Travel Adventure #16

The final camping trip for 2025 started on Wednesday, October 1st when Gail & I decided to head out and set up camp above Lake Como even though rain was predicted. 

The fall colors were magnificent.  We had enough time for a couple good hikes in between rainstorms.  

Rainbows kept appearing and disappearing as the dark clouds headed our way and then seemed to move right around us.  Had we been able to find the "pots of gold" at the end of these rainbows we could have been plenty wealthy before the day was over!

When it became clear the rain was not going to let up for the remainder of the day Thursday, we headed home mid-afternoon.

Friday, I cleaned out my van - took the bed apart and into the house, took the seats back out to the van and reinstalled them, hauled in all my camping bins, cleaned some out and put them back in the van for winter storage, keeping anything that might freeze in the house for the winter. 

The camping season is over but what a great season it was.

Travel Adventure #14

The camping season is winding down but Gail and I decided another campout was necessary before the colder weather comes.   Wednesday, August 27th, was the day we started this adventure.  Rain was pouring down in buckets. I tried taking a photo of the sign near where we camped out.  As you can see, the timing of the wipers and my finger on the shutter button weren’t quite right. 😊

Rumors of flash floods and rising river levels had my ears perked up a bit.  But we drove out to the Painted Rocks Reservoir southwest of Hamilton, MT, crossed the dam that was first constructed in 1939 creating the lake, out past cell service and into the wild. 

Due to the heavy rains, Gail spent most of the day in her camper.  I spent most of the day in my camper van, working on my laptop, playing guitar and knitting a bit.  We went out for a short walk to check out the area but only went a mile or two up towards the Blue Joint Creek Trailhead.

By later afternoon the rain was calming a bit so we decided to hike up a nearby road to locate a trailhead that was supposed to be 3 miles or less away from our campsite.  We walked at least 3 miles towards the Little Blue Joint Trailhead but finally gave up due to exhaustion and becoming soaked, either from sweating within the plastic raincoats or from the rain itself pouring down on us.  What a tiring day that was.

My pedometer total for the day was 7 miles.   I had a hard time sleeping that night as the rain pounded on the roof of my van on and off all night long.   

The next day Gail rested and I took a mile hike up a different road, adding 2 miles to my pedometer.  We had a campfire that evening and roasted hot dogs.  It was a bit difficult to find wood dry enough to make some coals, but Gail found some dried up pine needles to add to the greener wood someone had left at the site.   It’s hard to beat hot dogs roasted over an open fire while out camping.  I got my guitar out and we had a great time singing together around the campfire.

By Friday we were ready to do some serious hiking once again.  The morning started with a temperature of 43 degrees so bundling up was the best way to enjoy a bit of breakfast before hitting the trail. 

I drove Gail, her dog Paige and myself up to the Blue Joint Creek Trailhead. The weather was perfect but the trail was extremely rocky.  Gail remembered this trail from riding horses years ago. She remembered it as a marvelous trail.  My impression, however, was that it was potentially a dangerous trail, due to my large feet and clumsiness.  We walked 2.5 miles up. I didn’t have any interest in going farther.  So, we stopped and ate a light lunch and headed back. 

But the sense of danger I felt early on in this hike displayed itself clearly when I tripped on some rocks and fell hard onto both knees.  I rolled over on my back right away to make sure I could still bend my knees and hadn't broken anything.  But it took ten or fifteen more minutes for the pain to calm down enough for me to get up without feeling faint.  Eventually I got up with Gail’s help and we continued back to the van, making it safely back to the campsite.

We both agreed at that point that it was time to head home.   Overall, it was a great adventure.  I walked about 15 miles in those 3 days.  We both found we could survive in tough circumstances whether in downpours or hot sun.  

I, and the camera that was hanging around my neck, survived the fall. Gail did not panic nor go running off to find help.  She stayed calm and waited patiently… the best kind of hiking partner!   I thank God for all that He did in helping us through and granting us another marvelous adventure in the wild!!

Travel Adventure #13

Anther camping trip with Gail happened July 23-25.  This time we headed out the West Fork Rd, past Conner, MT, to Watchtower Creek campground.

Gail was sure there were great huckleberries across the creek and up the hill.  However, the bridge was out 3/4 mile up the trail.  She scooted across a log that had fallen over the creek, but it seemed a bit too dangerous for me.  

I instead tried going across some of the dryer looking rocks on the creek bed.  But alas, one slip and water flows freely into my new hiking boots. Ugh!  All my socks are soaked as well as my pant legs up to the knee.  

Fortunately I brought along extra clothes and shoes.  I found some paracord and put up a clothesline to get everything dried out by the next morning.

Some small birds were very interested in the fire pit, when there was no fire burning.  They pecked on stuff left in the ashes.  Even when there was a fire, they would come sit on the rocks around it for a short while.

Because there was no easy way to get up to the huckleberries on the trail by Watchtower Creek, we headed up to Nez Perce Pass. The huckleberries were bigger there than what I had found in the Bitterroot Valley in previous years.  We spent a great deal of time picking the berries.  I love this activity as it's quiet and encourages reflection on deeper things.  I can ponder the deeper things in life while I look for the largest berries on the bush with sunshine on my shoulders and peace in my soul!!

I don't want to forget to share the beauty of the sunrise and sunsets while we camped on the pass.

The Nez Perce Pass was such a great place for picking.  So I headed back up there on July 30th and picked all day. I had almost a gallon of huckleberries to clean when I got home. I think I'll try making some huckleberry jam this year.  

Travel Adventure #11

My summer adventures are happening a bit more often than I've been able to sit down to record them.  I'll try to catch up today.

On July 8th I camped with Gail at Meadow Creek out the East Fork Road, near Sula, MT.  

After cooking up a great breakfast we drove up to the Swift Creek trailhead where Gail had ridden with a horse group years ago. We hiked a few miles until it was getting a bit too steep for me, at which time we turned back.  There's certainly no shortage of timber in Montana!

We then headed to the Martin Creek Campground. We were the only ones in the campground when we arrived on Wednesday afternoon but by the time we left Friday the campground was full.

We had thunderstorms with heavy rain each afternoon and evening so some competitive Scrabble games kept us occupied in the camper.  This one was very frustrating as we somehow lost all access to the upper left section of the board.  

Travel Adventure #10

On June 25th, I met up with a friend trying out her new camper trailer.  We stayed one night in the parking lot at the trailhead of the Nez Perce / Nee-Me-Poo Trail, which is also part of the Lewis & Clark trail.   The trail got a bit too steep for me after a couple miles so I voted to turn back around.  I think we ended up hiking about 4.5 miles round trip, getting up high enough to see a great distance up the Bitterroot Valley.

We got out the camp stove, made dinner, and had a great time checking out all the features of her new camper trailer.  

My van is all set up as a self-contained camper and I've used it now for a few summers.  I keep fine-tuning things to work more efficiently but overall I'm very pleased with the setup.  Gail's camper was all new to her so she was eager to learn all the various features.  It was the trailer's maiden voyage and went well!

Bug spray, sunscreen and Scrabble are the necessities for a camping trip like this.  We had them all.  The Scrabble competition began.  She is a much better Scrabble player than I!

Camping always reminds me of the true joys of living.  It refreshes me greatly.  It's also a great joy to find someone else who loves the outdoors as much as I do!