Easter Skiing, Hiking, and Golf

It seems that spring is finally here. The weather has finally warmed up (50's!) and the snow in the valley is melting fast. But there was still plenty of snow in the mountains so it was time to head up for the last day of skiing and to clean the locker out and bring the gear home.

Just to think, this was last week and now the yard is almost green:

We headed up to Bridger for our last ski day on Saturday. It was nice and warm and sunny. The road was completely dry and full of Lance Armstrong wannabes in their brightly colored nut-grabber pants on the way up. Sure, the snow was the consistency of a well-chilled Slurpee but the crowd was light (even for Montana standards) and it was a fun time. Since it was the last day I went for something crazy and rode my backcountry cross-country skis. It was exciting, even though I biffed several times (unable to stop/steer).

Beautiful Marilyn on the slopes:

Here we are at the top of Pierre's Knob, you can see the delightfully named Crazy Mountains in the distance:

If you are thinking to yourself, "Gee that looks like a long way down, how is he going to do that on cross-country skis?", the answer is "On my ass."

The next day, on Easter, after church we decided to take Reagan on a hike up Drinking Horse Mountain and then go hit some balls at the golf course which has just opened for the season. Here poochie has treed a couple of squirrels - boy was he excited!

Further up the mountain, a man and his dog. You can see the Tobacco Root Mtns way in the distance:

Marilyn takes a break while poochie looks for critter.

After summiting the mountain we went to the golf course to hit some balls and try out the new clubs we had gotten for Christmas. My new driver from Marilyn was fantastic (maybe my slice is gone now), and she tried some putting and chipping with her brand new putter and chipper.

All in all it was a great weekend and hopefully the nice weather will stick around for good. But no, looks like maybe snow on Tuesday. Global warming, you know.

*** ANNOUNCEMENT ***

After successfully drinking the second batch (a porter) and getting ready to bottle the third (nut brown ale) and brew the fourth (IPA), it is time to formally announce the founding of:

Tasty beer and a damn good looking dog too.

Cross Country Skiing up Specimen Creek

I have been slow to get around to this "exciting" new activity. Actually, "exciting" is not exactly the word since there are plenty of things that would be more fun than sitting in front of a computer typing this stuff in. However, it does seem like the most efficient way to get pictures and related stories about adventures here out to family and friends. As I said in my brief and unsuccessful California gubernatorial campaign, "I promise good times!".

So, 3 weeks late, on to the first adventure:


My wife's friend's son, Chris, and I decided to go for a xc ski up Specimen Creek. The crick is in the NW corner of Yellowstone NP, in what I call the "free section" where Hwy 191 passes thru the park south of Big Sky on the way to West Yellowstone. We decided upon this adventure because the previous weekend, for my birthday, we had gone with my wife and a friend of ours on a xc ski up Fan Creek, which is just up the road. The other reason of course was to check out the area for some flyfishing opportunities in the spring/summer. I had meant to go this way last year and fish it and never got around to it.



So the adventure begins. Just past the trailhead the trail leads into some open forest. Chris leads the way up the trail.











After a time the trail drops down by the crick in the head of a large meadow. The snow was plentiful, as it had dumped just a day or two before. The springtime temps were warming up into the mid-30s.

More skiing through open meadows with Specimen Creek winding through.

Eventually we came to this spot, which drops off steeper to the right into the crick than it looks. That, plus it was icy due to the warm sun and subsequent re-freezing at night. It was challenging...not quite hair-raising but challenging. Chris was smart and went to the right of the trees. I took the "high road" and wound up having to bomb down hill thru the trees. Fun!

At last we came to our lunch spot, with the high mountains harboring Sportsman Lake beyond. Specimen Creek forks about 1/4 mile ahead.

Chris enjoys a tasty, hard-earned beer with lunch. Sadly not one of my home brews. Next time.

On the way back we took a slightly different route (the "real" trail judging by the blazes on the trees) and got to bomb down some nice little hills. Good for amateurs like us!




All in all it was a good trip and a fun time. Hopefully I will be able to continue this effort with more pics from future adventures! Enjoy.