The trip starts by getting on a freeway going south towards Idaho.
Even in the summer, peak tourist season up here, it's probable that you might go a couple minutes without seeing another vehicle. After 2 hours driving you get off the freeway and in less than a minute you're on this road.
It's potholed, bumpy, and if it rains, you need a four-wheel drive. Otherwise this might happen:
The road goes around 80 miles, up the valley for nearly 50 miles, then up over a mountain pass and down into Henry's Lake, Idaho. There is a Forest Service station about 20 miles in, and the base for Red Rocks Wildlife Refuge.
On my trip, this was the only place I saw another person. 3 days without seeing another vehicle. A hundred years ago the valley was home to several ranches, and a small community. The only thing that remains are a few wooden structures.
Near the head of the valley there are a couple unmarked dirt roads leading off to the north. Taking one, I found this lake, a fine place to camp.
I made this my base for two days, exploring and wandering down this creek:
I had thought that the Big Hole river had Montana's only population of river-dwelling grayling. This is the first fish I caught:
When they are first out of the water the colors are almost iridescent. I made sure it was only out a few seconds, long enough for a picture.
On the drive in and the two days I was there I saw a fair amount of wildlife, Elk, which I spooked getting out of the truck and only got this. I must be scary.
The antelope were less impressed with me.
I left early on the last day, as the road climbed up towards the pass into Idaho it got progressively narrower, but still no other vehicles were seen. Then as I was going down the other side of the pass, through a slowly widening valley, a movement caught my eye. I stopped, and peered, not sure of what I was seeing or had seen. Then I figured it out.
As I took one picture it moved off and disappeared. I'm pretty sure it was a boar, a big male. No way to know for sure, but I'd guess it was 600 pounds. Adrenalin kicked in, I got back in the truck and looked for several more minutes, but only got this glimpse.
An hour later I was in Henry's Fork, back in what passes for civilization up here. First cell reception in 3 days.
A boar or bear? We have lots of boars in Germany, but none that big.
ReplyDeleteOver here a male bear is a boar, female a sow. No idea the etiology, probably the same reason a male deer is a buck, a male elk a bull.
DeleteThanks for the clarification.
DeleteThanks for taking me on your wilderness trip. I'm always sad to see those old buildings vanish from whence they came. All that work.
ReplyDeleteAs to the "cat hoarder", he would have to be mentally ill and I so agree with you let's get child abuse on the priority list. While I sympathize with the cats, I often think it is their detritus (read feces) that gets authorities so upset.
XO
WWW
I'm turned around on the animal's vs kids abuse thing. They are both horrid, we can't dismiss either.
DeleteThe old buildings, done by ranchers in the 1880-1920 era are vanishing, no way to preserve them. We can remember, and marvel at their survival back then, but that's gone.
I'd say that bear sighting counts as one coup - that was close!
ReplyDeleteYeah, now I don't have to go seeking out a den in winter.
DeleteThe antelope are far more photogenic than the elk, so the heck with them.
ReplyDeleteI was confused by the insider's knowledge of giant hulking thing terminology. I thought it must be a bear, but if it were a boar hog, good, grief, how wide was it.
A really big wild pig (boar) would be a tasty lunch for a grizzly. It's a good thing to live in a place when you go walking in the woods, you know you ain't the top of the food chain. Adds a bit of spice to the hike.
DeleteIt was cool to see the pictures full size. It's good to know there are parts of the US remote for people and home to large animals. The fish you caught was beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThere's a book I'm reading now that might interest you if you haven't read it - Thomas Pynchon's 'Against the Day'. You could very well call it his western novel. Since it's 1100 pages, winter might be a good time to spend savoring its delights.
I, like many of my generation, struggle through "Gravity's Rainbow"...I haven't read that one. I'll pick it up late next October, when winter has resumed.
DeleteI'd read V and the Crying of Lot 49, but GR proved a stumbling block for me too - mostly because I couldn't relate to characters who were far too cerebral. ATD is very different in that the cast members are universally engaging even as they're not all likeable.
DeleteWhen you do get around to reading it I highly recommend the Pynchon-wiki-ATD link. The Spoiler-free Annotations by Page is useful and fun too - especially when the Pynchon aficionados take issue with one another's interpretations.
The back roads are the best roads. Your great post certainly backs that statement up.
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of awesome wild life to see in a short time period. I would have loved to be there. There are no brown bears at all In California (my state). The same is true for wolves. Both were hunted into extinction in the 1920's. With all the wilderness in California, that is very sad. Great post!
I just remembered that they have been tracking a single wolf who came into California from Oregon. I haven't heard anything in a while, so I need to check that out.
I read about the wolf, they called it OR-6 or something like that. I read not too long ago it had finally found a mate, maybe in Idaho. Hope he goes back to CA, Idaho is not the state for a wolf to be comfortable in, and parts of Oregon the same.
ReplyDelete