Although we enjoyed our snowy mountain excursion today, I'm still hoping for a little more fall before winter comes to stay. It's a bit too soon for me to get out my skis and snowshoes just yet. :)

As usual, we had a blast! Until next time... :)
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I am high above the timberline
Where the sky and mountains meet
Up where the air is very thin
Somehow it's easier to breathe
Like the wind in the canyon echoing
The spirit is calling me, whispering
Out here, in the wild and the wonder
Where the lightning and the thunder
Serve a great awakening
Out here, where the one who did the making
Is still in me creating, a place where I am free
I can hear, I can breathe, I believe, out here
​...
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"Out Here" song by Geoff Moore
https://www.youtube.com/watch…

We'd been planning to get out for a mountain peak sunset hike for a little while now, but getting my schedule coordinated with my son's schedule for a partly cloudy evening without chances of thunderstorms has been quite a challenge this summer. I checked the weather Saturday morning and the forecast was right, so I knocked on my son's door (he's our neighbor) and asked, "How about a sunset hike tonight?"

The clouds were very thick and heavy all day looking like rain, so I wasn't very confident in the forecast being correct and was a bit doubtful for our chances of a good sunset. But I decided we would go and just see what happens. Sunset was still a little ways off.

No time to dilly dally. Gotta keep moving along to get to the top in time for the sunset.
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The fire lookout tower is in view as we get closer to the treeline, but we still have more to go. The layer of clouds is still very thick, so it's not looking hopeful at this point. :/
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As we got to the top, the wind picked up its intensity, giving us hope that the clouds might give way enough for a nice sunset after all. Our hope soon became reality. :)

After an hour and a half of quick-paced hiking, we hit the peak with growing darkness and the wind blowing like crazy. There were still plenty of clouds all around, but color was beginning to appear, too. :) Time to get on some extra layers. We were expecting cold temps and high winds up on the mountain, so thankfully we were prepared for it.

We never ended up actually seeing the sun itself, as it remained behind shifting clouds, but the sky was mixed with vivid color. I wish my camera could have fully captured the intensity we saw with our eyes, but here are some photos to give you a little glimpse. :)
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We stayed on the summit watching the changing color and clouds with the wind never letting up for 25 minutes. So as the sunset diminished, we scurried off the top and headed back down, hiking out by the light of our headlamps. A 5-hour round trip from leaving the house at 6:30 and getting back at 11:30. Actual hiking time of 3 hours.

It was another awesome mountain adventure! :)  See you on the next one...
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On our way back from our hike last night, we got a chance to see the peacocks that reside just outside of Victor. They are always a fun sight to see roaming freely about. :)
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We came across a few deer alongside the road on our way to the trailhead yesterday. Seeing a buck, a doe, and a fawn all hanging out together is not very common for us, so it was a nice early morning start to our all-day mountain adventure. :)

A few pics from our evening hike up Kootenai after supper tonight. We probably spent almost as much time picking huckleberries and thimbleberries as we did actually hiking this time. And of course, there's almost always something along the way to catch my photographic eye, so I have to stop to take a few photos as well. Always a good time. :)

​I love a full moon in the black sky and how it lights up the dark of night in rural Montana where we live outside of the glow of city lights. It's kind of mesmerizing at 2:30am. :)

Where there is food, expect wildlife. That is exactly what happens around here quite often. Little critters have a way of attracting birds of prey. Which, of course, lures us into taking the time to watch and photograph them. On my morning run today, I had the privilege of viewing six vultures and a heron. They were all looking for breakfast, and I was glad I wasn't on the menu. ;)

Birds of a feather, flock together. When I first saw these vultures in the tree, there were three of them. But more kept arriving until there were six. Watching vultures hang out together in a tree always reminds me of the ones in Disney's Jungle Book movie. LOL! :)
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​Ha ha! It was fun to watch these guys fool around. But time required me to get my run in and back to other things. Eventually they got tired of hanging out in the tree and soared around overhead while I ran. Always something in nature that amuses me. :)

​Here are some photos from our spur-of-the-moment hike up Kootenai last night. It was totally unplanned. I was sitting around feeling like a slug after supper, looking at my map and planning our next big hike, when I said, "Hey, let's get out for a quick hike right now." So we grabbed our packs and hit the trail about 8pm and came out as it was getting dark a little after 10pm. A good way to finish the day. Hope you enjoy the pics. :)