Green and Red Mountain Summits

Bob Marshall Wilderness, Helena National Forest, Montana

Lots of blue overhead and warming temps led me to get up into the southern reaches of the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Saw a few Sandhill Cranes on the way to the trailhead. One was nice enough to let me get close with a point and shoot camera.

I used the Alice Creek trailhead and went straight up to Lewis and Clark Pass and the Continental Divide Trail as it crosses the pass. This is the old Buffalo Road that the natives used for centuries to get to the plains for hunting. In a few places you can still see travois marks in the ground.

From the pass I went south and up Green Mountain. One side was all snow fields, but I did find a ridge that I could skirt up to the summit. Views over the plains were nice. I could see Fort Butte which was the first landmark Lewis recognized on the way home. Photos don't do the view justice.

The summit was completely snow free and made a wonderful place for me to take a break and have lunch. Also had some Pasque flowers blooming up top. Later on down low I found a meadow that was covered in hundreds of them all blooming at once. I liked that field a lot.

I followed the CDT for a while and noticed a cairn that was a bit different. First one I have ever seen that was built around a tree! Someone must have had a unique sense of humor to build that. Saw sign that a bear had been following the trail recently. Didn't see the bear but it left a big pile of calling cards for me to see.

On a ridge going up Red Mountain there were lots of flowers in every shade of purple. Although they are really small clumps of flowers, they really smell wonderful. Saw some bees checking them out along with me.

Of course Yoda went with me on this adventure, took his photo on each summit, but up on top of Red Mountain he climbed onto the summit marker.

I looked across the valley and noticed that the hills were keeping their eyes on me, or so it seemed. Maybe the snow on the ground made it more prominent, anyway I thought it was pretty neat.

From the time I turned off the main road till I got back on it 10 hours later I didn't see another person. But when I got back to my vehicle at the end of the day there was a Forest Service truck in the parking area along with my vehicle. Made things seem almost crowded. That's what I like about all the open space around western Montana, you really can go out in the woods and not see anyone else.