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The Wilderness Voice
Explore and Investigate our Wildest Places by Sally Cathey, MWA
Southwest Montana Field Director
Vol 5, No. 1, - Summer 2016
Newsletter of the Madison Gallatin Chapter
Area, June 29
Tongue River Breaks Hiking and Rid-
ing Area, June 30
Pryor Mountains
Tony Island July 22
Bear Canyon July 23-24
Crazy Mountains
Sunlight & Campfire Lakes, July 27-29
Sunlight Lake, August 1-2
Twin Lakes and Glacier Lake, August
5-6
Thunder Lake, August 9-10
Cowboy Heaven, August 13-14
Sage Creek, August 19-21
For more information on how to get
involved in Forest Plan Revision,
please contact Sally Cathey at
This summer MWA is taking a closer
look at some of our wildest lands.
Our Wildlands Field Coordinator,
Emily Cleveland, will be trekking deep
into the woods to investigate these
wild places—and she’s hoping you’ll
join! The adventure is focused
around capturing observations of wil-
derness quality that will build a
stronger voice for our wild lands.
This is MWA’s second season invento-
rying our forest service lands, and we
could not be more excited about the
opportunities it presents.
This project is inspired by the need
for on-the-ground work that docu-
ments what our lands are like. So,
why do we need this data? Well, as
you’ve likely heard, the Custer-
Gallatin National Forest (CGNF)
kicked off its Forest Plan Revision in
January. This plan is the CGNF’s op-
portunity to recommend areas as wil-
derness or other management
statuses, so we want to make the
most of this opportunity. The data
collected this summer will help inform
these decisions as the forest prepares
for the revision process.
A day on the trail involves document-
ing observations of numerous meas-
urements including wildlife encoun-
ters, campsites, noxious weeds, and
trail conditions. While these hikes
move at a slower pace than a typical
hike, they require participants to
pause and look at the surrounding
landscape through a different lens.
Emily is looking for folks to join on
these excursions, and would love to
have you along.
This is an opportunity to experience
some of the lesser-known, less-traveled
landscapes on the CGNF. We invite
you to spend star-studded nights in the
Pryor Mountains, take your first hike
along the rugged Tongue River Breaks,
explore off trail in lake basins of the
Crazy Mountains, or explore Cowboy
Heaven in the Madison Range. Even
better, your participation on these un-
forgettable hikes will contribute to the
fight to keep these places wild.
In addition to volunteering on these
outings, there are many opportunities
for you to help advocate for our wild
places through the once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity the forest plan revision pre-
sents. The Forest Service is looking to
hear from each of us along the way,
and their next community meeting
in this area is scheduled for June
29th, 4:30-7:30 at Chief Joseph
Middle School in Bozeman. Here
is a complete list of this series of
community meetings.
The complete list of volunteer trips
include:
Cook Mountain Hiking and Riding
Area, June 28
King Mountain Hiking and Riding Twin Lakes, Crazy Mountains, photo by Roger
Jenkins
Page 2 The Wi lderness Voice Volume 5, Issue 1
Escape the Crowds by Barbara Geller
Red Mountain Saddle, photo by Roger Jenkins
With the celebration of the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary, Yellowstone is bound to be crowded this
summer. Escape the crowds and beat the heat on these wilderness trails, courtesy of MWA’s new online hik-
ing guide, www.hikewildmontana.org.
Be prepared for in-your-face views of Cone Peak, Redstreak
Peak and White Peak as you crest Red Mountain Saddle. The
Bacon Rind Creek Trail starts with 2 miles of flat, easy hiking
through grizzly and moose habitat in the far northwest corner of
Yellowstone. When the trail leaves the Park and enters the Lee
Metcalf Wilderness, the serious climbing begins but there are lots
of opportunities to stop, catch your breath, and turn around to
drink in the views of the Gallatin Range or the carpets of spring
wildflowers.
Round-trip distance: 11 miles
Total elevation gain: 2400 feet
Land Management: Yellowstone National Park; Lee Metcalf Wilderness, Custer-Gallatin National Forest
Enjoy a variety of terrain in the Lionhead Recommended Wilderness, just
northwest of West Yellowstone. The Sheep Lake Trail follows Sheep Creek through
shady forest, detours to a waterfall, then pops into lush open meadows before reach-
ing Sheep Lake, nestled in a cirque framed by numerous peaks. To learn more about
the geology of the Lionhead area, tour the nearby Quake Lake Visitor Center to learn
about the earthquake that created Quake Lake.
Round-trip distance: 13 miles
Total elevation gain: 2630 feet
Land Management: Lionhead Recommended Wilderness, Custer-Gallatin National
Forest
Watch for marmots, mountain goats, and petrified wood
on the long, gentle climb up Buffalo Horn Trail to Ramshorn
Lake. The trail meanders along creeks, through thick forest, into
high alpine meadows. Fortress Mountain and Ramshorn Peak
loom above the lake and provide habitat for mountain goats.
Round-trip distance: 12.5 miles
Total elevation gain: 1900 feet
Land Management: Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness
Study Area, Custer-Gallatin National Forest Ramshorn Lake, photo by Steve Anderson
Waterfall, photo by Sylvia Davis
Page 3 The Wi lderness Voice Volume 5, Issue 1
Pine Creek Lake, photo by Barbara Geller
Soak tired feet in alpine Pine Creek Lake. Although many
families explore the easy 2.5 mile (round trip) hike to Pine Creek
Falls, far fewer hikers continue on for the much steeper trek up
to Pine Creek Lake . Those who make the effort are awed by the
picturesque views of this alpine lake surrounded by 10,000’
Mount McKnight and Black Mountain. Soak up the sunshine on
the granite slabs around the lake.
Round-trip distance: 10.5 miles
Total elevation gain: 3826 feet
Land Management: Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area, Custer
-Gallatin National Forest
With the help of more than 70 MWA volunteers who hiked, photographed, and mapped 200+ trails,
www.hikewildmontana.org offers a single website where you can discover new trails, view inspiring photos,
get up-to-date trail conditions, and add your own trail descriptions or trip reports. Explore it to find your own
special places to get away and cool off this summer. While you’re there, give thanks for the quiet and soli-
tude of our wilderness areas.
There’s Still Time to Take a Summer Walk
The list below covers the remaining walks as of the first of July. Some may already be filled, but you can
probably still find some great ones. You can find out more details in the Wilderness Walks book, which
you should have received in April. And, don’t forget to go to wildmontana.org to register.
Saturday, July 2 Windy Pass
Friday, July 15 Sunlight Meadow
Saturday, July 23 Paradise Valley Geology
Sunday, July 24 Lemondrop Mountain
Saturday, August 6 The Mummy
Sat., August 6 - Sun., August 7 Crazy Mountains Backpack
Saturday, August 13 Crater Lake
Saturday, August 20 Fan Mountain
Saturday, August 27 Hyalite Peak
Page 4 The Wi lderness Voice Volume 5, I ssue 1
Adopt-a-Highway Summer Event by Roxanna McLaughlin
Calling all able bodied earth lovers! Our Madison/Gallatin MWA chapter is set to clean up our adopted sec-tion of Highway 191 on Saturday July 9. This is our summer clean-up day, and the more help we have, the faster we will get done.
We meet at 8 am, leaving our cars at the Bozeman Hotsprings parking lot, and we will carpool to clean up the right-of-way between mile markers 77 and 79. After we are finished we can meet up for a picnic (bring your own or purchase something onsite) at the Coffee Pot Bakery.
This is a busy section of highway, so we can only accept helpers over 18. I will have those stylish yellow safety vests for you to wear, and please remember to bring water and snacks and work gloves, too. I will be emailing you around July 1 with a more detailed reminder.
if you can help us with this project, please contact Roxanna Mclaughlin ([email protected] 406-539-7379) before July 5. Also, we need four people to be team leaders, so if you want to be one of those four, please let me know when you contact me.
By the way, the spring cleanup on May 7 was a roaring success. There were around 17 participants and we finished up in under 3 hours. Thirty-eight bags of litter were collected in addition to several unbaggable items. A big thanks to everyone who helped out that day.
Spring cleanup, photo by Roger Jenkins
Help Needed for our Summer Farmer’s Market Table
Our interim Chapter Chair, David Steinmuller, has been leading the charge to man our Chapter’s Table at the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds in Bozeman. But he can’t do it all him-self. So he could use YOUR help in setting up before the 9 am start, and then co-manning the table. It’s fun and a great way to meet interesting people, potentially recruit volunteers and promote the Montana Wilder-ness Association, especially our new on-line hiking guide, hike.wildmontana.org. While July and early August are in good shape assis-tance-wise, David still needs help on August 13, 20, 27, and September 3. If you are interested, please contact him at [email protected]. And of course, when you are visiting the Saturday Farmer’s Market this summer, please stop by and say “hi.” It is always great to see our local members.
Page 5 The Wi lderness Voice Volume 5, I ssue 1
Join us in celebration of Montana’s wild places with a weekend full of live music, hikes, presentations, family activities, food and fun. Wild Fest 2016 is only 5 months away and the committee is planning events and activities that people from all over the state will be talk-ing about for a long time.
This year we are partnering with Giant Springs State Park to host the event. It’s the most visited state park in Montana, and an inspiring place to celebrate Mon-tana’s wild places. You’ll love the two bands – Rabbit Wilde (classic Americana folk) is playing Friday night, and Laney Lou and the Bird Dogs (old time tunes, rock and roll spirit) will entertain us Saturday night. The Celtic Cowboy downtown will host an after party each night with live music and discounted drinks for Wild Fest attendees.
We have many hikes planned for Friday (Old North Trail, Flat Top, Mt. Wright, Headquarters Pass, Devil’s Glen, and Our Lake – all on the majestic Rocky Moun-tain Front) and more on Saturday (Giant Springs Bird-ing, Sluice Boxes, Crown Butte, Sulphur Springs, First People’s Buffalo Jump and Highwood Mountains – all just a short distance from Great Falls). On Saturday af-ternoon people can enjoy speakers, kids activities and display tables from partner organizations, businesses and agencies.
There will be 40 tent and truck camping sites available at Giant Springs for this event. RV’s and campers can go to the nearby KOA.
What would Wild Fest be without the auction of a huck-leberry pie? We’ll have that plus other live auction items; the silent auction will be on display all weekend.
The Hi-Ho bar will be selling beer and wine, and multi-ple food vendors will be on hand throughout the week-end.
Tell your family and friends and save the dates of Sep-tember 9 and 10, 2016! For more information visit our website throughout the summer at www.wildmontana.org/wildfest or call (406) 443-7350 ext. 110.