Boulder Point Lookout

Kristie and I hiked up to Boulder Point back on Saturday November 22nd. We were excited to get out together for some outdoor therapy and to give the grandmas some time with Olin all to themselves. It was about 35F and spitting snow as we proceeded up West Fork Road and there was a trace of fresh snow which kept in shaded places as it had been gently snowing at the trail head overnight. The hike up was composed of ~2800 vertical feet of climbing over ~2.25 miles of trail. The snow became light but steady after climbing up a few hundred vertical feet past the weather station and the brief ridge bench. Following the trail wasn't a problem as we were following one person and a dog whose tracks were yet to be obscured by snow. As we hiked the snow depth increased to several inches at ~7000 ft where we ran into a pretty substantial blow down which blocked the trail. Our track makers opted to beat trail straight uphill in an apparent effort to find the next switchback. After losing faith in our track makers' route, negotiating snow covered boulder fields we opted to follow the ridge for the last portion of the climb to the lookout. The lookout was braving the gently blowing cloud wisps and snow and was looking very cozy with its storm flaps open and wood smoke plumes peppering the air. Our track makers turned out to be Jack Wade and his dog Dozier who welcomed us with a hot stove and water for the dogs. After a good chat and some stove warmth we left for the descent. Upon leaving the lookout we noted the ~6 inches of snow depth with 2-3 of those inches from the current system. We descended to the car in 48 minutes and enjoyed the muscle aches from our efforts over the next few days.

Elk Meadows Road

We rendez-vous'ed with Porter, Mindy, Eli and Gabe in Lolo for an outing up Elk Meadows Road this past Sunday November 30th. Porter is a champion for outdoor family adventures and we were thankful for his call Saturday promoting the outing. We thought there was a possibility we could schlep around on our cross-country skis but at the least we'd be able to get the boys out on their sleds. I was a little concerned with the potential for slick forest service roads but Porter had been to the same location on Thursday to hunt Christmas trees. He experienced wintery climate with snow-packed but passable roads as the temps had been cold enough to keep true pack ice from forming. As it turned out the little trough that blew through Saturday brought warmth (42F at the turnoff from route 12!) and rain up to our destination (39F) so the roads were melting ice sheets in places but there was gravel and pine needles enough to keep us on the road. Olin was really excited to get on his skis which made me happy. He also really enjoyed being pushed around in the sled and walking in the snow following Eli around. We all had great fun despite the drippy weather as good comaraderie provided.

After several weeks of a news fast my pundit induced nausea is finally clearing up. Today I eased back in to political news coverage with this:http://www.slate.com/id/2205849/ from which I found this quote very telling of our president-elect's grounded wisdom:

"The job of an elected official -- whether it's a President or a council member -- is to solve problems, deliver for the people, don't spend all your time bickering, stay off the cable news shows. You know, and I watch sometime those shows, and I realize, you know, you're arguing about the past, we need to be talking about the future."- Barak Obama, November 1, 2008.

We took the pics above at the Obama speach in Missoula back in April. In the top pic Obama is in the middle of shaking Olin's hand (yes, we've washed it since). In the bottom photo it's amazing to contrast Obama's friendly enthusiasm as he greets supporters with the protective intensity of the secret service dudes behind him.

http://www.mdt.mt.gov/travinfo/weather/rwis_google.shtml

Here's the link for MT DOT webcams.

This post is for my blog hero Christoph. Unfortunately his and Lindsay's trip to southern Utah was blown off course to Denver by bad weather. To console themselves while in Denver they adopted a Siberian husky pup. So here are some pics for the Ammann family to enjoy: super husky Nuna dropping in off the summit ridge of Trapper Peak and some petroglyphs at Capital Reef National Monument.

Looks like we missed it. Today's forecast for Lost Trail Pass (2008-12-02):

Late Afternoon: Snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a steady temperature around 24. West northwest wind around 16 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Tonight: Snow showers likely, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 16. West northwest wind between 9 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 23. North northwest wind between 3 and 6 mph. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

We need some snow here in the Northern Rockies so I thought this would serve for now. Check out the remnants of Kristie's over the head face shot!