Everyone’s lives are so busy these days it’s sometimes difficult to make time for a father/son backcountry trip. Steve and Cody were able to make a quick flight out to Montana for a few days, and we managed a trip into the middle fork of flathead and up to castle lake. 

We did a 4 day, 3 night trip with 2 nights staying on the middle fork and 1 night up at castle lake. The boys landed around one in the afternoon and by six we were having a beer 6 miles back in the Great Bear Wilderness. It was bad luck the first night for fishing as there had either been a rain event or a mudslide farther upriver which severely clouded the water.

With no reason for pursuing fishing the river we packed up in the morning and headed up to castle lake. This is a beautiful little lake that seems to have a great fish population. 

We packed float tubes and the boys enjoyed the day floating around reeling in the fish.I stayed up at camp sitting in the shade and watching the horses enjoy their roaming freedom.

There was a party of stock users that we knew just leaving the lake when we arrived. They mentioned seeing multiple black bears during their stay. A sow and two cubs on one side of the lake and a boar on the other side close to where they were camped. We didn’t encounter any during our time on the lake.

We used a portable electric fence to keep the horses boxed in the upper end of the lake so they could graze and then high lined them during the night. Makes for a very enjoyable stay when the horses are happy and full.

Hoping that the water cleared we headed back to try fishing the river.The water was much better and the fish were hungry. The boys were catching nice cutthroat almost every cast.

After a few more hours of fishing in the morning, we saddled up and headed back to the trailhead.Beating the heat of the day and getting back for a cold beer at the pickup.

After arriving back at apgar view and some much needed showers, we were treated to a fabulous steak supper that Connie had prepared for us. Topped off with some home made ice cream for dessert.

As I drove the boys to catch their plane early the next morning, we reminisced of how much fun this quick trip had been. The fishing was fabulous, the horses were awesome, and the company was first rate. Life these days is so extremely busy, little trips like this are hard to find time for. This was one for the memories. 

Wow we’ve had a busy couple of weeks on the mtn.. All of our children and grandkids were able to make it out for a summer visit. Steve, Leah and kids had a quick stop after a tour thru Yellowstone. Cody, Whitney, and kids were next to arrive and then Angie and her girls were able to fly out for some mountain R&R.

Mountain time seems to be so precious to these young kids. The horses are always the biggest attraction, but just having the freedom to explore, learn and enjoy Montana living is so special. The grandkids are getting older now and wanting to experience more, so this years activities included flyfishing, learning to shoot, picking huckleberries, hiking, horse riding, campfires with s’mores, and lots laughter and fellowship.

It was so much fun to see the progress the kids have made with their riding skills. It’s no longer fun to be led around by an adult, now they have learned to control their horse and do very well riding on their own.

Cody and Angie’s family’s come out of the Minneapolis area. When your life is in the city a visit to the mountains is a great way to recharge and collect your sanity.

Connies folks were able to drive up and see all the kids. At 85 years of age Don jumped on a horse and joined Cody and the kids for a ride.

It’s not just riding that attracts the kids to horses. They all wanted to help with grooming and tacking up.

Yep it was a busy wonderful couple of weeks up on the mtn. The kind of visit that will be remembered for many many years. Hopefully the mountain magic will always shine in the eyes of these kids.

Back in my teenage years my best friend and I used to hike into Tranquil basin each summer. The fly fishing was always great and rarely did we ever see another soul in this remote area. Well it’s been about 40 years since those days, so when Cody was asking about a possible location to hike to and fish, I suggested we give Tranquil a try. Having never been there he was up for the excursion. 

Most hikers visit Tranquil Basin via Edna creek trail off of Big River trail. This trail accesses the massive ridge line that sits above the Tranquil lakes but has poor access down to the lakes themselves. We elected to hike up the ravine that drains the two lakes down into Bear Creek. 

There is no Forest Service trail up this ravine just a rarely used hiking trail that is pretty much just used by goats, and the goats shy away from it because it’s to steep. Just kidding, it’s not quite that bad, but it sure seemed extreme compared to my childhood memories. 40 years and 50 lbs tend to change a persons perspective. 

This is the scene as you finally get to the easterly lake

The trail is somewhat difficult to follow, but if you have reasonable route finding skills you won’t have any trouble hiking into these lakes. It is about 2200 ft of elevation gain in a couple of miles, so it is very vertical. 

The trail navigates to the more easterly lake. We fished this for just a short period of time and only had one bite. To access the larger west lake we just bushwhacked our way across a ridge and down to the lake. This lake was reported to have been last stocked in 2010 by state game and fish so we were hopefull of some nice sized cutthroat.

The fishing was pretty slow, not near filling our expectations. Still just getting to be there and fish these beautiful lakes is worth the trip.