Well this is definately a fear of living up on a mountain, dry conditions and forest fires.

This one started this afternoon up the north fork in the glacier rim area, just a few miles from us. It looks like the firefighters are getting it under control.

Had a great ride today to a gorgeous little wilderness lake called Elk lake.

This trail takes off from Devil Creek and is a pretty good climb over what is known as Devils Hump. It is about 6 miles to the pass and then another mile over to the lake.

The views from the pass are awesome.

Didn’t do any fishing today because this was a ride to check out the trail. This lake is just enjoyable to visit and have lunch.

Rode up to Huckleberry Lookout this morning. This trail takes off from the Camas Road in Glacier National Park. It’s only about 6 miles up to the lookout, but it is a pretty decent climb so you want your horse in shape. The trail is in good condition and doesn’t seem to get much traffic. We ran into no other hikers or riders.

From Huckleberry you get great views of Glacier. You can also see into the Whitefish range and up the North Fork.

The horses have been kept off their pasture till they have been slowly introduced to the lush grass. This morning at first light they were allowed out to the larger pasture.

They only get a couple of hours out here, but they sure look content.

Went for a ride up the south boundary trail today. We asked a new neighbor to ride along with us, but then Connie was having trouble with her wrist after surgery so it ended up just Jack and I taking the ride. It was Tanner’s first experience riding with a mule and he did not seem to mind this long-eared somewhat homely horse. The trail starts at West Glacier at the old river bridge and runs alongside the park side of the river. This trail is for the most part fairly easy, but there are many precarious stretches where you are riding the bank high above the river, one misstep could be disastrous. We were just planning a short day so we rode from the park headquarters to the lincoln creek patrol cabin (a little over 12 miles round trip). This is a very scenic ride along the river. You do have the noise of the nearby railroad and vehicles on the highway, so you don’t have the solitude of other backcountry rides, but it is still well worth it. You also have the shrieks and yells of the river floaters as they encounter the rapids down below you.

Jack and his mule

It was a beautiful day to ride up Mcginnis creek yesterday. This area is off limits to vehicle travel until July 1 so it is a nice place to take a conditioning ride. With temps in the 90’s we didn’t push the guys to hard, but did take a trail that got us up on a ridge so we would have some decent views of the area. There is a lot of new growth in the area following the fire’s. Many little pockets open up for viewing, but we did not see any wildlife on the ride. This is a great looking area for deer and elk but I suspect the heat had them tucked into sheltered areas out of view. The horses did a good job. Freckles got ponied along though and he got pretty lazy on the way out, felt like he was going to pull my arm off many times. This was Connie’s first real ride following her wrist surgery so she was pretty happy.

We’ve made it back to Apgar View Ranch after being in ND for springs work on the farm. I’ve been trying to acclimate the horses, so am riding every day for short 2 hr periods. After returning with Freckles yesterday I rode out to the pasture because I had left the gate open. This sow was ambling up the road with her two cubs. When this photo was taken the cubs were behind the tree. Right after I snapped the picture with my phone Freckles saw the bear and proceeded to have a fit, so all photo op’s were over. The two cubs ran out on the road with mom and she saw or heard Freckles having his moment. I had never seen a horse act like that before. He blew up his mane and tail, and held his whole body in a manner that made him look huge. He was blowing snot out of his nose like a dragon. The sow took this in and did not waiver. I expected her to gather her cubs and dive into the forest, but she did not alter course. At this point I felt it best that Freckles and I head back toward the barn. There have been numerous bears sighted in the area this spring, so we’re going to have to be cautious with our excursions.