We had a short summer on the mountain this year, but it was still one of the best. The horses were exceptional, taking us on many backcountry trips with little or no issues. Our last morning ride up Teakettle Mtn before I left, capped off the season. 

Although it was a cloudy rainy morning, the views were still fantastic. The horses were perfect and neither of us wanted the ride to end. But we had to return because we had a couple of granddaughters that were anxious to ride

Cowgirls in the making.

We covered an exceptional amount of backcountry miles this summer. I always carry a GPS and record trails and miles ridden. I had the horses on the mountain for 33 days this summer and covered 268 miles. 

We had many exceptional views

The fishing was terrific. Both in the lakes and in the rivers

We had some trails that were slightly challenging, but had great scenery and no mishaps.

And we had great horses that were so much fun

We’ll soon be back

It is a joy as a father to help my children experience the mountains. To see the absolute joy on their face as they see new country is something I’ll always cherish. My children have long been exposed to Montana’s mountain country. This past week has been full of new areas explored and experienced. My daughter Angela and I were on several horseback rides. We were up on Teakettle Mtn, up McGinnis creek, and up Big Creek.There are magnificent views from the top of Teakettle Mtn. We rode up here one evening amidst very ominous clouds. We didn’t take any raingear along and just as we started down it began to pour. Lesson learned!

Another trip was to explore a new area up McGinnis creek. All the country up the North Fork of the Flathead is magnanimous. Huge valleys with beautiful views. The many old logging roads in this area have been closed and abandoned for vehicle travel so they are excellent areas to explore on horseback.

Cody was able to fly in from Minneapolis for a quick 3 days.  He got off the plane and stepped into the saddle. We took a overnight trip up to Badger cabin – a forest service facility up the south fork of two medicine.

Twelve hours earlier Cody was home in Minneapolis. Now he was catching cutthroat in the backcountry. We stopped at a hunting camp just short of Badger cabin to spend the night.

The next day we rode up big river trail to the Long creek trail crossing to fish the middle fork of the flathead. Fishing the river is always fun and I enjoy riding into the back country on this trail.

Gotta love Montana’s wilderness!!

I was fortunate in my youth to be raised by a father that loved the mtns. He loved to fish, hike, hunt and recreate in the mtns of Montana. He shared his love of adventure with me throughout my childhood. I will always be grateful. Today, (July 5) marked the 20th anniversary of his death while camping in a favorite little national forest campground. One of the areas that we often explored in my youth was up the granite creek drainage to granite cabin. Connie and I took a ride up this drainage today to check on the river crossing accessing castle lake.

This was one of those days when things don’t always go well. We took Banjo and Freckles cuz Tanner and Harley needed a rest. There is a stretch of this trail that goes through a burn area from last year and for some reason both horses developed a real attitude and neither wanted to be the leader. After a few rodeo’s in some precarious trail locations we finally got lined out and made it to the river. It was late in the day so after a quick lunch we headed back. Rounded a corner and uh oh there’s a grizzly. Thankfully Banjo didn’t freak out and the bear jumped off the trail and up a ravine. I walked banjo into the ravine carefully watching but no bear so I signaled Connie to head over. As she was heading by where the bear was sighted I spotted him about 20′ above her behind a large stump. He had been there the whole time and I just missed him. We were lucky and he just watched us pass by without incident.

A friend from ND came out for a visit and some backcountry riding and fishing. We spent a day up the S. Fork of Two Medicine and the fishing was great.

The next day was a trip to elk lake. The trail hadn’t been cut yet, but the horses did a great job getting around all the deadfall. Luck was with us and a trail crew came in behind us so the ride out was easy.

I always love the views from Devils Hump

The fishing was fabulous. I haven’t had that kind of fishing at elk lake for many years.

Such a beautiful lake

Definitely an adventurous last few days. Thanks Dad for teaching me to appreciate this country.