Always lookin' for a little bit of mountain fun! ;)
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Gleason Lake is nestled up in the Sapphire Mountains on the east side of the Bitterroot Valley. Since this hike is not mentioned in the hiking books, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I knew from looking at my map that it would be a shorter hike than many of our mountain lake treks, but that we would also have some elevation gain. And I wasn't sure how much snow we might encounter along the way. We had a little route finding to do down lower, and some snow up higher. We had some serious uphill in the middle portion, with a flatter section just before dropping down to the lake. A bit of snow around the lake, but not too bad, along with some downed trees and mud. All in all, it was a fun adventure with some good exercise. Hope you enjoy the pics. :)
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Beautiful views of the Bitterroot Mountains as we head up into the Sapphires.
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A zoomed in view of Willow Mountain seen from the trail. It's on my list.
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Hmmm... something else to go check out sometime?
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There was plenty of up getting to the lake!
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And awesome views when we got above some of the trees!
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We weren't sure how much more up we had left to go at this point, but looking back down from here we could see we were getting somewhere. :)
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We hit snow as we gained elevation. The trail leveled out quite a bit at this point.
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Getting closer to the lake. Palisade Mountain seen here.
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Got to the lake with enough time to hike around the perimeter before having a fire.
As usual, the lake is bigger than it looks here, so you have to hike around it to see it all.
If you don't take the time and effort to go around, you miss out on the best views.
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Plenty of downfall along the south side of the lake makes for a little slower pace.
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No trail. Just traipsing over, through, and around anything in our way.
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Enough downed trees to build a cabin?
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Antler rubbings.
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And a white rabbit or hare in hiding.
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We had a combination of sunshine and blue sky with clouds, snow and ice.
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The lake water has receded, revealing a muddy bottom with dead tree remains.
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View from the grassy end.
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Interesting discoveries here and there.

Palisade, Sapphire, and Skalkaho Mountains are all seen from Gleason Lake.
More adventures on my list for someday. :)
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Interesting evidence of the lake's higher water level in summer.
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Back around to the end we came in at.
​This is the outlet, which is empty this time of year when the lake is low.
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When the water isn't rushing through this man-made outlet, you can see the rock artwork someone cemented into the bottom.
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 I love the blue ice as the light changes on the lake just before we head back out.

Enjoying the views and diminishing sunlight as we head back down before dark sets in.
Another great mountain adventure! :)
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Emily and I got out for a frosty hike up Bear Creek today. We took our break part way up a rock field with a nice view of Sky Pilot and more. A beautiful day with sunshine up high, but a bit cold down in the shade of the canyon. Nonetheless, it was enjoyable. :)
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Sky Pilot, elevation 8818' ... one of my destinations planned for next year.

We were pretty close on our 2018 Big Creek to Bear Creek backpack trip with tentative plans on hitting the peak then, but when we were coming over Bear Creek Pass in lousy weather, I opted to leave it for another time to get down and set up camp sooner.
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Well, Jamie and I set out to reach Bass Creek Crags a couple days ago, but we didn't quite make it on our first attempt. Fall quickly became winter, and a combination of a light covering of snow on the steep terrain with off-trail bushwacking and climbing over deadfall, etc. really started slowing us down. At about four hours in, we got to an overlook of Kootenai Canyon, saw a glimpse of what we had left to get to the crags in the blustery cold weather, and decided it was best to finish this trip on another day without snow on the ground. This is definitely a tough one, starting from the valley below and gaining a lot of elevation. We'll likely shoot for this one again next year.

This was a pretty cool overlook, but we didn't hang out long here. I knew we would be heading up to winter on this trip, so we did come prepared for it. But the slippery snow on the ground really made a difference on our progress. This was a good point to evaluate our decision to turn back, as we really just didn't have enough time to finish what was left. Next year with dry ground and longer daylight will make this challenge more doable. And we'll have better views when we do reach the crags. :)

This is on our way back down. Winter meets fall in this section. I love the colors! :)

As we came back down a little lower, the snow let up for bit and we got back to bare ground once again. At this point there are still only game trails to follow every so often until we get down further. We still have a long ways to go to get back down to the valley.

The morning snow and clouds had shrouded this mountain view on our way up. It was nice to get a better glimpse of it coming back down in the afternoon. 

The air was still bitter (our water had started icing over), but the warmer ground temp was melting some of the snow we had dealt with on our way up. When we eventually got back down enough, we thought we had found fall again and left winter behind "up there". But as usual, it eventually started snowing on us again. That's fall in Montana. We usually get quite a mix of weather and temps this time of year and have to keep adjusting our layers. Prepare for everything. :)

A quick little video at our turn-around point overlooking Kootenai Canyon. Enjoy! :)
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​Two final notes (and advice) from this trip:

#1: While I failed to reach my goal this trip, I take satisfaction in the fact that I got out there and made an attempt at it. I am quite determined to reach that elevation pin on the high point of the crags someday. I will be back again!
Don't give up. :)

#2: I tried to poke my eye out with a broken off dead tree branch on the way up.
Don't ask. Let's just say it's a reminder to not only watch the ground when off-trail hiking, but the eye-level stuff, too! Dangers are lurking everywhere in the mountains. Like I always tell my kids on their adventures...
Be safe and have fun. :)

A little mountain therapy up Bass Creek after work today. :)
Bonus: the quick hike in and out was a good way to get in an intense cardio workout!
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Wolf lichen is one of my favorite plants.
Definitely my favorite color. :)
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Our daylight is decreasing quickly this time of year. We got in a little over an hour and a half of hiking up Big Creek after supper tonight, coming out the last bit just past the official "last light" time. I shot these photos before it got too dark for pictures. The one above represents the mysterious atmosphere of the lower portion of Big Creek Canyon quite well. I've had two different women, at two different times, tell me they have driven to the trailhead to hike here during daylight, only to turn around and leave without hiking because they didn't like the eerie feeling they got. The growing darkness only magnifies the feeling of Big Creek, but it's a wonderful place to hike. :)
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The water is quite low this time of year, but always fascinating.
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Megan and I had some things to do in Missoula last week, so afterwards we stopped to visit some ducks at a pond. She enjoyed feeding them, while I kept busy taking photos.

​Since this was a spontaneous stop and I didn't have my camera with me, I had to make do with my cell phone and its "artistic" touch. Turned out kind of fun, nonetheless. :)
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We stopped by the pond again a couple days later on another required trip to the city.
​A flock of geese joined us the second time. -- Word must've got out that we had food. :)
​Those pics to come in another post... 
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