A Forest Service dump truck woke me up at 7am; I was out the site by 7:30am to start the Wagon Trail, a 6-mile trail that at one time led pioneers over the ridge into Idaho. Sadie was in good spirits, enjoying the chilly air. I could see elk tracks in the dried mud.
Somehow, though, I was not on the right trail. Two miles into my ascent I was in a timbered section of the forest, with pine debris across the trail and seedlings growing where years ago trees were downed. I turned around here and drove west on US12 into Idaho six miles away, only to learn that the Lolo Pass Visitor's center (5235') was closed for the July 4th holiday. There were a lot of disappointed people in the parking lot!
This pass was unquestionably a beautiful drive across northern Idaho. Lolo Peak at 9296' was still snow covered. If only I had the time to drive across the state to Lewiston and back! But I came back to my senses and stayed at the center, hiking a short access trail to the Grave Creek trail where Lewis and Clark had camped out 13 September 1805. The creek was untouched and allegedly much the same way as it was back in 1805. Stephen Ambrose, the famed historian-writer of the Lewis and Clark journey, had lobbied and paid to keep this area pristine and away from the timber company's hands. Although I was no more than a quarter mile from US12, I couldn't hear any traffic. I was alone.
Indeed most of the Bitterroots in this section is heavily logged. Logging trucks came and went on this section of highway. Many vacant swaths of mountain side now show signs of barrenness.
We lingered here for an hour. I watched a woodpecker hollow out a stump, I heard birds, saw picahs dart here and there. The sounds and sights of the forest here were therapeutic. I can see why so many people are drawn to this part of Montana.
We made more stops at several more valley stops along this north-south route along the mountains, even hiking sections of the original Lolo Trail that the Nez Perce and US troops dredged on years ago. This trail was barely a foot wide. Many downed trees from a 1995 windstorm lay rotting on hillsides.
The Corps of Discovery made two more camp stops along this valley stretch after leaving Traver's Rest, a popular spot for many ancient travelers. I paid my $5 to see this spot, which was disappointingly just an empty field surrounded by private homes and barking dogs. (The accompanying guide one gets when paying admission more clearly explains the area's hidden treasures.)The reason this camp site is now a new state park, according to Mariah the ranger on duty, a blonde 35-year-old woman originally from Worchester, MA, was that this site is the only archaeologically confirmed Lewis and Clark site along the entire river. Mercury vapors were recorded in an old latrine pit that the crew used, mercury that was then given to people suffering from cramps, diarrhea, etc.
More enjoyable was talking to both Mariah and Walt, an older gentleman originally from Flathead Indian reservation, a white man born on a farm there. He was Old School, expressing his concern with the Native population today not wanting to assimilate, as the discussion went from the Native Indians then and now. The Bitterroot Valley is an important area for the Nez Perce Wars of 1877. This was their land they fought hard to maintain.
Walt was an interesting character regardless of the topic we were discussing. Wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, jeans and a white cowboy hat, he exuded Montana rancher. He was a 1944 Navy Veteran who has lived all his life in Montana except when he was in the Navy. He still loves to travel and told me of some of his adventures taking back roads across the country. One year he and his wife set out to travel to Memphis and ended up in Savannah, GA before turning around. He's taken a cruise to Alaska and next year plans on taking a cruise to the Mediterranean. He clearly does not let age slow him down.
"You'll find Montana is a state full of diversity" he said. So when I asked him what Montanans call Southwesterners who come up here for the summer, he replied "Tourists!"
It was now early afternoon and the heat was on again, hitting 87F. I still had to see Missoula in the daylight again, but once back in town the traffic and heat were too much for me. I located the Big Sky Brewing Company, had my four free taste samplers, bought a growler of Moose Drool, and drove on toward Hamilton. Here I stopped at another brewpub, the Bitterroot Brewpub, tried two beers but wasn't impressed with either to buy a growler.
"Montanans are proud of their beer" told me the bartender, "so we tend to support our breweries here." Since Montana is the third-largest barley grower in the country, it makes sense to support this industry. Barley and hops are cool-climate crops which grow well in the Pacific Northwest. That also explains why some of the best beers are made in that region of the country.
Sadie and I finished the day with a short hike (2.8 miles) up Blodgett's look-out west of town. We made it to the summit before the sun set behind the crags. This was a short but scenic hike, as at the summit one could see the eastern valley darkening in the mountains shadows, and the western peaks with deep canyons below. The peaks here still have snow on them. Back in 1995 a wildfire burned the pines on these slopes. New growth is in the form of younger pines and black aspen, but dead stumps still line the ridges here. It doesn't take much to destroy a forest, but it takes over a generation to regrow what was lost.
Where to tomorrow? Hopefully a morning hike up Canyon lake nearby and then a short drive to Big Hole. I should be in Butte in two days, Bozeman in three and leaving Montana in four days. As much as I have been enjoying Big Sky Country, I still have Wyoming and Utah to explore!
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