April 2001 Moccasin Telegraph

4/26/01

If you’ve been following our Moccasin Telegraph columns, you may recall an entry from back in January about an expedition we’ve been monitoring the progress of via the Mountainzone site. Winston Goodbody and Joe Harney are on a most ambitious ski tour of the Greater Yellowstone area; beginning and ending in Wyoming, crossing Yellowstone Park coming and going, with Bozeman as the northern apex of their trip. Much easier said than done….There are a staggering amount of extremely rugged and remote mountains, and even the flatter riverbottoms consist of some of the most remote country in the lower 48. I had expressed reservations about their proposed route through the Absarokas, and particularly a specific spot near the start of the southbound portion of their tour; along the Gallatin Crest in the vicinity of Crater Lake. It seemed avalanche danger was all but guaranteed to be extreme. (See the prior Telegraph entry pertaining to my experiences in the area.)

Well, I’m glad to report that Win and Joe made it through unscathed. Due to the ironic combination of low snowpack and high avalanche danger, they decided to bag their originally proposed route near the crest of the Absarokas. Those are some of the most rugged mountains in Montana, and a high-elevation late winter traverse of the range would border on suicidal, in my opinion. Instead they followed the lower Slough Creek/Boulder River route east of the main Absaroka Range, a wise decision that in no way diminishes their accomplishments; a classic example of disgression being the better part of valor.

After catching a ride to Bozeman, they did follow their proposed route along the Gallatin Crest, and from their reports it was a highlight of their trip. The views from up there are stupendous, and it’s one of our favorite hiking areas. Most of the crest is at or near 10,000’ of elevation, and as Win says "It’s harder to think of another vantage point from which one can see more of Greater Yellowstone at one time". A ski tour along the crest, not to mention the rest of their journey, would certainly be an epic trip. I’ve gotta admit, though, avalanches scare me. I love adventure, but I hope to die at a ripe old age, and tempting fate by skiing avalanche chutes is not a good way to achieve that goal. In the collection of photos from their trip on the Mountainzone site, there’s one of their ski tracks switchbacking up Hyalite Peak, directly below a scary looking cornice, that gives me the willies just to look at….So, I think I’ll stick to summer hiking along the crest. In the milder seasons, it’s possible to drive to within a couple of miles of the crest, and begin your hike at around 8000’, instead of slogging from the valley floor. See our Hiking article section for trail reviews and directions about different routes.

Win and Joe camped at a couple of my favorite spots along the crest; Crater Lake and Windy Pass. My son and I hiked to Crater Lake via an Crater Lake, along the Gallatin Crest obscure "trail" up South Fork Swan Creek last summer. The accompanying photo is looking roughly north along the crest. Lewis Creek descends to the Yellowstone to the right of the photo. Unfortunately, that drainage is blocked to public access by private land. However, we can book you a stay at one of the top guest ranches around, located at the mouth of the canyon, in which case you can ride Windy Pass cabin horseback to the lake. Also, there’s a Forest Service cabin seasonally available for rent at Windy Pass, see our Camping article page for details.

See you on the Crest….

4/9/01

It looks like the dead of winter outside, but according to the calendar it’s spring. It must be, since the sandhill cranes are back! The last few mornings prior to the snowstorm we’re having now, while feeding the horses at daylight I was hearing an odd croaking noise, likely of avian origin. I commented to my wife that somebody in the neighborhood must have peacocks, but a few days ago the croaking noise was obviously coming from two sources, and lo and behold, a sandhill crane flew over, calling away like mad. The return of birds great and small is always a welcome sight & sound after a long winter, an early sign that spring is on the way! The cranes are the Sandhill Cranes

earliest arrivals to begin their spring reproductive ritual, laying claim to prime nesting real estate. They must have a fairly varied vocal repertoire, as their calls sometimes more closely resemble screams than croaks. The first time I heard it, I was fishing the Virginia City Dredge Ponds (a sleeper trophy fishing spot, although some of them are restricted to kids 12 & under; see our Fishing Article page). While walking along the old narrow-gauge railroad track between Virginia City and Nevada City, something cut loose with the most piercing and vivid screech, so different from anything I’d heard before, that I stood there half alarmed and considered getting the heck out of there. But, I was fairly secure in the knowledge that it wasn’t a mountain lion, and darn sure wasn’t a grizzly bear, and since other creatures that can inflict harm on the unwary fisherman in that area consist mainly of rattlesnakes (not known for piercing shrieks), I decided to keep fishing. Soon I saw the cranes, who apparently took exception to my fishing in their territory as they shut up as soon as I passed. Anyway, these cranes setting up shop in our neighborhood certainly aren’t shrieking, at least not yet. Their vocalizations are more of a basso profundo series of croaks, something like a bullfrog with a good PA system.

I hear a thousand or so trumpeter swans arrived at Ennis Lake a few days back, and the snow geese and honkers are flying into Freezeout Lake daily. On my recent snowshoe trek, I was camped on a ridgetop at about 7200’ on the west slope of the Madison Range. It seemed like every goose in creation was migrating right over my tent that night. It wasn’t exactly a prime campsite, as level ground free of snow was in short supply. I’d found a semi-level area under a big Douglas Fir, chiseled a few of the bigger rocks out, and I’ve certainly had more comfortable beds. So, I was sleeping fitfully anyway, and every time I’d drift off I’d be jolted awake sure a flock of geese were going by ten feet overhead. Since I couldn’t sleep, and it was a still moonlit night, I decided I might as well get up and watch. It turned out the geese were at least several hundred feet above, but that moonlight view, with geese above and coyotes below both announcing the importance of their tasks at hand, was such a vivid recharge for my psyche that a little lost sleep seemed an entirely inconsequential price to pay.

Spring is a schizophrenic season in the northern Rockies, with glimpses of summer and flashbacks of winter often both occurring within the span of a few hours. East Glacier reportedly received three feet of snow a week ago, and much of the state has been under winter storm watches at different times over the last week. That’s good, within reason, as we can certainly use the moisture, but I am about over winter, personally. I’m ready for more bird calls, pussywillow buds, insect hatches on trout streams, and general greenness. Come on, spring….

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