Flesher Pass to Rogers Pass on the CDT

Helena National Forest, Montana

Went to see Woody from the PCT as he works his way towards the end of the CDT. Hiked the stretch of trail between Flesher Pass and Rogers Pass then gave him a ride into Lincoln for the night. Ran into a patch of chokecherries that are just about ripe.

Got lucky for a bit as the wind created a small smoke free zone where we were at.

Looking north from a high point by the trail I could see where the fire in the Alice Creek drainage was chugging away. I was just up there 6 weeks ago. Hate to see it all burning.

Kicked up an elk and startled several grouse, or rather they startled me. Did see some weird wildlife sightings like all these ants on whats left of this flower.

...and lots of butterflies.

The trail was in perfect shape for cruising lots of miles without a lot of effort. It was amazing how quickly 11 miles went by. Then I had to turn around and go back to my car so I could drive around and give Woody a ride to Lincoln.

Someone put up a few new CDT markers that I haven't seen in the area before. They are like the ones along the PCT. I like the old wood signs used in the past but these will likely last a lot longer.

It was a good day and I am looking forward to seeing Woody at the north end of the trail.

Twin Lakes and the CDT Anaconda Cutoff

Beaverhead-Deer Lodge National Forest, Montana

Fires in the Bitterroot chased out of the local hills and forced me to find someplace with less smoke. I headed off towards Anaconda and the CDT cutoff. After 4 miles of new trail I followed the old trail that is still on the ground but isn't being maintained any longer. It would be easy to miss if I hadn't been looking for the old trail.

It tied back in to the maintained trail that goes towards Twin Lakes after about 2 miles. I like the old trails like this the best because you just don't know what you will find. Like this old cabin that has seen much better days.

The lakes I wanted were only a short distance apart. I didn't take a fishing pole with me and of course the fish were actively surface feeding while I was there. Spend almost an hour at the upper lake exploring around the shore...

...and then went back to the lower lake and had a wonderful lunch.

After I made it back to my vehicle I decided to camp along the creek from the lower lake so I turned back around and headed back up the valley for the night. In the morning I found some cool mushrooms. Almost looked like pine cones when looking straight down at them.

After some exploring down another trail in the area I called it a trip and headed for home. Smoke was starting to build in with the shift in the wind.