Pickin' Hucks With Pa

 In these surroundings my old man and I picked around 1 lb of huckleberries!

 I love taking shots like this.

Mmmm...Hucks

Mom's Bear And Moose Pics

  

Rawr! 

Trip Report: Fishing For My Dinner

While my old man was in town today I decided to take off work and try and catch us some dinner! Between the two of us we caught around 25 brookies, bows, cutties, and browns. Upon arrival at the river I warned the old man that we should be on the lookout for bears. We fished in opposite directions and we only had my bear spray so I told him to make lots of noise. We pulled a few nice brookies out of the first spot and we were on our way. 

As we pulled past where my pa was fishing we spotted this wet footed black bear. He must have been cooling off in the stream when dad stumbled around the bend singin' and retreated to the road. It's a good sign that he wanted nothing to do with us!

 We have been experiencing a lot of haze from a big 'ol fire in Idaho so we didn't get the best views of the surrounding mountains but it was still a beautiful day to catch some fish with my papa.

And we did manage a good meal for my mom and my wife. Dad had to get a two day license but agreed that the meal was well worth the cost!

Trip Report: East Side Glacier Park

My parents came out to visit the great north this weekend! We hiked the park and found some time to do a little fishing. First we hit a lake on the east side.

It was difficult to get out to where they were surfacing but I managed this colorful brookie and a small rainbow. After fishing here for a bit we headed over to McDonald Creek. 

This creek is not very fertile as it heads near the peaks of the park. It is fed primarily by glacier melt water and a few springs. The fish in this stream run small but are willing to eat almost any fly. I usually don't worry too much about bears or moose but when you see 'em around you need to be mindful.

They were playing in the water! I got a really good video of them batting at each other and nipping but I don't want to even try to imbed it here.

This young male moose wanted nothing to do with us. He disappeared gently into the woods as tourists began stopping.

Trip Report: Fishin' The Flathead

After work last night I headed to the Flathead to chase some cutthroats. I wore swimming shorts and waded deep into the river, which gains it's flow from glacier's in the northern Rockies! Strapped with two serious weapons (an 8 wt fly rod and medium spinning gear) I fished for a just shy of 2 hours. 

Quite a few cutties took the Stimulator and a little bull trout took the spinner. I put him back immediately without photo due to their status as an endangered species.

The first bigger fish is a Rainbow that I caught at another spot! They hit pretty fast and furious until the sun began to sink under the weight of the mountains. I had one really nice cutthroat of around 18'' jump fully out of the water missing my red butted Stimulator dry fly by the smallest margin as if floated quickly down the main stem of the river...

Maybe next time!

Old Fishing Report: Flathead River

The water is still cold and the cutthroats are hungry! I've fished a number of times after work and when I can spare an hour over the past two weeks. I kayaked to a rock bar and tossed a big stimulator dry fly where the current broke behind the bar. Immediately a 15-18 inch cutthroat sucked down the fly. I set the hook and the line went slack. This happened four times in a row...

I did manage a stout 14 inch cuttie on Wednesday! He hit a stimi in another current seam. Each time I've been out I've missed a few really nice fish but I'm getting better at managing my line and it helps. I've still managed five or six smaller fish on average each time I've been out.

I'm sure i'll get back to more fishing as the weather cools and snow covers higher elevations, but for now it's all about the hiking!

Hiking Report: Highline and Grinnel Lookout

Today I hiked the Highline Trail with a friend.

 Wildflowers carpeted the mountainsides. I found a few handfuls of Huckleberries too!

 

Notice where the chalet sits. From where we were standing the Garden Wall trail climbed steeply to the Grinnel Glacier overlook!

My friend didn't have the energy to get up here so I did it solo. I hiked up to the notch and up along the ridge line up to near the peak.

I met an older fella up there who challenged me to climb to the top of a peak along the ridge line. I declined, but got him to snag a photo for me before I made the climb down.

My back gave me some trouble earlier in the week so at this point I was hurtin'!

 Here you can see the Garden Wall Trail which led me to the Grinnel Overlook.

We hiked along the wall that spans the picture. The Overlook was a mile or so to the left of the picture. Today we parked at the Apgar Transit Station and took a free shuttle bus to Logan Pass. We hike the trail coming out at the Loop Trailhead. From here we caught a bus back to Apgar. It reduced wear on our vehicle and made the precarious ride easy. We never waited more than 15 min for a bus! I hiked a total of around 13 miles in just over five hours.

Going Through Glacier Pictures!

I take way too many photos when I head out into the wilds. While I went through the files I found a few really cool shots.

Marmot!

 

 The roar, the jump, and the splash!

 Pretty Flowers!

Hiking Trip Report: I Gotta Get Out Fishing Soon

After a marathon week of outdoor fun we capped it off with a hike to Twin Lakes at Jewel Basin. We brought a little fishing gear but these lakes showed no signs of life.

The first 2 miles was characterized by steep switchbacks and beautiful views of Flathead Lake and Valley. After passing over the ridge we were greeted by the interior mountains of the Swan Range.

 Just over the ridge is the lake...and lots of wildflowers!

These things look like Dr. Suess trees.

Beautiful views but no fishes.
 
We haven't seen many bear on the trails this year but wildlife has been abundant. This is one of around a dozen mountain goats hanging out and grazing on the shoreline.

I can't wait to get out hiking again but for now bring on the fishes!