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

Just over a year ago, a rancher put a conservation easement on land, which allows hikers to enjoy the Birdtail and Lionhead Butte area.  So, the GiG decided to check it out.

Birdtail Butte can't be climbed without rope, so our plan was Lionhead. We left Great Falls at 7 a.m., thinking an early start would be good since the butte has no shade and we would be exposed the entire way.  But Josy's car had other ideas: it took a rock to a tire, splitting it.  Susan, Katie and Judy didn't notice at first that Josy wasn't behind us as we were all driving our own cars, due to the coronavirus outbreak, and also practicing distancing between cars to keep the dust down.  But when we arrived at the trail head and Josy didn't show up for over 10 minutes, Katie called as we did have one bar of service. But Josy didn't answer. So, Judy drove to find her, returning in 20 minutes to say she had a flat but was having trouble getting the spare off from under the vehicle. She said she would return to help as she could.

Susan and Katie got a few steps walking the road and just talking. A couple in a pickup came by and said the gals were just about finished changing the tire, so Katie and Susan had hope.  A few minutes later and first Judy and then Jody's cars came down the road.

So we put our gear on, rolled under the barbed wire gate and were on our way.

Then it was up, up, up the side of the butte, just after crossing the creek, which was pretty low. A few cows bellowed at us, keeping a leery eye at us humans, since they all had calves. Bushwhacking all the way, through service berries, sage and roses, we battled a beating sun; Susan, coming off a cold, tired and overheated a bit, so we stopped under the few pine trees that there were on the way up.

Then we continued on, rounding the far end of the butte to take the easy way up, a nice ramp that even had a game/cow trail. The grasses were high, making our walking slow, especially since under the grasses were many rocks, some fairly large that must have tumbled off the butte or been pushed down by spring runoff and snow. So, we had to watch our footing. We also kept an eye out for snakes, but we didn't see any.

As we neared the final ascent, Susan was really over heated. Katie sent Josy and Judy to climb the high point  while she took Susan slowly up the easy side, so that they could get some views and hopefully a breeze on top.  Susan rested some more, but we made it and enjoyed looking across at Josy and Judy as they did some rock hopping, circled around the butte and came up to join us for lunch.  Two limber pines provided a bit of shade to eat under, while Judy said how the rock ledges were a bit scary and that the top had some sort of big bugs flying at them, so that's why they came down fast.

We enjoyed the views of the surrounding buttes, Josy using her peak visor app to ID many of them (Fishback, Black, Cecilia, Skull, Haystack)  and the views of the Rocky Mountain Front with Caribou peak and Castle Reef really showing.

After lunch, Katie hurried everyone along, reminding that the day was to get into the mid-eighties. She did not want to be out during the heat of the day with no shade. So off we went, down, down, watching our step for hidden rocks.

Josy led us down quickly with one rest stop under the same pines from the way up.  Then Josy went ahead as she only had a donut tire and wanted to start getting back to town as she would have to drive slowly.

Judy needed to get to work, so she went quickly too, while Susan and Katie tailed each other, making sure the other two weren't broken down on the way back.

We got back to town around 2:30, about one hour later than expected, but we thought it would have been more with the heat, rests, and a flat tire. Josy called to say she made it to Westside Tirerama, and they were taking good care of her. We felt bad that she would have to get all four new tires, but she said she was grateful that she didn't have a blowout on the highway. All in a day.

On a clear blue-sky day, but with much wind, three Giggers headed out for an orchid-finding expedition in the Sun River Canyon area.  For part of the trip, we had botanist "Ranger" Wayne Phillips along, to help us locate these elusive beauties.

We first stopped to see lady slippers, an area that has both mountain and yellow versions, sometimes crossed.  Wayne told us it was the only documented place in Montana with the white and yellow together. He also said that the Sun River Canyon hosted more orchids than anywhere else in the state. The lady slippers were a bit beyond their time and not as plentiful as usual. We noticed many cottonwood trees had been felled as well as weed spraying. We surmised the habitat had been drastically changed as well as the weed spraying possibly killing the fragile plants. We did find one northern green bog orchid in this area.

Then we continued down the road to find some more. We found more green bog orchids as well as the dainty, pink-spotted round-leaf orchid.  It's such a special variety.

Then it was off to Hannan Gulch to find the giant hellegorine.  After peering down to spot the round-leaf orchid, we were pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to find the giants, the plants being 2-3 feet tall and the flowers 10 times the size of bog orchids.  We didn't see any lady tresses or white bog orchids as we had hoped, but a few of us had appointments, so we cound't muck around too much in the boggy swampy areas.

We usually see sheep in this area, but no luck today. The other notable flowers of the day were mock orange, owl's clover, wintergreen, lupine, bergamot, and buckwheat.

We left Great Falls at 7 a.m. and arrived home by 3.

Who went: Gail, Jo Ann, Katie and guest Gigger, Wayne

Up, over or through was the saying of the day, as the GiG bushwhacked their way to the top of Colorado mountain from sheer determination. We could not believe how much deadfall was on the trail.

It all started from Great Falls at 7 a.m. with us arriving just after 9 a.m. at the Moose Creek cabin trailhead. We had two groups, one going a shorter distance to the lunch spot, and those wanting to summit A family was staying at the cabin; they asked where we were hiking and we proudly said, "Colorado Mountain," not knowing what a challenge this eight-mile 2,200-feet-of-gain hike would be.

The beginning of the hike is a bit steep; Bonnie J, just coming from living in Vegas for two years, felt it, but then the trail leveled a bit to a reasonable incline. The forest was pretty, with green grasses underfoot and a few flowers, especially lupine, and showy phlox.

After all the rain we had had the last few days, we expected a muddier trail, but we only came across one boggy spot on the way up--more on that later.

We had a fun hike to just below the ridge, our usual stopping point for lunch; but before the ridge, we came across quite a few downed trees--and may cut ones. In years past, there have been a few downed lodgepoles that were easy to step over, but there seemed more this year.

After a few log hoppers, we gained the ridge, took a break and had lunch. It was now 11:30. After lunch, we said goodbye to Karen and Bonnie J, who planned to just do four miles. Paula had considered it but decided to soldier on. And that is when the bushwhacking really began. At first it was a few more logs, then bigger logs, then logs crisscrossed over each other. Katie led at first, breaking off branches with her poles and stepping on them to break a path so that no one got impaled while climbing over. We also belly crawled under, necessitating taking off our packs at times. Sometimes, we pulled back branches, as many of the trees were still green so the branches would not break. And it was slow going. Josy took over lead after Katie injured a leg on a poking branch. Beth and Amber coined the term “barking bronco” as we straddled these fallen pines.

After about a full hour of bushwhacking and only getting one mile up the trail, Sara and Paula decided they had had enough. If they had only known that they only have a handful of trees left after the hundreds we had already conquered, but there was no way to know. Susan left her pack with them, just taking a water bottle.

Then Katie said we had about an hour to go. Amber wondered if they knew if would take that long. She and Beth decided to go back to get Susan's pack so they could head back if they wanted to. The other four kept forward progress toward the peak. In this area in particular, we saw tons of bear and elk scat plus elk prints. We wondered through wildflowers and sage brush until we could see the top, a very welcome sight about now.

On the top, we were greeted with 360-degree views: the Big Belts, the Elkhorns, the Bridgers, Adels, Tobaccoroots, Bridgers, the Lewis and Clark ranges, Absolutely amazing. So, it made the bushwhack worth it, not thinking we had to do it again. On top, the standout flowers were buckwheat, wall flower and biscuitroot.

Amber and Beth thought we might be able to skirt some of the deadfall if we stayed right, on the leeward side of the mountain, so we decided to try it. And we did avoid some deadfall; however, we got into a bog. Beth almost lost a shoe in the muck; Amber and Judy may have ruined theirs. At this point, Katie and Beth compared leg gouges. When Beth showed hers, we noticed how deep it was. As she pulled up her legging, the scab came off and it really started bleeding. We could really see the flesh; it didn't look good. So we got out the first-aid kit, disinfected and bandaged, but it was still bleeding.

But we soldiered on. Since we skirted around, we now had to get back to the trail, Katie checked the GPS, We had dropped too low into a drainage, so up we went to get back on trail, of course, through thick downfall, Josy still leading.

By this time, some gals were getting blisters from wet feet, but they didn't want to stop to change socks. Amber had a big hike the next day. She wondered how she would make it with wrecked feet and wet boots, but she was hanging tough and planned on two big hikes in a row.

So we soldiered on again, through tons of brush to regain the trail. Josy spied cut logs, yay! We were back on trail, but back on bushwhack too. Then Katie saw a way around some of the logs on the left side. It was smooth sailing with only a few trees, but Josy saw a cut log way off to the far side and followed up. Sure enough, we were off trail again. It had swung to the right while we had gone left. A quick look at Katie's GPS confirmed it. So, we backtracked uphill a few hundred feet. This time, we really were on a good trail with only the occasional log to cross. Home free, or so we thought.

About now, some were running out of water, the 2-3 liters that they had brought for what we thought would be a more moderate hike. But we knew the last 2.5 miles would be fast without many downed logs. So, we skipped along. But Susan was hitting the wall and fell off the trail, perhaps tripping on a twig. We made her sit down and have a quick snack.

Then it was downhill all the way, but we slowed the pace, so no one did any more tripping. The cabin was a sight for sore eyes. We had been on trail for 8.5 hours to hike 8.5 miles stretched to 10 with our off-trail wanderings.

The it was time to head home, most of us in our own cars due to coronavirus. Beth decided to head to the immediate care to get care for her wound. It did require two stitches and a good cleaning to stop the bleeding. Amber and Judy stayed in town for dinner. Josy headed out and Susan followed Katie to make sure they both got home okay. On the way home, Katie about hit another deer. Oh, my.

We arrived home by 8:30 p.m, a far cry from the 5:30 we expected.

Who went: Sara, Paula P, Susan, Josy, Judy, Amber, Beth, Bonnie, Karen, Katie

A cloudy, windy morning, we left Great Falls at 7:30 a.m., meeting Shelley in Simms at 8:05 a.m. We arrived at the trailhead at 9:30 a.m. After getting our gear ready, we presented Bonnie W with a 100-mile GIG mug.

The skies looked ominous. Everyone agreed with Gail that we would turn around if it started to rain. The wind continued, but no rain.

Wildflowers danced in the wind making it difficult to take photos. Our hat chin straps tugged against wind gusts of at least 30 mph. As we climbed closer to the pass, we viewed a large field of bistort swaying in the wind. After reaching the pass, we took photos at the Lewis & Clark Pass sign and found a spot somewhat out of the wind to eat lunch. We took more photos and headed back to the cars.

The wildflowers were not as abundant as last year in late June. But, we saw fields of fireweed that will be lovely when it blooms.

Heather, Bonnie W and Karen headed back to Great Falls. While Gail, Jo Ann, Shelley, and Catherine ate lunch at the Bushwacker in Lincoln. Shelley dropped Jo Ann off in Simms to ride back to Great Falls with Gail and Catherine. Shelley proceeded home to Conrad. The Great Falls group arrived around 4:30 p.m. A windy but fun day in the mountains, and a historic pass that most of us had not visited.

Who went: Heather, Bonnie W, Karen, Gail, Jo Ann, Shelley, Catherine

WILDFLOWERS
Alum Root, Roundleaf 
Anemone, Cut-Leaved, creamy white
Arnica,Heart-Leaved
Arnica, Seep-Spring
Bedstraw, Northern
Blanket Flower
Buckwheat, Suphur
Buckwheat, Yellow
Chickweed, Mouse Eared 
Chokecherry
Cinquefoil
Collomia, Narrow-leaved/Tiny Trumpet
Dandelion, Salsify
Fireweed (fields of it not yet in bloom)
Geranium, Sticky (Pink)
Indian Paintbrush-Red
Jacob's Ladder
Kinickinick
Lousewort, Parry's
Milkvetch, Drummond's
Monkeyflower, Yellow
Parsley, Fern-Leaved Desert
Penstemon, Fuzzy Tongue
Penstemon, Slender Blue
Phacelia, Silverleaf 
Phlox, Cushion-White
Prairie Smoke (past its prime)
Pussytoes
Saxifrage
Sedge, Small-Winged
Stonecrop, Lance-Leaved
Stoneseed aka Gromwell aka Lemonweed 
Townsendia, Parry's
Yarrow