the most recent snow - about a mile up the trail, just beyond a wide pool where the creek bends - we decided the powder was deep enough to strap on our snowshoes.

From there, we continued upward, into and out of trees, and past the cascading creek and snow-covered boulder fields. While sunlight lit up the spires on the north side of the canyon, the trail remained in the shadow of the south wall all day. While we saw plenty of more moose tracks, we didn't come across another animal.

At three miles, we crossed the bridge to the north side of the creek, then found some sun a short distance later where the canyon widens, flattens and reaches a boulder field. After a bite to eat and some "family" pictures with the dogs - hopefully, worthy of next year's Christmas card - we turned around and made our way down the canyon.



See more pictures from Blodgett Canyon here.

Distance: About 7 miles round trip, turning around about half a mile past the bridge over Blodgett Creek. (Trail continues).

Trailhead: From U.S. Highway 93 just north of Hamilton, turn west onto Bowman Road, drive about three-quarters of a mile and turn south on Ricketts Road. After about 1 3/4 miles, the road turns west and becomes Blodgett Camp Road. Continue about 4 1/4 miles to the trailhead.

Flowers, falls and a first hike

We took advantage of a beautiful spring day to drive up the Bitterroot Valley and take our new dog on her first real hike, to Bear Creek.

After a month of walking on leash and getting familiar with her new family, Josey got to run under voice control for the first time last week. After an initial burst of excitement, she did well, sticking close to our other dog Belle.



On Sunday, we went into the woods near Victor, following the trail along Bear Creek an easy 1 1/2 miles up. The creek was full, with two channels spilling over the falls, and along the way we found plenty of wildflowers - fairy bells, fairy slipper orchids and some fading trilliums and glacier lilies.

We also found out a couple of things about Josey: She's a water dog, always looking for a way down to the creek or into a mud puddle. And she's a roller; we'll have to be on the lookout for horse droppings.

Here are more photos from Bear Creek.

Distance: 3 miles round trip.

Trailhead: From Victor, drive 3.3 miles south on U.S. Highway 93, 2.3 miles west on Bear Creek Road, 0.8 miles north on Red Crow Road and 3.2 miles west on Red Crow and Bear Creek roads. 

Snowy hike up St. Mary

After spending recent months recovering from leg injuries, we finally got out on our first real hike of the summer in western Montana last weekend.

(Over the winter, I developed very painful Achilles tendinitis in my left leg, and while recovering from that I overcompensated and developed less serious post-tibial tendinitis in my right leg. I've been working with a physical therapist on my running stride and hope to avoid recurrences.)



Jen recently declared her intention to hike up St. Mary Peak in the Bitterroot Mountains south of Missoula for the first time this summer. I've been up it before - once with each of the dogs - but she never has even though she's hiked steeper trails and to higher elevations. On Sunday, we set out early without the dogs and checked it off her list.

The day was beautiful - blue sky, not too hot on the mountain and a slight breeze - and the trail started out clear with abundant wildflowers off to the side. Through the first switchbacks, at about a mile, that changed as snow overtook the path. Though deep, it was firm and the route fairly obvious, so we continued. At one point, we did briefly lose the trail, but turned uphill until we found other tracks in the snow and followed them.

Eventually, the snow disappeared as the trail rose above treeline and revealed a sweeping view of the Bitterroot Valley. In the final mile, we crossed the rocky top of the mountain - which was covered in a variety of cushion plants - and one final patch of snow to the lookout at the top.



After lunch and some pictures, we started down for home, playing in the snow along the way.

More photos can be seen here.

Distance: 7.6 miles round trip.

Trailhead: From Missoula, drive about 25 miles south on U.S. Highway 93, past the Stevensville turnoff, and turn west on St. Mary's Road. Follow the signs about 11.6 miles up to the trailhead.

Backpacking with Gigi

Over the past year, we've watched our 16-year old dog Gigi slow down quite a bit, and one goal going into summer was to get her out on one more backpacking trip. Between rain showers and a flurry of work, we accomplished that with a night at Heart and Pearl lakes, near Superior, over Labor Day weekend.

The hike is tried and true - we've done it numerous times in our years here - and it's ideal in any season. And with all the cool wet weather we had through August, fall's colors are already evident.

The trail tracks south through the trees along Trout Creek, climbs to Heart Lake at about 2 1/4 miles, rounds the shore and rises east out of the forest to a grassy basin holding Pearl Lake at about 3 miles.



Gigi was a trooper the whole way, but was definitely weary by the time we returned to the car. It helped that we had our younger dog, Belle, pack in both pups' food. It was also wise that we brought along fleece blankets for them, as the partly sunny weather Saturday turned into a cloudy chill Sunday morning.

The trip was quick but worth it, as our two tired dogs can attest.

Find more photos from our trip to Pearl Lake here.

Distance: About 6 miles round trip.

Trailhead: From Superior, follow Diamond Match Road southeast and Trout Creek Road southwest - one turns into the other - for 19 miles.

Geography lesson

Where can you see Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Illinois - Illinois? - on the same dayhike? On the Stateline Trail, southwest of Superior.

In the five miles southeast of Cascade Pass, Montana and Idaho make up the ridge that the trail tracks, then there are the Oregon Lakes and Oregon Peak, and Illinois Peak.

There are a variety of access points to the Stateline Trail, Cascade Pass being a relatively easy, but long approach. It's about 25 bumpy, dusty miles by car from Superior. On Tuesday, my dog Belle and I had the trail to ourselves - only one other vehicle was in the parking area, but we never saw anyone else.

From the pass, I've been northwest to Bonanza Lakes before, but this was the first time I've headed southeast to Illinois Peak.

The route is mostly open, grassy forest with gentle ups and downs. In fact, the terrain bears a resemblance to hiking in Scotland or the Australian Alps, especially with the abundant pink mountain heather, top. I was also quite surprised by the variety of wildflowers in bloom - bluebells, a few varieties of penstemon, bracted lousewort, purple shooting stars, heather, yellow pasqueflower, mountain gentian, phlox and more.

At about 1 3/4 miles, the path passes above the uppermost of the three Oregon Lakes, with its deep blue water. The trail steepens at four miles and climbs through some interesting rocks - look for the ripples of old seabed. At about 4 1/2 miles, take the east fork through two junctions, then it's up the final push to the grassy summit of the 7,690-foot mountain.



A great start to a week of vacation!

Here are some photos.

Distance: 10 miles round trip.

Trailhead: From Superior, follow Diamond Match Road on the west side of Interstate 90 about 1 1/4 miles southeast, then Cedar Creek Road (Forest Road 320) 25 miles southwest to Cascade Pass.

Back on the trail, and still going

It's been a while since we've gone on a real hike here at home in Montana. The last time was months ago, when there was still snow on the ground.

It's not that we haven't gotten out; we walk the dogs on trails in and around Missoula almost daily, and we took a spring hiking vacation to Oregon and Washington's Olympic National Park. Mostly, it's because I've been focusing on my training for the Missoula Marathon next weekend. That and one of our dogs is getting older and has understandably been slowing down (more about that later).

Yesterday, we decided to get the dogs out and tired before the Fourth of July fireworks started in hopes that we wouldn't have a bark-fest after sunset.

We've been up the Bass Creek trail a short distance a couple of times - both in the snow - but with a campground at the trailhead, it always seemed like it would be crowded in warmer weather. We decided to give it a try anyway because it's not that far from home. The trail was fairly busy at the start, but about halfway through our hike we found ourselves mostly on our own.



The wide path starts out by steadily climbing west through the forest along the north side of Bass Creek; there are several places to access the water on the way. Just past 1 3/4 miles, it passes an old log dam with a pond behind it where the valley opens up and you can see the surrounding mountains.

From here, the trail travels a fairly level mile through the forest, into the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and to a junction. Continuing on the narrower path to the north, you wind up the side of the canyon to an open parklike area with plenty of views down the valley, then above a big cascade at a little more than 3 3/4 miles.



A rough path leads down to the falls, and we took turns snapping pictures from below and keeping our older dog, Gigi, above and out of danger. As previously noted, she's getting up there - we believe she's about 16, but there's no way to know for sure because she was a stray. She remains our very faithful hiking partner and will follow us almost anywhere, albeit with a little help over logs and rocks.

The trail continues about another 3 1/4 miles up to Bass Lake, but this marked our turnaround point for the day.

See some more pictures here.

Distance: 14 miles round trip to Bass Lake. (We hiked about 7 3/4 miles round trip to the cascade.)

Trailhead: From Missoula, travel about 20 miles south on U.S. Highway 93, then turn west on Bass Creek Road and follow it about 2 3/4 miles to the trailhead parking area.

Skiing in the new year

It's been pretty brown in town this winter - the leaves never fully fell, and it seems like there's been more deep freeze than snowfall. Cross-country ski season began last weekend, however, with our annual New Year's outing.

Originally, I wanted to go to the new Como Trails Cross Country Ski Area south of Hamilton, where dogs are allowed. After reading on the Missoula Nordic Ski Club site about having to hike up to snow, though, we settled on a trip up Lolo Pass without the pups.

The day started out with a handful of vehicles in the parking area and the trails shrouded in fog, but after 6 3/4 miles of skiing the sun was out and the lot was packed.

See some photos here.

Distance: Trails from 1.2 to 14 miles are available; some are shared with snowmobiles. We did a 6 3/4-mile loop that incorporated parts of the Glade Creek and Packer Meadows trails.

Trailhead: From Missoula, drive 9 miles south on U.S. Highway 93 to Lolo, then 32 miles west on U.S. Highway 12 to the Lolo Pass Visitor Center, just over the border in Idaho. (Parking costs $5.)

Time to taper

After more than three months steadily increasing my mileage while training for the Missoula Marathon, I'm down to the last two weeks and the "taper."

I closed out my long runs over the weekend with a last-minute entry in the Mountain to Meadow half marathon on dirt roads just across the border in Idaho's Clearwater National Forest. With beargrass and camas in full bloom at Lolo Pass, it was a fun and beautiful run. And I finished a little quicker than I thought I would considering the 2,200 feet of elevation loss and gain over the 14-mile course - in 1 hour, 58 minutes and 50 seconds.

In this last part of training, my longest run is eight miles, with the average distance a little more than 4 1/3 miles. The theory is to rest you legs for the big event, but it's a little strange, really, after heading out regularly for runs in the high teens.

My main goal for the marathon itself is to finish. The pace I've been training at should bring me in at about four to 4 1/2 hours. After the half last weekend, though, a co-worker and fellow marathoner tells me I could come in under four hours.

We'll see on July 12.

Fun in the sun - and snow

With the weather warming up, we got the chance to stretch our legs for the first time this spring, on the Blodgett Canyon trail near Hamilton.

This classic Bitterroot Valley hike parallels Blodgett Creek, steadily climbing first through forest burned in the wildfires of 2000 and then through boulder fields. The first three miles up to a bridge over the creek afford views of the rocky spires of Printz Ridge.

While the sun was shining and the temperature reached up into the 60s, there was still plenty of snow on the trail after the first couple of miles, and we created our fair share of postholes.

See the photos here.

Distance: 6 miles round trip, turning around at the bridge over Blodgett Creek. (Trail continues).

Trailhead: From U.S. Highway 93 just north of Hamilton, turn west onto Bowman Road. After about three-quarters of a mile, turn south on Ricketts Road and continue 1.7 miles. Here, the road turns west and becomes Blodgett Camp Road. Follow it about 4.25 miles to the trailhead.

Blue sky skiing

After being cooped up for a few weeks, we finally got out, just over the border to the Lolo Pass cross-country ski trails in Idaho. (The dogs stayed home, though, as they're not allowed on the groomed trails.) And, as you can see from the picture above, it was a perfect blue sky day.

Arriving before the crowd, we put together a route roughly seven miles long by connecting part of the Glade Creek Loop and the Packer Meadows Loop.

The last time we skied the Packer Meadows Loop, we started on the northern portion, which seemed to send us up a lot of the steeper sections of trail. This time, we started on the southern portion and got to enjoy glide down those sections.

See more photos here, and check out those brand-new skis Jen is sporting.

Distance: About 7-mile loop. (Variety of trails available, from 1.2 miles to 14 miles.)

Trailhead: From Missoula, drive 9 miles south on U.S. Highway 93 to Lolo, then 32 miles west on U.S. Highway 12 to the Lolo Pass Visitor Center, just over the border in Idaho. (Parking costs $5.)

Ice capades

Between our regular errands, Christmas shopping and decorating the house this weekend, we thought we'd take a quick hike up to a small, scenic waterfall in the Bitterroot Valley.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't exactly cooperative - it tried its best to snow, which mostly ended up as rain, and the trail was coated in an icy slush. I think that's the wettest walk I've been on since tramping around Scotland in the fall of 2007.

Still it was good to stretch our legs, even though we didn't end up with much photo-wise. (What you see above is about the extent of it.)

Distance: 3 miles round trip.

Trailhead: From Victor, drive 3.3 miles south on U.S. Highway 93, 2.3 miles west on Bear Creek Road, 0.8 miles north on Red Crow Road and 3.2 miles west on Red Crow and Bear Creek roads.

Snow dogs

After a month of weekends spent raking leaves, cleaning gutters or indoors due to rain, we finally got back out into the woods with the dogs - and while it's still brown around here, we got up high enough to get into our first real snow of the season.

Check out the latest photos of us at Heart Lake, west of Superior, here.

Distance: 4.4 miles round trip.

Trailhead: From Superior, follow Diamond Match Road southeast and Trout Creek Road southwest - one turns into the other - for 19 miles.