Another weekend of hiking, exploring and fishing. This trip took us up the South Fork of the Flathead River into the Spotted Bear region and into the fringes of the Bob Marshal Wilderness area. It was a good trip. We spent more time exploring, driving and hiking then actually fishing. Along for the ride; Kate, Scott, and Hopkins the dog.

This was the start of a lost cause in finding the Spotted Bear Gorge via hiking back country. I took a wild guess on hitting the right location and we took off cross country to see if we cut cut the canyons without having to hike up the gorge. I was slightly erroneous as to location. We managed to cut through the first of the two rivers, but the destination of the second river was unfortunately on the OTHER side of that mountain. We didn't make it. I think I frustrated my companions by my choice and by my tendencies towards bush whacking through the shortest route. Sorry guys. But it was still fun! Poor Hopkins took a beating though...

Kate and Hopkins, fording Bunker Creek.

Me, wet, slightly tired and not really having much luck fishing. I caught a small Cut and a few whitefish.

A nice respite from the thick underbrush and down fall. This little meadow would make a great camping site. Will have to remember it in the future.

There are no trails where I prefer to go. I think that I definitely was the most unpopular person that day. Sorry guys. Poor Hopkins really did not enjoy this hike. We had to carry him across rivers, through the brush and over logs. He definitely got his exercise. At least we didn't see any bears.

A look back. Heading towards where we KNOW there is fishable water instead of guessing and traipsing all over the mountains looking for water.

A look ahead...with much of the same theme as above.

A rather disheveled wild flower with a very tenuous grasp on the rocks at the rivers edge.

Ah. Now this is what I was going for. This was much better. Too bad we spent half the day driving and hiking where there was no water...then more driving...and hiking to where there was water before we got to fish. Dusk was approaching so fishing time was greatly restricted. Still worth it though. Now I know where to start, next time.

On the way back. Good fishing down there, but now days it gets a lot of activity. Up stream is 15 miles of rarely fished wilderness paradise. Hopefully I can get back up there soon to take advantages of it.

Day 2 of the 4th of July Weekend. My brother and I decided that a little hiking and fishing was in order. So off we went, west of Whitefish to the High Mountains of Western Montana. We got a very late start and the weather was decidedly dicey. A little rain, a little hail, some lightening and some thunder; all make back country navigation a little more interesting. The weather decided to cooperate. There is no greater feeling for me then being high in the mountains, surrounded by the timber and nature, enjoying everything there is to see.

You might note that I have withheld the names of locations to protect the innocent. Its not that this place is a secret. Far from it, however I am shocked to see the that these areas are now full of people. It saddens me to see highways instead of horrible dirt roads, trails that an elephant can navigate, instead of brushy animal paths, cars parked around every bend and litter on the trails and along the roads. This is a place that you must find for yourself. Too many others are finding these places and abusing them.

This was on the drive up. At one point, at the head of the valley to the lake we were intending on going, we ran into about 20 parked cars. Shocking. We almost turned back, but instead opted to try a different valley and a different series of high mountain lakes. Its a good thing we did.

My dirty little truck. This is one of two lakes accessible by road in this area. There are another seven or eight that can only be hiked into. This is serious bear country. In my more adventurous youth, this area incurred more then a few "Griz" encounters. Surprisingly, we didn't see any sign on the hike up. Tis a good thing too.

After a brutal hike straight up the mountain, soaking wet from the brush we finally arrived at the first of this series of lakes. The hike actually wasn't that bad. I am a tad bit out of shape, and the elevation and shortage of oxygen to my unconditioned lungs was enough to cause havoc to my lungs and my stamina. The rain eventually stopped. The fishing was great!

Brother Scott with a small but plump female West Slope Cutthroat trout. This would have made a great addition to dinner...if we kept fish. We usually don't, and have gone to barbless fishing in general to help preserve this declining resource.

Amazing colors. It doesn't look much like a big fish, but for this environment, this is truly a monster Cutthroat. This area gets probably 15 to 20 feet of snow accumulation every winter and the ice typically gets several feet thick. It takes a tough fish to get big in these conditions. Hes a bit thin from the spawn, but he still fought like a champion. There is no telling how old this fish really is, but he is definitely up there in years.

Another giant high mountain lake "Cut". This male was much fatter, much stronger and much more colorful then the last. This picture really does nothing for the fish. Its not a giant brown or a sleek rainbow, but all in all, I would rather catch a small fish that I had to work for, then a fat, trophy non native brown trout grown in a hatchery.

Not the easiest of fishing. Glaciers carved these holes and the massive volume of annual snow fall keeps them clean, clear and full of some of the best water in the state.

A nice, plump female Cut.

Something Different...

The end of the road for this journey. A nice cataract spilling down the mountain from the next lake up. The fishing gets better the farther in you go, but time was short on this trip. Dusk wasn't too far off and this is NOT an area to walk out of in the dark. Broken necks, legs, bears and getting lost are all very likely options for the unprepared, uninformed weekend warriors that are now crowding, polluting and abusing these areas.

A nice scene on the way back down. Looking East into some of the most rugged, beautiful country in Montana. More on the next post. This was a fun trip.

July 5th, 2009 Continued

A continuation of a wonderful 4th of July weekend.

I was at odds regarding whether to post this or not. This is one of the coolest pictures I have taken in a while and it is a slight fear of mine that pictures like this will be harvested for profit from other people who claim them as their own. But then I realized that the whole purpose of my amateur photography is to share what I see with others. Consider it shared.

A simple sunset can sometimes inspire complex thoughts. I enjoyed this sunset.
And that wraps up the 2009 Independence Day weekend extravaganza. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Fourth Of July, 2009

Gotta love fireworks. There is nothing like an evening of consuming alcohol, mixing in a few explosive incendiary devices, a few people, children and lots of flammable grass to make a wonderful evening of noise, smoke and fun. Disclaimer: No animals, children, property, adults were harmed in the photography of this memorable event.

Scott and Kate's new property. The site of this years fourth of July Festivities. We would be hard pressed to find a better place to enjoy the holiday.

Waiting for it to get dark enough to start. Mother nature put on a small but nice light show of her own for us, while we waited. Some of my shots turned out interesting, most were horrible. I need to apologize to everyone for not posting shots of people. Unfortunately I lack the capacity within this blog to post too many photos and I like the smoke and lights. Enjoy!

A little moon, a little reflection on a little man made lake created from a little 1200 gallons of imported water that one of Scott's friends trailered in to help put out any grass fires that we might create due to incidental firework related fires. Thankfully we didn't need it. It was certainly a fun night and this was the culmination of the festivities.