While this in no sense ends the drought situation, it is a great if temporary reprieve. We’ve had a few warm days since, and the lower elevation snow is mostly melted. Sucked up as if by a sponge might a more accurate description. We made a fast trip across the state north-south for a graduation Sunday, and were struck at the lack of runoff. Many streams were nearly clear, although the Missouri above Canyon Ferry was a bit murked up and high. Below Holter Dam it was running crystal clear, though, and it looked like the Memorial Day weekend campers and fishermen were having a great time (more fishing news momentarily).  On a wildlife note, we saw several antelope that had just been born hours if not minutes before.  Antelope can run like the wind shortly after birth, and these could barely stand up yet, it appeared. 

The grass has really greened up and is growing like mad. I’ve noticed before that when native range has suffered from several poor years and finally gets a good dose of moisture in spring, that growth and seed production is exceptional. It’s like the native species know they have to make up for lost time, and I’d expect that to be the case this spring. One other flora-related note that struck us is that the trees are just now starting to leaf out to any extent. That seems significantly behind normal, which was corroborated by an article in yesterday’s Great Falls Tribune quoting a state botanist that leaf growth is a full three weeks behind normal. He attributed it to drought, obviously, but also the cold temperatures during May. Again, the native species that evolved in this area have built-in mechanisms for coping with this area’s often capricious if not downright hostile weather; something horticulturists would do well to keep in mind.

But, enough plant chit-chat…. You’re wanting hot tips about recreational possibilities. OK; in no particular order-

We were recently talking with an outfitter on the Blackfoot Reservation. He mentioned he’d seen lots of big fish cruising the shorelines of Duck Lake. If you check this column from time to time you may recall speculation about widespread fish kills on the Reservation lakes last winter, so we’re glad to report that Duck Lake still has some lunkers. He reported they had right at four feet of snow at their place near Babb, which had already melted down to a foot, with again, very little runoff. Ah, springtime in the Rockies…..

Fishing here in Southwest Montana has been good. The Mother’s Day caddis hatch on the Yellowstone and Madison arrived just a few days after Mom’s day, and provided some stellar fishing (still is, on the upper Madison). The Yellowstone is blown out by runoff now, though. We fished the Beartrap Canyon during the peak hatch. It’s amazing to see such a profusion of insect life appear pretty much overnight after the long winter. Fish were hitting actively on caddis imitations (duh!), but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily easy fishing. With a momentarily unlimited food supply, getting a trout’s attention can be largely a matter of luck. I was trying to stack my odds by using a more noticeable morsel (Stimulators, mostly), with limited success. My son stuck with the venerable elk hair caddis, and caught more fish, the lucky little sucker…;-).

My personal interest is still running more toward hiking than fishing, and we’ve been out on a few very nice hikes lately. Two Sundays back we hiked up the North Fork Bear Creek in the Madison Range. That’s a really nice, easy trail with slow & steady elevation gain. From all indications, we were the first people up it perhaps since last fall. It was covered with elk and deer tracks, though, and we even saw a handful of black bear prints. We’ve also been up in the Bridgers a couple of times, as well as the northern part of the Madison Range. Just yesterday, we took a horseback ride/hike up into the Cowboy Heaven area. It was a gorgeous day, and a fine way to spend Memorial Day. The horseback portion was most enjoyable, but my son thought the hiking portion turned somewhat annoying, and I guess I’ll have to agree. I’d been wanting to explore upper Barn Creek, off-trail, for some time. Struck me as a good place to maybe find some shed elk antlers, and my son has interest in finding a black bear. All we found was lots of ticks! Wound up fighting our way through a lot of thick brush, which was loaded with the little parasites. Ack… I hate ticks! Still, it was interesting and good exercise, and although we probably won’t rush back, it’s good to add to the knowledge base. Such is off-trail exploring….

There’s still quite a bit of snow in the high country, so for now hiking is best limited to areas below about 8000’. I’d even give lower elevation areas much above 6500’ or so a bit of time in the northern portions around Glacier Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness. That still leaves a whole lot of possibilities, though….

See you on the trail.