On a gray day, three GiG gals headed to Helena, hoping for no rain. The predictions were for rain and wind in Great Falls all week, so we went south since the weather looked more favorable that direction.

And we were right. We didn't get rained on and no wind! Although, we were quite cold when we started, necessitating gloves and jackets.Susan never did strip down to her last layer, I think a first for her. Mary kept all five of her layers on the whole time, with Katie taking off one layer just to put it back on once we reached our ridge top snack break.

We did encounter a few hikers (two with dogs) and quite a few bikers, who were a bit scary due to how fast and silently they came upon us. But everyone was respectful and polite. The hikers yielded to uphill traffic while we stepped off the trail for the bikers, so they wouldn't have to lose their momentum.

We took the Don't Fence Me In trail to the Water Line to the TR to the Pinchot to the Rodney Ridge and Meadow trails, which completed a nice loop.  At the far end of the Rodney Ridge trail, we continued up a spur trail to view the Top of the World view spot and then backtracked to our loop.  The views were lovely even though the low clouds blocked the far mountains.  We could still see snow-capped peaks as well as the surrounding hills, houses and creeks.

The trail is a variety of forest, meadow and ridgelines with views. We also saw 14 flowers: fitillary, 9-leaf biscuitroot, cous biscuitroot, American vetch, fairybells/red twin berry, pasque flower, arrowleaf balsamroot, buttercup, phlox, douglasia, virgin's bower/clematis, skunkcap sumac, shooting star to name a few.

A few times we were confused about the trails as there were unmarked social trails. However, with the aid of the South Hills Trail map and our cell phones, we easily found our way.

The trip took us just under 3 hours to complete, and then we headed to lunch at the Brew Pub, but first we stopped at the Base Camp to purchase more maps and take a look at gear.

We got back to GF just after 4 p.m. to face the howling winds.

     A group of nine ladies headed out after work to the Highwoods to try the North Fork Trail for an evening hike. There were clouds looming over the Little Belts but the Highwood mountains looked inviting. It was nice to have Bonnie along on the drive because she was raised in the area and gave us some history and showed us the family ranch with all of the newborn calves that her brother now runs. She also pointed out some sketchy bridges and guided us on the dirt road. 

     We arrived at the parking area and then crossed a small foot bridge to the trail head. All though the hike is a short one, it is a little steep and starts in the trees and heads to a ridge where the view are super. You can see Baldy which still has some snow on the top of the mountain.  After the ridge we came to a stand of trees and five of the group lead by Katie, headed to the top. The rest of the group continued along the trail to meet up with them. When we stopped we were in voice contact with them but they did not show up so our group turned around and then waited for them on the ridge. We started down the trail and very shortly the group was in view.

Although the flowers are late this year, we still saw 20 different varieties, including pasque, cous biscuitroot, fritillaries/yellow bell, sugar bell, chickweed, woodland star, shooting star, golden pea with the arrowleaf balsamroot just starting.

     We were dismayed to fine that motorcycles had used the trail and also there were other vehicles had climbed a hill by the parking lot when motorized vehicles were to remain on the road.

After a beautiful evening for a hike we returned to Great Falls at 8:30 just as a few drops of rain came down. Thanks Amber and Jeanne for driving.

The ladies who went were: Amber, Rose, Judy, Jeanne, Beth, Katie, Gail, Bonnie W and Christi.

Two groups of the GiG headed out for a day in Many Glacier to see Apikuni and Redrock falls. Both groups found more snow than expected.

Longer Hike Group

​6 a.m.  group
Brenda Brooks
Susan Woyth
Viki Gallagher
Judy Held
Amber Pedersen
Mary Somerfeld
Karen Spencer
Kuntzie Kuntz  

Highlights of our trip:
Kuntzie woke up late so that gave Susan time to grab a coffee while we waited. At the  turnoff Amber made the rookie mistake of not speaking up about the bathroom and wound up having to 'read a sign" on the side of the road prior to arriving in Browning.  

As we entered the park Susan was deeply concerned about how low the water was and expressed her dismay several times. Finding an open bathroom proved more challenging than we first thought. Pete, a lone hiker was very helpful with suggestions...there was great little loner pit toilet in a parking lot behind the Many Glacier hotel that we finally found. We made our way back to the Apikuni trailhead and began our journey. We ran into Pete again taking pictures of the pasque flowers (crocus), and he joined us to the falls. 

The trail was nice with minimal snow to traverse.  The temperature was perfect and the wind was practically non existent (no, really!) The elevation gain was just enough to get the heart pumping! Judy decided pants were optional and did not need her under tights-- and Amber quickly learned the Lesson of the day: Snow does not mean cold!  The Apikuni Falls were absolutely beautiful and it was great little jaunt to get our day started. Pete continued on above the falls and we met with the sister GIG group on our way back down. 

We were all so enthusiastic about our great little loner pit toilet we decided it was worth another stop on our way to the Bullhead lake trailhead.  Some folks had mentioned a Mama bear and cubs on the road but we did not see anything other than an impressive pile of scat. 

The trailhead to Bullhead lake looked quite promising until about 500 ft. past the bridge.  Much of the trail was shaded by trees and the snow had not completely melted.  Probably 75% of our journey to Red Rock Falls was through the snow.  We had nice deep moose tracks to helps us avoid some of the deeper post holing spots but never did find our moose guide. We had lunch at Red Rock Falls and after a brief, unsuccessful scouting trip to find the trail to Bullhead Lake we determined it was not to be. Kuntzie had already determined she was not going any further!  The snow was far too deep and we did not want to risk losing Judy up to her hips again! 

The snow coming back was very slushy and slippery and the post holing was quite frustrating as well.  Our only wildlife were some gophers and ducks with white stripes.  We did earn ourselves a nice little merit badge for finding lost bear spray and sunglasses on the way out. Once we changed out of our slushy shoes we just could not miss the opportunity the stop by our great little loner pit toilet again.  As we left the park and started into the reservation we all shared in the concern for just how low that darn water really was!  

Gas in Browning and on  to dinner at Buffalo Joe's.  Our sister group was already there and eating and after a small panic by the hostess we all enjoyed an wonderful meal.  All in all it was a great day in the park and good times were had by all!

Shorter Group HIke
Our group left Great Falls at 7:00 a.m.:  Gail, Maria, Anita, Jeanne, and Jo Ann. Gail drove. We stopped in Browning for gas and snacks; then, proceed on to Many Glacier. There was snow on part of the trail to Apikuni Falls. Not difficult, but on the way down we wore our Yak Traks; the snow was melting and slippery in spots. As we were going up the trail, we met the other group coming down. The Falls were beautiful and the snow-capped mountains glistened in the warm sun.

Then, we proceed on to the bathroom and lunch at the Many Glacier picnic area on Swiftcurrent Lake. After lunch, we proceeded on to Red Rock Falls Trail. However, after a short time on the trail, observing other hikers post holing and falling in the snow, Gail suggested we turn around and all quickly agreed. Then, we went to the Many Glacier Hotel to check out the trails.

Again, too much snow. We took photos and relaxed in the sun, enjoying the spectacular view of the snow covered mountains. The hotel was in various stages of renovation, including painting the outside. Maria and Anita took a peak inside. On our way home, we stopped at Buffalo Joes in Dupuyer.

​We had 6:15 p.m. reservations, but since we hiked less than planned, we arrived around 4:30 p.m. Since dinner service begins at 5 p.m., we ordered off the lunch menu. The food was fair, not as good as in past stops. We then proceeded on to Great Falls. A sunny, warm, scenic day in Glacier was enjoyed by all.

Twelve gals headed out for an evening walk along the north shore of the Missouri at 4:15 p.m., going from the Morony Dam trailhead to the Ryan Dam trailhead. First we parked a car at Ryan and then continued to Morony.

We enjoyed a slight breeze but not the winds we had expected while the storm clouds kept their distance, hanging over the Highwood Mountians, so the weather really cooperated.
The river was gorgeous as were the hoodoos and the few flowers we saw: cous biscuitroot, phlox, golden peas, sumac,  cushion milkvetch and American vetch.

The eye of the needle and the hoodoos stood out along the bank. One thing that really surprised us was the silt that formed numerous sandbars even though the water was high.The run-off from the farms must be getting worse.  We wondered how the flow of the river was being affected with the narrowing of the main channels.

We didn't see any snakes although several gals collected a tick or two, especially those hiking toward the front. Sara even had one embedded, we think a first for a GiG hike.

We got back around 9 p.m.

​Who went: Maria, Susan W, Judy, Amber, Jo Ann, Gail, Bonnie, Sara, Susan C, Rose, Kuntzie, Katie

There probably wasn't a dry foot after we finished our 6.5-mile hike in the Trout Creek Canyon by York, as the creek was running high. We had 22 stream crossings, some of which were tricky: see-saw logs, slippery rocks and muddy shorelines. A few of the gals wondered what they had gotten into.

But the creek wasn't the only obstacle of the day; we also had ice and snow as well as felled trees to maneuver over and ticks to pick out of our clothing and hair.

The day started at 7 a.m. We arrived at the trailhead by 9 and hit the trail at 9:20 after a quick bathroom break at the Vigilante campground.

Of course, no spring trip to Trout Creek would be complete without looking for the Kelseya uniflora rose. We saw some great blooming specimens above the entrance kiosk (which were too far away to see well) and also at the end of the main trail, about one-mile down the road. This spot, however, requires an off-trail, through the bushes, trek for a good viewing; several of us ventured for a close-up look of the dainty flowers; however, those who did picked up a few ticks in the process.

The rest of the Kelseya mats we saw were not flowering yet.

We only saw a handful of people and two bikers on the trail. When we started, we were the only vehicles in the parking lot.

On the way back through the canyon, several of the gals gave up on rock hopping and simply walked through all of the crossings, preventing any falls. At the very end, we came across a solo climber working his way up one of the rock faces. He did have a rope anchored at the top. We watched as he ascended and clapped when he reached the top of the pinnacle.

After our hike, we had a discussion about where to eat, the York Bar of the Grubstake. Decision was the Grubstake, so we headed past York toward the Lincoln exit in Helena for our late lunch/early dinner. We were so happy to fit in a hike with an impending blizzard on the way.  We had only had a few sprinkles; we were able to drive back without much precipitation too.

Although we had canceled a trip to Glacier as the weather had already turned for the worse to our north, we weren't disappointed in our canyon obstacle course.

We arrived back in Great Falls around 5:30.

Who went: Brenda, Susan W, Viki, Judy, Paula, Amber, Susan C,Maria, Beth, Katie

Bighorn sheep, a dead deer, pair of American kestrels, hawks and wildflowers--yes it is spring, and three GiG gals had a beautiful warm-weather hike at Holter lake.

We started at 8 a.m. and got on trail by 10. We were treated to a flower show: pasque, fritillary/yellow bells, shooting stars, phlox, douglasia, nine-leaved biscuitroot, alyssum, Wyoming kitten tails and sumac.

The trail starts up going uphill to a ridge, but we went off trail to the top of a knob; we named it Rattler Peak since Katie saw a rattle snake. She heard it and then saw it coiled up under a rock, waiting to strike. As she backed away, the snake did too, retreating into its den under an overhanging rock. From then on, we were very cautious around the rocks and tapped our poles on those we had to go by on the trail. Luckily, we didn't see any others. But we did come across a deer carcass and then higher up, the a hide that we figured was from the carcass that a cat probably dragged.

At the top, we had a snack, but not wanting to take off our packs or sit down for fear of ticks (we never did see one, thank goodness). We enjoyed the views over the lake, marveled at the erosion of silt into the sides of the lake and marveled at the back side of the Sleeping Giant.

Then we dropped down the mountainside to the Log Gulch campground to have our lunch at the nice picnic tables there. We even had nice outhouses for our use. We talked to a ranger there, who was getting prepared for the summer season. He informed us that there were some changes to the campground, trying to alleviate some of the partying in the past.  He also said some of the sites would be reservation now, so people didn't have to rely on first-come, first-served. We told him about the rattler and he knew about it. He also mentioned mountain lions, which furthered our thoughts about the carcass we saw earlier.

Then we headed back uphill to return on a loop trail to the Juniper campground. Along the way, we happened upon five bighorn sheep, all females and yearlings.

The day was gorgeous with clear blue skies with fluffy white puffy clouds. 

Who went: Amber, Susan and Katie

The GiG and WoW (Women of Wonder from the Waterton area) headed out on Thursday from their respective homes to meet at Marias Pass for snowshoeing on the Pike Creek Trail. The GiG left at 6:45 and arrived right at 9:30 but behind the Canadians.  As the GiG left Browning, we received and call from an upset Mary N who had overslept her alarm and wouldn't be able to come until later in the day as she was driving from Missoula.

The trail was pretty good, with not too many postholes, until we arrived at the base of Flattop Mountain. We enjoyed breaking into the burn area, the dead trunks pretty against the snow and the views of Summit and Little Dog Mountains coming into view.  All was going well until Anita fell into a tree well up to her waist. Luckily, Paula was able to dig her out quickly as one snowshoe had caught under a buried branch. After a few more sunk, we decided the snow conditions weren't good to continue, so we turned around about a mile and a half into the hike. It was still a fun trail with pretty views.

Since we cut the hike short by two miles, we arrived two hours early into the Snow Slip for lunch; and since the weather looked like it would turn rainy the rest of our days, we decided it would be best to make this a long day and hike to Garry Lookout after lunch. No sense climbing the mountain if you can see anything, we figured, so we might as well go for it on a clear day. This turned out to be a good decision--the views were fantastic.  

The only bad thing was that the Garry Lookout snowshoe was the one Mary really wanted to do, so with no cell service, all we could do is swing into the Izaak Walton on our way and hope she had arrived.  She had--she was in the parking lot. We loaded her up into Katie's car and headed down to mile marker 168, hoping the pull out was plowed. It was.

We got on trail at 3 p.m. but didn't get done until 7 p.m., yet it was still light. The snow was uneven, with some sinking, which took us a bit longer. We even faced some bare spots.  At the top, we didn't find an igloo as in years past. We surmised that the weather had been too cold this year; however, the waitress at the lodge later told us there just wasn't enough snow to build one. The cold wouldn't have stopped them from building it, she said.

Then it was back to the lodge to check in, the Canadians at the main lodge and the GiG at the Withrow house, a block away. Some had a soak in the hot tub, showers for others. Beth and Amber arrived around 8:30 p.m. and joined us for a Get to Know You activity with the Canadians at the Withrow house. Most everyone enjoyed the game, saying they not only learned about the Canadians but also about the gals in our own group.

On a side note: The Withrow house had a mouse; it skittered around several rooms, including the bedrooms where Katie and Anita were. We tried to shoo it outside, but instead it went behind the stove.  We informed the front desk person, who sent over a maintenance man with two traps.  Apparently, the workers had been trying to catch the mouse for some time--nice they told us. We also faced many, many spiders. Anita, being an arachnophobe, wanted them all killed, but they just kept hatching.  We must have killed over 100, each night more coming out.

The next day, we left the lodge at 9:30 a.m. for snowshoeing on the Izaak Walton groomed trails. We took the Essex Creek Trail, connected to the Towering Pines and ended on Pileated.  Instead of snowshoes, most used yaktrax, with minimal sinking. Then after lunch, we met back up at 2 p.m. for a hike along the Ole Creek trail over the hanging bridge that spans Ole Creek--which gave the newbies a thrill--stopping for side trips along the horse fords to see the convergence of Ole Creek and Middle Fork of the Flathead River. Gorgeous.

Back at the lodge, we had a lovely, albeit pricey, dinner at the lodge (the Huckleberry Bread Pudding was amazing) and then finished with a game of Left, Right, Center in the downstairs lounge for some while others soaked.  Katie asked about the mouse at the front desk. They said it was caught by the foot and they took care of it. They thanked us for showing them where the mouse had gone under the stove.

The next day, we said goodbye to the Canadians (it was sprinkling, so they didn't want to snowshoe before they left, and instead went grocery shopping in Browning), while GiG headed to West Glacier for hiking the Fish Creek Bike trail into the campground and possibly Rocky Point.  The snow was a bit uneven again, but we were able to use yaktrax instead of snowshoes with minimal sinking.When we arrived at the campground, we were greeted to nice views, wind and no other people, a first for some of us in West Glacier. We ate a quick lunch at the picnic area in the cold wind and took the campground street back to the Camas road and followed it to our cars. Along the way, Susan tried to right a sign that had turned upside down.

Then we drove to Apgar, shopped and took photos across Lake McDonald, so pretty surrounded with snow-capped mountains. Then it was on to the Snowslip for a late lunch/early dinner so we could then just stay and relax at the lodge or the Withrow house, play Catch Phrase/Dominoes and not drive again. Amber and Beth watched basketball games, but Amber joined in the games. A few took a one-mile walk around the town of Essex, marveling at the names on the cabins, the very fancy and the very rustic.

The next morning, it was raining and had been all night, By the time we went to breakfast at 9 a.m. the rain had turned to snow. it looked like winter again.  

Our drive home wasn't too bad (we left at 11) --just a few slushy patches necessitating slower speeds over Marias Pass. As soon as we got to the east side of the mountains, the weather started clearing. By the time we hit Browning, we had clear skies with clouds in the distance.

On the way home, we stopped in Browning, Bynum (we hoped the shops would be open, but they weren't) and Choteau. Unfortunately, we didn't see the migration of snowgeese, even though we drove by Freezeout Lake. Two swans were in a  pond, but that was it.

We arrived back in GF by 2 p.m.

Who went: Susan, Mary Irene, Mary N, Anita, Amber, Beth, Jeanne, Sara, Katie (Canadians: Laura, Kathy, Carol, LaVern, Joan, Sharon, Paula, Dina

Mary S and Katie headed out to Canada, passports in hand, after work on a Friday night.  It was stressful getting out of town with the hurrying to get on the road so we would finish our trip in the daylight, but we fought a lot of Friday-night traffic.  To add to our hurry, we wanted to make it to the border at least a half hour earlier than the closing time in case we drew an inspection (or else they will turn you around if no time to complete the inspection before closing)

So we made it in what we thought would be plenty of time--by 6:30 with the closing at 8 p.m., or at least that is what Katie read on the website. However, the first posted hours were summer hours, not winter and summer didn't start for another month. So, we arrived at the border a half hour late instead of early!  The border patrol talked to us but didn't have authority to let us through. It takes a customs employee, and they had already left.  The officer suggested we head to Sweet Grass, which is open 24/7. This would add two hours to our trip, but we started out returning first to Cutbank and then on to Shelby.  

We didn't have much for service along the road leading to the Del Bonita crossing, but Katie got two bars in one place and was able to message the Canadians that we would be two hours late, with an arrival time around 10. They suggested going through Carway instead, which Katie had read closed at 8; However, Laura said she was sure it was open until 11 p.m. So, we diverted to Browning instead of Shelby as soon as we hit Cutbank. Going this direction saved us about 40 minutes, for which we were very grateful.

Even though we had to drive the extra miles and time, we were treated to the most beautiful sunset we had ever seen. it was orange and pink with radiating rays spreading across the mountains of Glacier and the town of Browning; it even held the entire way on Duck Lake road, showcasing chief mountain and then fading as we hit Babb We felt the Lord wanted us to go this way just so we could see this wonderful sight.

We arrived at Barry and Laura's house around 8:30, where they had kept our dinner for us, and what a wonderful dinner: homemade cornbread, spinach and berry salad and nachos. Then it was time for bed so we could get up in the morning for a snowshoe with the rest of the gals, plus one gal's husband.

The next morning, we met up at 8:15 at church in Mountain View and then with the Lethbridge group in the town of Pincher Creek. Then another 45 minute drive took us to the parking lot of Syncline ski area along the West Castle River with Castle mountain for a backdrop.

This area reminded us a lot of Silver Crest, with groomed trails.  The one difference is that they allow snowshoes on all of the trails, as long as they stay off the ski tracks and go single file. The Canadians had nice signs pointing out trail etiquette.

We took a five-mile, mostly flat loop, that took us by a small lake.  The snow was a bit spare in spots, icy in others and slushy at the end of the day as it was sunny and around 45 degrees under a blue sky. We saw a moose on just off the trail and two moose on the way in, so Katie was very happy to see her spirit animal.

Loch, Paula's husband, who works for Parks Canada in Waterton, gave us an interpretive tour of the animal tracks and flora along the way. We saw wolf tracks, vole, deer, moose, pine martin, squirrel and rabbit. After we finished, Laura brought out some homemade Ginger snap cookies--yummy!

Then Laura took ua a few more miles up the road to see the small alpine ski resort, which reminded us of Showdown, except with only two lifts and very steep runs.  The area has some cabins and condos as well as an RV park. No one knew if we could rent cabins there or if we would have to stay in Pincher Creek, the 45-minutes away.

We finished by 2 p.m. and returned home by 7:30 p.m. after a a very pretty drive along the Rocky Mountain Friont. We hoped to see snowgeese, but Freezeout Lake was still frozen over, so not too much bird migration was going on.

All in all, we had a great time and learned about a new area in case we want to take a winter road trip.

We left town at 7 a.m., meeting our sister group from Canada--the WoW (Women of Wonder/Waterton) at the East Glacier convenience store and gas station by 9:30.  Then we continued to the trailhead where we met Laurie, who is from East Glacier. She had a rare day off from waitressing at the Two Med Grill. All told, we had 16 gals ready to snowshoe, with two (Desirae and Gail) taking a more leisurely pace and going four miles, while the rest of us signed up for the 7.5 miler.

The weather prediction was for a cloudy day bringing rain at night, but we had blue skies to start along with a bit of wind. As we headed out, we realized the snow wasn't very settled after our weird year of no snow through January and then tons of snow but below zero temperatures in February. With no chinooks, the snow never formed a solid base, hence those with smaller snowshoes were falling in all day. Even those with tails and larger shoes were sinking at times.

Luckily, it wasn't too many postholes or we may have given up. Had we done so, however, we would have missed the absolutely stunning views of Rising Wolf Mountain (the largest land mass, but not highest, mountain in Glacier Park). The surrounding mountains, though not as commanding, were also impressive: Scenic Point, Henry, Apistoki, Lone Walker, Sinopah, Rockwell, Never Laughs, Bisonhead, Painted Teepee, Red and Spot mountains, among others.  Each round of the bend brought a different perspective and new peaks into view.

Along the trail, we saw many different tracks, some we thought might be wolverine, a small cat of some sort and a mountain lion.

We made it just over  3.5 miles in, past the seven-mile highway marker to the wide pull out in the road. This area, Laurie calls "Rising Wolf Curve," a fitting name since this handsome red mountain dominates the skyline.

Lower Two Med lake was still frozen but with areas starting to thaw. At our lunch spot, we could see the total white of Two Med Lake, not showing signs of any melt yet. As we stopped, we felt the chill and pulled on our caps and coats against the wind. But once we were back on trail, we warmed up quickly. As a side note, Katie started to pull out her water bottle and saw a Bud Light next to it. Actually, it was empty. Susan had found it on the road and decided we should pick up trash.

On the way back down, we spotted bear scat and many moose droppings, more than on our way up. As the snow softened, more gals took tumbles as the snow collapsed under them. Of course, those of us with cameras had to document the fall-ins.

We arrived at the cars at 3:30, while the other group finished at 1:30. They walked the Two Med road and chatted until we returned.

Then it was time to say goodbye to the Canadians and Laurie while the Great Falls group headed to Choteau for dinner at the Log Cabin. We were hungry and thought about stopping in Dupuyer at Buffalo Joe's, but we called and they said they were booked for the night with a wedding and other parties. We had to put off our appetites for another 40 minutes, but that put us closer to home. 

We thought we might see some snowgeese and swans on the way past Freezeout lake. We did see a pond of swans near Fort Shaw but nothing else.

We arrived in GF at 7:30, a great day of exercise and camaraderie. And when Katie got home and added up the miles, she discovered that we welcome Susan C to the 100-miler Club! Congrats, Susan.
​
Who went: GF--Gail, Desirae, Joanne, Paula, Susan W, Susan C, Viki, Sara, Mary S, Amber, Katie, EG: Laurie; Canada--Laura, Dina, Paula, Joan

The Kings Hill to Silver Crest is a fun walk through hike, necessitating at least two vehicles for a car shuttle to the top while leaving one at Silver Crest, the ending point.  We had one more twist in our shuttle day: We were dropping off Maria at Showdown for a morning of skiing on a memorial day for a friend of her son's.

We left Great Falls at 8 a.m. and were on trail at 9:45 after a stop at the Inconvenience Store in Neihart. We had a cramped ride with 7 gals and gear, including skis in Katie's Traverse; luckily, it was a short ride to Showdown, where we left Maria off, telling her we would return around 2 p.m.

The day was beautiful with no wind as we started the climb up the Ranch Creek/O'Brien Creek back country ski trail. We did have to break trail all of the way to the bowl where the snowmobilers play, but the snow was powdery, so it wasn't bad. We all took our turns out front.

When we hit the bowl and the Powerline trail, we saw a few snowmobilers, but not many, and they were staying away from the creek areas where we were as the snow wasn't stable.  We saw several places where the water and thin ice were visible.

Then we crossed the bowl area to get on the road.  Katie pointed out where to go to hit the E-Loop on Silver Crest if we were on skis; some wanted to see the loop, so we took the quarter-mile spur trail until we met the groomed trail. We actually saw two skiers on the E-Loop, which is the first time. Usually no one is on this run.  Then, when we turned around, we met a couple following our tracks. They said they were doing O'Brien Creek; we informed them that they had missed their turn quite a ways back. We told them they could backtrack, which might be quite a long way or instead head up the Powerline and back to their car at the top of Kings Hill.  They could also have cut cross country to hook back up to the trail, but that might not be a good idea without a GPS. We could tell that gal wasn't into making for even a longer day, so we told them to go the Powerline for sure and save O'Brien for another day.

Then we backtracked to the cat track and followed it around to the Silver Crest Parking lot. We made very good time, arriving at 12:30, which put us back at Showdown by 1 p.m., so we thought we would have a cool drink or some snacks while we waited. Then we found Maria was already waiting for us inside, so it worked out perfectly.  

We got back around 2:30.
Who went: Susan, June, Viki, Sue, Amber, Kaite and tag-along Maria