Hiking to Pioneer Falls

On Saturday, September 22, Jaret and I hiked to Pioneer Falls near Gallatin Gateway, Montana.

I've typically hiked in Yellowstone National Park, but I haven't really explored the rest of the area that I live in.  There are so many awesome places to see, but because of my proximity to the park, I've normally stayed in that area.  Since I'm still on my leave of absence, I'm taking advantage of the ability to come and go a little bit.

I picked up a topographical map of the area from Northern Lights Trading Company and we got some lunch before heading to the trail head.  Even before we arrived there, we could see the colorful trees at Spanish Creek.

Although the area had a few hikers and campers already there, it didn't seem crowded, even for a Saturday.  From the parking area we hiked along Spanish Creek until we came to a fork and then followed Falls Creek.  We went up some switchbacks to finally get to Pioneer Falls where we explored around a bit.

The fall colors were starting to come out.  There were a few snow berries and rose hips along the path.  One cliff that was next to us was made of granite, but there was evidence that a glacier had moved through the narrow valley.  There was still a bit of smoke in the air lingering from fires in Oregon and Washington.  We only saw a couple grouse along the path, but couldn't get very close to them.

Jaret rests along the path to Pioneer Falls.

Autumn in Yellow

A rock cliff near the trail

Although the falls didn't have a lot of water coming down, it was quite beautiful.  We were able to get down to the base of the falls without a lot of difficulty, but we still had to hike down a short cliff.  The rocks down there are pretty slippery because of the algae growing on them.  I had to be especially careful that I had good footing down there near the base.

Jaret at Pioneer Falls

Me at Pioneer Falls

Pioneer Falls

The pool at the base of Pioneer Falls

We also spent a little time at the brink of the falls.  There's a lot of room up there to put packs while one explores the base a bit.

In all, I estimate that we hiked about 7.5 miles and only gained an altitude of 800 feet.  It was an easy hike, but was in some beautiful country.  The trail wasn't steep until the very end near the falls, so the altitude change didn't seem very severe at all.

After getting back to Bozeman later, we ate at Applebee's and then went back home.  It was a very enjoyable day.

Sticking around Livingston

I'll tell you what, the smoke in the region has been pretty terrible!  On Saturday, September 15, the smoke billowed in from the west and we've been under it since then.  Apparently all the smoke is from Washington and Oregon.  For some reason, this smoke has really activated my hay fever!  Oh well.  I'm just going to deal with it as best as I can.  Thank God for meds!  At least today I can actually see Electric Peak out my window again!

On September 12 Jean and I went to Livingston to eat at Montana's Rib & Chop House to celebrate birthdays with Dad, Bonnie, Chris, Edie, Janet, and her husband.  It's an annual event that we do.  It's interesting that Chris' and Bonnie's birthdays are on the same day and year.  It's now official--my dad is 60 years old now!  Oops--did I let that slip?

Dessert at Montana's Rib & Chop House

Also this week I finished making the DVD of Betty's Memorial Service and her slideshow.  I got slowed down by a couple of factors--proprietary HD video formats and faulty machines at Insty Prints in Livingston (that company has always done a great job on my DVD projects, by the way, so I was happy to wait for the machine to be fixed).  I sent out the first few DVDs on Friday.

Jean has been growing a garden this year.  She's gotten some nice-looking tomatoes, some big zucchini, a couple squash, and some big sunflowers and hollyhocks.   Yesterday I measured her sunflower at 100 inches, give or take an inch.

Jaret and I hiked to West Boulder Meadow on Saturday September 15.  It was good to hang out with him.  Usually our schedules don't work out together but this time they did.  After picking him up at his house, we drove southeast from Livingston on Swingley Road past Ellis Basin to get to West Boulder River.

Ellis Basin

The Pine Creek Fire is still active, which is on the other side of the mountains from where we were hiking.  That fire is 8,509 acres at present and is 51% contained.  It's about 11 miles from where we were hiking, so we were well away from it.

We started walking from West Boulder Campground to the south.  The hike follows a lovely forest for about a mile and a half before it comes out into an open burned forest for the rest of the distance.  We crossed the river on a footbridge and hiked up switchbacks a short distance before heading south again toward the meadow.  Once we were there, we stayed in the north end.  The autumn foliage is out now, and the colors were great.  In the meadow, the West Boulder River's beach is sandy, but as one gets to the north end of the meadow, it turns into rocks.  The area was full of granite, quartz, and limestone.  The cliffs around us at the meadow appeared to be made of limestone.  We saw a lot of rose hips and snow berries too.  Round-trip, we hiked about six miles.  Along the route we saw a grouse, a couple healthy white-tailed deer, and Angus cattle.

Scenery near the beginning of the trail

West Boulder Meadow Trail

Autumn foliage along the trail

The opening of West Boulder Meadow

Jaret at West Boulder River

I'm at West Boulder River.

I'm looking forward to my next hike with Jaret!

Camping with Greg

Recently I've gone on a couple camping trips with Greg.  He owns a nearby bed and breakfast and wanted to have some time off from working.  He and I have been friends for several years.  I was available so we went to Tom Miner Basin on August 26-27, and then we went to Rock Creek September 7-8.

The last time I camped in Tom Miner Basin, Adam and I hiked through some of the petrified forest.  This time we didn't do any significant hiking, but we definitely relaxed and talked in front of the campfire.  There were a few people at the campsite that night, but there were plenty of spaces for us all.  Greg cooked some chicken, corn, and potatoes.  The evening was pretty nice.

The next morning, we walked for a short time toward the interpretive trail in Tom Miner Basin.  Since he had to be back at work early in the afternoon, we didn't go very far from the camp, but it was good to do a little walking.

This past weekend we went to Rock Creek Campground, which I hadn't been to before, but he had.  It's a small campground that doesn't require payment, but does have picnic tables, bear boxes, fire rings, an outhouse, and a corral.  It's nice because of the dense Englemann spruce forest there.  That night we also cooked some chicken and talked around the campfire before going to bed that night.

Rock Creek Campground

On Saturday morning, we got up and had breakfast before going hiking.  We went on the main trail there, which I will call the Rock Creek Trail.  It meandered into a beautiful meadow where we crossed the creek.

Greg hikes up the Rock Creek Trail.

A mountains stands behind a trail marker along the Rock Creek Trail.

A trail marker in front of a mountain along the Rock Creek Trail

Rock Creek

Rock Creek

From there we hiked above the creek and were able to see Steamboat Mountain, Twin Peaks, and the Ramshorn Peak.  The trail I went on with Adam at Tom Miner Basin goes along Ramshorn Peak on the south side.  Greg and I were on the north side of the mountain.  We saw a petrified tree standing in a cliff behind us.  I estimate it was about five feet tall.  We decided because of its precarious position from us that we wouldn't go see it up close.

Steamboat Mountain

A petrified tree on a cliff near our trail

We eventually came to another trail intersection and went north along what I will call the Gallatin Petrified Forest Trail (trails out here are basically labeled as numbers).  We didn't go very far on it before we stopped and had lunch.

Greg stands in front of Fortress Mountain.

Silhouette of Trees

We rested a bit before going back to our campsite.  I'd estimate that we hiked a total of 10 miles.

A large piece of petrified wood we saw on the way back to the campsite

We made some hot dogs and then packed all of our stuff in the dark and drove home.

There are a few trails out there, and a lot of things to discover out there.  It's such a beautiful forest.  I'd love to go back to that area of the Gallatin National Forest again.  I saw on our map that we passed a lake (which we couldn't see from the trail) as well as a large basin fairly close to where we were.  There's a lot of potential for discovery there.  Plus, the area is littered with petrified wood and jasper.  I'm a sucker for those things, so it's definitely something I want to go back to.

We had a great time together, and I enjoyed getting out in nature once again.

I'm along the Rock Creek Trail.