The GiG welcomed another Bonnie to the group (we have four!) as Bonnie Jorgensen joined us for our hike up three high points: Mount Ascension, the tallest; Bompart Hill and Meatloaf, the shortest. Only two are on maps (besides the S. Hills map), so we count two in our "peaks" challenge).

The day started at 6:45 a.m. since it was going to be warm and possibly smokier as the day wore on.  And some of us had electronic meetings in the evening, including a book talk with the author of The Wolverine Way, so we wanted to get home early. We had two groups: one led by Bonnie Jensen and Katie and one with Susan and Gail.

We got to the Beattie street trailhead and on trail at 8:45; We started uphill right away, attempting Ascension first, taking rests along the way and having fun visiting since so many of us haven't seen much of others due to COVID-19. This is about 1,000 feet of gain. At the saddle, we continued to the overlook area before going up the actual peak, having a break and snack with views of the capital area, Carroll college and the Sleeping Giant. The views were pretty good; some of the smoke had cleared out of the sky, especially to the east. The south was still quite hazy. We marveled at the huge, fancy home built along the south hills and some right on top of the ridges, but we worried about fires burning them to the ground someday soon.

Then we continued along our way, but instead of just going back down to our cars, we took alternate routes and explored a new area: the Meatloaf trail.  As we headed to Meatloaf Hill, we saw a trail that said "connector" on it. It wasn't on our map, so we wondered where it went, but we didn't have time to explore it today.

We came across the Capitol overlook and went off trail to go to the top for another view of the town and the surrounding mountains before continuing to Meatloaf Hill, a gorgeous rock outcropping with even more views, this time closer to the town.  In this place, we sat on the rocks and had lunch, a mere quarter mile from our cars.

We arrived back to the cars at 12:30 and Katie's husband arrived right at the same time from his excursion to Mount Helena.  At this point, Katie asked who would like to climb the second high point, which required a short drive.  Four decided to head back, but Nora, Maria, Bonnie Jensen, Susan, Katie and her husband decided to tackle the second hill.

This was really a fun new discovery, short with great views with several loops.  On top of Bompart Hill was the biggest cairn we had ever seen, so big we could stand on it, so we all climbed up and posed for a picture. Maria had never done sticks in the air, so we did with Katie's hubby Tom doing the honors.

This trail runs right up against houses and fences, so we had glimpses into people's backyards. We found a bird house hanging on a tree, signed by a young child and hose leading to dog water bowls for those with thirsty hiking companions. There are two trailheads, one with parking and one with just space on Diehl street--this is the one we took. And the Connector Trail we saw earlier? We saw where it came into the Bompart Hill Prickly Pear trails, so we needn't have driven over. Next time, we will take the trail and do a longer hike.

We were back to the car by 2:30 and home by 4 p.m., plenty of time ahead of our 6 p.m. electronic meetings and book talks.

The trails in the South Hills areas are quite interesting with many mine tailings and holes from extracting silver and gold.  This area was also used for training during WWII, so soldiers could be prepared for the cold if sent to Russia, so many trenches still remain in addition to the mines scarring the land. The one thing to keep in mind is that the trails can be crowded. Even going early in the morning on a weekday, we ran into about eight groups and one solo man and many dogs.  The trails are also open to bike riders, so be aware.

Who went: Gail, Susan, Sara, Bonnie Jorgensen, Nora, Katie, Bonnie Jensen, Maria, Noreen

Two GIG groups left Great Falls as 7 a.m. for a hike to Our Lake aka Hidden Lake, about 30 miles out of Choteau. It was a clear, blue sky morning with the feel of fall in the air, a welcome relief from the hot, smoky days the past weeks. Viki met us in Choteau. Another group from Conrad met us at the trailhead. The faster group (Sara, Viki, Bonnie J, and Maria) headed up the trail first and were quickly out of sight. Then, the leisurely group (Jo Ann, Carol S, Bonnie W, Shelley and two non-GIG friends, Louellen and Kathy) started up the trail. We arrived at the lake about 20 minutes after the faster group.  

Our Lake sits at 7,295 feet, a 1506 ft climb in 3 1/2 miles, mostly forested with a series of gradual switchbacks, scenic viewpoints, and a waterfall at 2.7 miles. A few wildflowers were in bloom: Harebell, Indian Paintbrush, Explorer’s Gentian, Fringed Grass of Parnassus, Arrow Leaved Groundsel, Elk Thistle and Aster.  Most had gone to seed.  

Both groups ate lunch above the lake, a spectacular view but windy. Frequently, mountain goats traverse the cliffs above the lake, but none were in view today.  After lunch and photos, the faster group headed down the trail, soon out of sight. Then, the leisurely group followed.  

Everyone stopped at the Log Cabin in Choteau for pie and/or burgers. We socially distanced into three groups. Delicious food, especially the huckleberry/rhubarb and huckleberry/cherry pie. Yummy! 

A beautiful day in the mountains with friends rejuvenates the spirit. This hike was a first for Maria and Viki.  Everyone said they had a great day. We arrived in Great Falls a little after 6 p.m. ​

Three GiG members from the east side plus two husbands met one GiG member from the west side at Marias Pass for a climb of two peaks: Flattop and Elkcalf in the Badger-Two Medicine area, across Highway 2 from Glacier Park.

We left town at 6 a.m. in a haze of smoke, which cleared as we traveled north, making our sunrise pretty. With no traffic (usually this time of year we pick up farm traffic early in the morning on the Valier cutoff), we made good time and arrived at the pass in  two hours 15 minutes, even with a bathroom break in Conrad.

The skies were fairly clear when we started out on our hike, but by the end of the day, the smoke was thick as the west wind picked up and blew it in.

We got on trail well before 9 am and easily climbed Flattop, about a mile and 600 feet from the parking area.  It took us a bit longer than normal as the huckleberries and whortleberries were ripe and plentiful. We also saw elderberries, currants, mountain ash berries and raspberries over the course of our hike. On top, we had good views; the smoke hindered a bit, but it hadn't really moved in yet. However, when we looked west, we saw a wall of haze.

From there, the going got a bit trickier. From Flattop to Elkcalf, there is no real trail.  We had to step over much deadfall from the Skyland fire in 2007. Read more here and here. Luckily, the deadfall wasn't too hard to step over.  It didn't bring back memories of Colorado mountain, which three of us had been on, or anything that bad. In this area, we found the wild raspberry bushes, with ripe raspberries on them, another taste trip.

Elkcalf has quite a bit longer approach, another two miles of climbing. Our views became more and more obscure as the winds from the west started blowing, but we made our way bit by bit.  Two started feeling the elevation gain and needed a sit-down rest; One of the husbands, Chuck, had a blister, so he had to stop to doctor it before it got worse. 

As we approached the top, we had to watch out for the telephone line from the former lookout tower. It was the only relic we saw from the building, but we didn't look very hard.

On top, we were surprised to see two GEO markers; we took pictures and then went over to the east side of the rocks to get out of the wind, which was starting to howl, literally.

Now, you would think our return trip would be a piece of cake since it was all downhill, but this is where the hike got interesting. instead of retracing our steps, which would have meant reclimbing Flattop, we headed down the backside of Elkcalf. This ended up with much bushwhacking, bushes chest-high at times.  Most of the brush didn't have stickers; we didn't happen upon and stinging nettles or rose bushes, so those with shorts only received a few scratches. But it made for an interesting day. On the way down, Susan got a muscle pull or cramp, we weren't sure which, but after taking some meds, she was fine. Maybe the huckleberries

The flowers all along were pretty good for end of season: yarrow, pearly everlasting, fireweed, buckwheat, sulfur buckwheat, fireweed, showy asters.

We were off trail around 3:30; and Katie, Tom and Susan were home by 6:30. Chuck and Paula stopped at Serrano's for takeout, while Madelon headed for Eureka.

Who went: Paula P (and husband Chuck), Susan, Madelon, Katie (and husband Tom)

For a couple days prior to the hike, we had been camping at Park Lake with Beth’s daughter and her 3 children, about 12 miles south west of Clancy. We packed up on August 5th and decided to go to Helena since Amber had a low tire indicator light. She had a low tire because there was a nail in the tire!​

After having the tire fixed, we drove to and explored the town of Elkhorn and the old cemetery on the hill....then came the rain. We decided to head to Boulder and get a motel room instead of setting up and sleeping in wet gear. Beth had climbed both peaks a couple of times as a young teenager. It seemed pretty easy then! 

On Thursday, August 6th, we woke up early, drove to Elkhorn and were on the trail about 6:50. We parked at the Railroad water tank and hiked up the iron road also know as Diego Town Road or Muskrat for 4.5 miles. The road has extremely deep ruts, jagged rocks throughout and a fairly steep incline. We came across a locked driveway gate stating, “Private Property” and a primitive cabin with a rain collection bucket, solar panels and a cement mixer. We continued in until we came to the top of a cirque (formed by a Glacier), which had a white marble outcropping on the top. We then scrambled over igneous boulders of various sizes until we reached the top of Elkhorn. There is a semi circular shelter made out of stacked rocks and a geocache box filled with treasures, including binoculars. The views were spectacular and we could see mountain ranges in every direction. 

We then traversed across more rocks across a saddle which was a mile or so until we reached the top of Crow Peak (elevation 9414 and the highest mountain in the Elkhorn mountains), where it was extremely windy. Someone had placed an American flag on the top of the mountain and we found the USGS benchmark on the top. We signed the book indicating we had reached the summit. 

We didn’t want to back track across the saddle to the trail we hiked up so decided to make a loop to return to our parking spot. There isn’t a trail down from Crow so we bushwhacked our way down sheer slopes of tippy and unstable igneous (granitic) boulder fields very carefully. We laughed at ourselves and each other because by the time we reached the bottom of the we had had some spectacular saves from falling and each had a few new scratches and bruises. Plus our legs were pretty tired! We found a trail along a creek and followed it back to our parking spot. The hike was strenuous but well worth the feeling of accomplishing something. It was much more difficult 40+ years later for sure! 

​Who went: Beth and Amber

After a day of soaring views and wonderful wildflower shows, the GiG declared, "I'd do that one again."

The day started at 6:15 with a missed meeting of Viki at the pass. Luckily, we found her at the turn off for Alice Creek, so all was well. We didn't see any wildlife on the way in, but with Covid virus, we were mostly traveling alone with no one to watch while the driver kept eyes on the road.

We got on trail at 8:30 a bit late for a sunny day on an exposed trail, but the temps weren't supposed to rise above the low 70s.  The burn was actually beautiful, making for more views and sun for the flowers.  We saw showy fleabane daisy, spiraea, and fireweed and harebells in this section.  As it was mostly flat, we made good time. However, about 2.5 miles in on a gently sloping trail, the path took a decidedly steeper turn.  At this point, Susan, coming off an illness, didn't think she could continue. After a discussion, Beth, Mary and Amber, who all came in one car, said they would take her back and then start from the other end and meet us around Red Mountain. So we said our goodbyes, thinking we would see them later on the trail, hoping Susan was okay.

As we climbed to the ridge, it was hot; it was a good incline, but once we hit the top, the flowers were amazing in the meadows. The cliffs were jagged too, maiking for a lovely ridge walk.  We did come across two men on a rocky outcropping above us. At first we thought it might be Amber, Beth and Mary. but no.  At this point, we started yelling Yoohoo at intervals, thinking they were fast hikers and might be coming upon us soon.

We stopped for lunch at the edge of a cliff area with views. The area was very burned, with even the ground blackened. Paula had to put a jacket on as the wind had a chill to it and she was in shorts and short sleeves, so we decided to get back on trail to prevent hypothermia.

We enjoyed the ridge walk and flower show a bit longer: the blanket flowers, harebells and Indian paintbrush with buckwheat. Then we faced more uphill, but it looked worse than it was. i guess we had strength from our lunch break. Along the way, we kept hollering out, wondering when we would run into the other three, but we never did.

We kept an eye out for grizzlies along the way as we saw several digging patches and bear scat, most at least a day old, thankfully.  A few far-off cairns/rocks gave us a start at times, but we didn't see any wildlife except birds.  

After our climb, we descended to Red Mountain and put two stones on the cairn in remembrance of our two GiG members whom we have lost: Chrissy and Colette/Coco.

We hit Lewis and Clark Pass, paused for pic by the sign and then were started by a big black dog that approached us from the back, its owner not calling it off or anything.  In bear country, this was a bit unnerviing.  We shooed it away, but it kept coming back at us. Finally, we looked back and owner and dog were gone. Then we flew down the road, the last mile and a half to our cars, running into a group of people with four dogs. These dogs ran past us and didn't bother.

As we approached the parking lot, we were anxious to see if Beth's car and Susan's car were both gone. We wondered if the other gals decided to call it a day, Susan's car was gone but not Beth's, soi we surmised that they had decided to do the entire hike and would be about three hours behind us.

We got off trail at 2:20 and arrived home around 4:15.  We really set a record for our group on an 11-mile hike. At six p.m., we learned the others were at Rogers pass. They had gone in the other direction and had gone up Green mountain instead of Red, so it was a Christmasy-type of day! They would have gotten home around 7 p.m., still three hours behind us. We checked in with Susan. She was tired but otherwise fine. So we all had a good day.

Info from Green Mountain Group:
We maintained a steady pace and enjoyed the journey as we ventured East if the Alice Creek trailhead. The lightening caused Alice Creek Fire from three years ago, (thanks go to Amber for looking that up) did not allow for any shade throughout. The cool breeze was appreciated! The ground/soil was still charred and black, yet bunches of lupine, fireweed, yarrow, Harebells, golden rod, bunch grass, and other flower species dotted the ground. No new trees were observed, but some trees were spared from the fire’s path. At the Lewis and Clark Pass, we hiked south on the CDT for 1.5 miles, with the trail being fairly steep and tallus laden. With the various colored strata, the rocks had stories to tell- if only to understand them! 😀 Beth did manage to collect a few - her backpack could hold no more and was she was very excited by the unique characteristics of each treasure packed home. 

Near the top of Lewis snd Clark Pass, we saw a wooden post with wrapped with barbed wire and a few nails pounded into it. We wondered if it was placed there intentionally to collect bear fur for DNA sampling. There was a big clump of hair on it.  

One extremely small group of cumulus clouds was in the sky leaving 99% Montana’s brilliant blue sky available to observe for mikes in each direction from the top of Green Mountain. Once on top, Mary opened a rusty metal box which contained some small wet documents- li  like a ledger or small notebook -  and a prescription bottle with a local photographer’s business card in it. We found the USGS benchmark, took some pictures and ate a snack,  while enjoying the views before we headed back down the mountain. Definitely, a fun filled afternoon and we all felt a sense of accomplishment!  

Who went: Paula O, Viki, Susan, Beth, Amber, Mary S, Katie

Evenings can be a magical time to hike in summer, with long evenings stretching until 10 p.m. or later. With it being a good year for bitterroot, we decided to hike up toward the Rodger's Peak area to see if the ones Katie saw blooming last week were still open.

We left Great Falls just before 4 and were on trail by 5:20.  Katie's husband Nora came along for the drive and planned to shoot straight up the ridge to the peak and beyond, so Nora decided to join him.  If he didn't see the bitterroot, he would return down the trail to let us know, so we didn't rush up for no reason. The rest of us took the long, but easier, way to the pass just before the peak where the bitterroot were.

The hike was lovely, as we passed through patches of huckleberries, grouse whortleberries and various flowers. The berries were a nice distraction when we needed a breather.  It was around 80 degrees when we started but with a nice breeze.  The flowers started right away with horse mint, lance-leaved stonecrop, harebells and bright red Indian paintbrush predominating.

As we made our way up, we were grateful not to see Tom or Nora, giving us hope that out state flowers were still blooming. 

When we did arrive at the pass/shoulder of Rodgers Peak, there they were: not too many, but bright pink blooms standing out among the dark slate-colored rocks. Nora was there too, waiting for us while Tom went on to climb the peak.

We saw many flowers that we assumed were in bud stage, but as the light waned, we noticed that more and more closed and rolled up. We realized that the bitterroot must close as the light wanes, so we were glad that we kept forward progress before they all shut for the night. So, we decided evening may not be the best time to find our state flower.

We enjoyed the surrounding views in this spot as well, while Rose and Carol walked another quarter mile up the trail looking for more bitterroots, but to no avail.

It was a bit breezier at the pass, not unusual, but we found a spot on the other side of some rocks to block the wind enough to sit and enjoy the views of the plains while we ate our hiking dinners. We watched Tom as he went off trail, making his way through the cliff side of Rodger's Peak.  It was so pleasant that we didn't want to leave, but Katie scurried us along as she didn't want us to be driving home at dark.

The hike down was even more scenic, the light playing on the mountains as we walked the ridge. We ate a few more hucks and got to our cars around 8:30.  We arrived home at 9:45 after a glorious drive through the buttes, the evening light dancing upon them.  Pure magic.

​ The six Gig hikers headed out of Great Falls at 7 AM toward Augusta and then another 24 miles to the Devil's Glen trailhead. We stopped at the Falls Creek trailhead and wondered if we were on the right track to Devils Glen trailhead.

We drove down the road and found our destination in just over a mile. The parking lot had two large horse trailers and proceeded to unload five or six horses, and maybe a mule.  Starting our hike we headed down the path that runs along private property for a stretch before we were in the Lewis and Clark Forest. The pack train caught up with us in short order, loaded with gear, rifles and some full size camp chairs. We asked where they were going and the person that was walking and leading his horse said they were headed back to a place where they found an elk head and horns. It looked like a well planned expedition of women and men for a summer trip into the Scapegoat Wilderness Area.

     After about two and a half miles with beautiful views of Steamboat Mountain and many other peaks, we came to our lunch spot. The Dearborn River is crystal clear with pale blue to a deep shade of turquoise water, with the rocks rounded by time and the movement of the rushing water. After our short break we headed another 3/4th of a mile where we could walk down to the river. Jo Ann was our expert guide to all of the wild flowers which were many. Jo Ann spotted Chocolate Lily seed pods, another location to check for blooms next year. Wild Bergamot, Blanketflower, Red Clover and Harebell were the most prevalent wildflowers.

The sun was bright and the temperature increased as we ventured down the path. The area is known for Rainbow trout and we saw quite a few people with fly rods that would be trying their luck. 
​
     With the temperature over 80 degrees it was good to get back to the air conditioned car and change into sandals and head to Augusta. Some of our party stopped at the Buckhorn for a burger which never disappoints. Everyone agreed it was a beautiful day and we were grateful that we lived in Montana.

Who went: Jo Ann, Gail, Karen, Rose, Noreen,and Brenda

​WILDFLOWERS
Bedstraw, Northern
Bergamot, Wild
Biscuit Root, Nine-Leaved
Blanketflower
Buffaloberry
Butterfly Weed
Clover, Owl's Thin-Leaved (pink)
Clover, Red
Coneflower, Prairie
Daisy, Cut-Leaved
Dogbane
Flax, Blue
Fleabane, Showy
Geranium, Sticky
Goldenrod
Goldenweed, Cushion
Harebell
Hemlock, Water
Indian Paintbrush, Red
Kinnikinnick
Meadowrue, Female
Mullein, Wooly
Onion, Nodding
Parrot’s Beak
Penstemon
Pineapple Weed
Rose
Silveryberry (not in bloom)
Spirea, White
Stonecrop, Lanced-Leaved
Thistle
Yarrow
WILDFLOWER SEED PODS
Anemone, Cut-Leaved
Chocolate Lily
Orchid, Striped Coralroot
Prairie Smoke (Old Man Whiskers)
Pussytoes
Solomon's Seal, False
Solomon's Seal, Starry  (aka) Wild Lily of the Valley