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trail training on chaffin butte. wind, clouds, + sun.

9/27/2020

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What do you do on a Saturday after work when you only have a short bit of time before supper? You quickly change clothes, throw your pack together, and head out for a quick training session with an intense uphill hike to see how quickly you can get to the top of Chaffin Butte.

​It felt glorious to hustle up and shave quite a bit of time off of our previous hikes up there. A half hour to the top, five minutes to take in the views and a few pics, and then a quick eighteen minute jog back down to supper waiting in the slow cooker. :)

​Trail training is fabulous, and so are the views!! :)
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The Bitterroot Mountains on the west side of the valley are my usual hiking grounds.
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Clouds or sunshine today? How about both? :)
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The Bitterroot Mountain Range stretches a long ways. This is only part of it.
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Taking in the beautiful mountain view on our way up.
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Overlooking a portion of the Bitterroot Valley with an amazing backdrop.
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The wind intensified on top as we watched the rain clouds come our way. I love the feel of it all!
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The east side has a different landscape than the west side. Great for open views and sunshine.
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Fresh snow on St. Mary's Peak and the surrounding Bitterroot Mountains. Winter is coming.
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I love coming back out through the sagebrush at the base of Chaffin Butte. It makes a nice, easy finish to a steep hike.
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I hope you enjoyed coming along. See you next time "Out Here." :)
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chaffin butte evening hike. june 2020.

6/7/2020

2 Comments

 
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Chaffin Butte was our destination for this evening hike. Beautiful views await up there any season of the year.


​​We headed out for this hike in search of Bitterroots (our state flower), but with no success of finding any. 

However, we did discover a lovely little orange flower we had never seen before, and had success of finding some photo-worthy scenic views as well.

Enjoy! :)

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Scarlet globemallow.
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We've never seen these flowers in the Bitterroot Mtns. It's a much different landscape over here on the east side.
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View of the Bitterroot Mountains (where we do most of our hikes). This is just a very small portion of them.
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The sagebrush is another element that we don't have on our hikes in the Bitterroots.
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Up and up we go, with beautiful views behind and around!
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The top is still out of view here, but we're getting closer. The shifting clouds added interest to our evening hike.
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I love the wildflowers mixed with mountain views along the way! Makes the trudge up well worth it. :)
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Looking back at another portion of the Bitterroot Mountains. Como Peaks and El Capitan are visible here.
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This little veery beat us to the top. I could use some wings! ;) He was bobbing up and down like a dipper.
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It was windy on top, but we enjoyed more beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and wildflowers!
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Although a different landscape than the west side of the valley, the views to the east are beautiful in their own way!
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Almost back as we come through the trees. The amazing views captured our attention the whole way down and out.
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The setting sun was glorious as we finished our evening hike out in the flat part. I love the warm glow!
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Chaffin Butte rises in the background. Enjoy the flat part, as this trail is quite steep for much of the hike!
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This final photo says it all. Montana -- I love where I live! :)
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december hike up chaffin butte for sunshine + views.

12/29/2019

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Heading east on Soft Rock Road to hike up Chaffin Butte for sunshine and views.
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Just enough snow to conceal the "C" in the earlier part of the day.
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The clouds stubbornly hung around the Bitterroot Mountains. Full views another day.
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Getting up to cloud level on the east side.
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As we hike up, the trees become smaller and more scarce, opening up the views.
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Looking down on a small piece of rural Montana.
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Stopping to enjoy the changing views along the way.
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You can see so much along the way up ... it makes for slow progress!
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Up and up we went. The actual top remains out of sight from here.

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Only a few small trees on the upper portion ... a hot trek in summer!
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Getting a bird's eye view of the gentle rolling hills of rural Montana.

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Another little glimpse of rural Montana in the middle of open expanses of land.
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View looking further east.
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So much to see from the top!
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​A closeup look at some of the mountains as the clouds shift for brief views.
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​Looking a bit cold back in the canyons. We picked a little warmer place for this hike. :)
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Looking west over the valley to the Bitterroot Mountains on the other side.
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Heading back down in the warming sunshine.
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​It doesn't take long for the sun to do its work when the clouds allow.
​We started out with early winter...

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... and two hours later ended with late fall. ;)​
As we got back down, the "C" became visible from beneath the melting snow.
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​It was another good day for another good hike.

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Thanks for following along on my mountain adventures.
See you in the next post. :)

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    Nikki Weiss
    mountain adventurer
    ​+ photographer.

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