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It was a lovely spring day with a temp of 67 in the valley. But when we got to the trailhead, it was noticeably cooler at 57 degrees with the snow and increased elevation. As we hiked into the canyon, the temperature grew colder, dropping to somewhere in the 40's. We went from spring to winter in just a matter of minutes. But the beauty is there regardless of the weather. And we enjoyed every bit of it. That's Montana! :) 
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17-mile round trip day hike to Bass Lake - October 2019 Bitterroot Mountains - Western Montana - Northern Rockies
 With less water flowing down the mountain this time of year, the falls are not as large as they are in late spring and early summer, but I still enjoy the cascading water. :)
I love our mountain streams and waterfalls, and so do the dippers. But I think I will reserve dipping my feet in this icy cold water for summertime! ;)  Brrrr! The coldness coming off of the water feels like air conditioning. It's definitely the wrong time of year for that! Back to the trail to keep moving.  A wonderful view to the south from what is known by locals as Pinball Wizard, an avalanche chute north of the trail that keeps this area along the way open to views. It's our turn-around-point in winter and early spring due to avalanche risk, but all is safe to continue to the lake on this trip. :)
More beautiful views as we traverse through the wonderful open meadows that are created by more avalanche chutes along the way.  The views are amazing here! Awesome place for a photography and snack break! :)  More views as we go through the rock field. I love the large bench and table rocks! (If only I could take some of them home with me.)  Getting closer. We will go between these two mountain slopes to get to the lake which sits just beyond. The backdrop at the other end of the lake is now coming into view.  As we head through an opening between two ridges that close in together just before the lake, we look over to see that we are passing by what was once far off ahead of us. Almost there! :)  We arrive at our destination and continue hiking around the north side of the lake hoping to find more views and less wind than at the east end. And we did. :)  When we hiked into here last year, we didn't have time to hike around the lake, so this is our first time of going beyond the east end of the lake. Part of the hike around Bass Lake seemed kind of similar to hiking around Big Creek Lake. Both are very beautiful!  How long does it take to hike around a mountain lake? That largely depends on how many pictures you take!! LOL! :)  Although still a little breezy, we chose a spot down by the lake to hang out for a bit and enjoy a little campfire along the rocky shore.  I love watching the sparkles dance on the water while I soak in a little sunshine!  This solitary goose was our only company at the lake.  Almost forgot to get a group photo. Took a quick snapshot as we were leaving the lake. Not the best of lighting here, but it will have to do for this time. Gotta get going. :)  One last look back at the lake as we are leaving. I can picture my son skiing on the slopes when there is more snow on them. As his mom, I always wish him to "be safe and have fun" when he heads out. As for us, it's now time to get back before dark. :)  Back on the trail again to retrace our earlier footsteps. We never came across anyone else coming in or going out, so we enjoyed having the trail and lake completely to ourselves for the day. I love the solitude of being in the mountains by ourselves! :)
 Looking back down a portion of Bass Creek Canyon. A whole lot of awesomeness! (We'll be hiking back through those trees shortly.)  Nature's bench with a view. Love it!! Tell me again why we need to go back? ;)  Okay... since we must get back, I'll try to take less pics and keep moving.
 Gotta take a little time to hang out in the meadows on the way back, too. Soooo peaceful and relaxing with beauty in every direction! :)
I took this photo of the aspens as we were almost back to Pinball Wizard, with about 5 miles left to go. From there I don't have any more pictures to share of this hike on our way back, as I've already taken plenty of photos of the lower portion in many of my shorter day hikes. So I'll end my post with one more photograph of the lake. :)  See you in another Out Here post. Enjoy! :)
 Heading up the trail to our climb on Flashdance up Bass Creek.  A portion of our view with the evening sun working its way lower towards the horizon.  A nice little area along the rock wall to hang out while others are climbing.  Belaying from below.  Josh smiles as he's feeling stuck and not sure how to get through a difficult spot. He eventually conquers it.  This climb looked easier than others we've done ... until I was on the wall. LOL!
 Rock climbing is physically and mentally challenging as you push to do more than you think you can.
Everyone did great, and we had a lot of fun! I'm looking forward to our next rock climbing adventure! :)  Mid-winter, 4-mile hike up Bass Creek in the Bitterroot Mountains.  Due to a cold circulating around our household for the past few weeks, it had been quite a bit since the girls and I had gotten a chance to get out in the mountains. I was really missing going for our regular hikes, so I'd been really looking forward to this one as everyone was finally getting well enough at the same time. We got started in the later afternoon and only had a couple of hours available, so we decided to hit Bass Creek which is close to home. Because this trail is very familiar territory, I knew we would be up to the dam in about 40 minutes or so (if I didn't stop to take too many pictures along the way), giving us time for a nice little break to take in the views before heading back down.
 The temp was a bit brisk, but overall not too bad. It felt great to be out hiking again, and as always, amazing to be in the mountains I so love. What a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours on a weekend afternoon. :) 
It was a beautiful spring day with sunshine and blue skies for a nice 7-mile afternoon hike up Bass Creek the other day. Spring brings extra waterfalls spilling down the sides of the canyon walls. The sound of the water seemed especially refreshing while hiking in the hot sun. As always, we enjoyed the lovely views while getting a bit of exercise in the wonderful outdoors. :) |
authorHi! I'm Nikki Weiss, and I'd like to invite you to follow along with me "Out Here". 
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