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.