The last of the trail scenes.
It’s hard to leave a place when it looks this inviting.
A flat area above the switchbacks.
There are always the small things too.
Western Meadowrue, Thalictrum occidentale
Away from the roads, the old Forest Service signage is still in excellent condition.
I’m not sure what this plant is, but the leaves are large and well defined, and it is plentiful in some areas.
The mountainsides just celebrate summer!
Montana Outdoors 
did i miss why this is called cabin lake? i haven’t seen a cabin yet…but i sure wouldn’t mind if someone built one there just for me! =o)
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Comment by Sandy — July 22, 2010 @ 10:57 pm
I don’t know how the lake got its name. There is a perfect site there for a small cabin, and perhaps there was one many years ago, but there is no trace left today.
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Comment by montucky — July 22, 2010 @ 11:33 pm
Those leaves look like they belong to Hostas – do they ever flower that you know of?
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Comment by Stacey Dawn — July 22, 2010 @ 11:19 pm
I haven’t seen them flower. The leaves remind me a bit of Solomon’s Seal, but they are very large.
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Comment by montucky — July 22, 2010 @ 11:34 pm
I would love walking on that flowery trail, even if it is uphill!
That meadow rue sure is different than the one we have.
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Comment by sandy — July 23, 2010 @ 5:12 am
Monday I found an area with even more flowers in an unlikely place; on top of a peak right in the middle of an area completely burned out a few years ago in a forest fire. Flowers are indomitable!
I’m not familiar with the eastern variety. This one goes east only as far as Colorado.
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2010 @ 8:20 am
The mystery plant is False Hellebore (Veratrum viride), and it’s one I learned this year. All parts of the plant are toxic if ingested. Some Native American tribes would have all prospective chiefs eat a small quantity – the last one to vomit became the new chief. I guess it was a test of bravery or something, because vomiting it up equates to survival.
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Comment by jomegat — July 23, 2010 @ 8:54 am
Thanks for the ID and the information! I’ve seen the plant only rarely in this area but there seemed to be quite a bit in the Cabin Lake area. Now I have a new reason to not become an Indian chief!
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2010 @ 9:31 pm
Love that fringy meadowrue.
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Comment by Bo Mackison — July 23, 2010 @ 9:16 am
It’s a pretty and different kind of blossom, isn’t it! It’s in the buttercup family, no less.
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2010 @ 9:32 pm
That rue is very strange – and very pretty. And I love the look of that path up in between the trees. Looks very inviting.
🙂
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Comment by absurdoldbird — July 23, 2010 @ 11:37 am
Nearly all of the forests in the roadless areas look (and are) inviting. Some are pretty challenging to get into but well worth the effort. Once you get used to it, just being there is a wonderful experience.
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2010 @ 9:34 pm
That would be hard to leave but I think just about anywhere up there is beautiful. The meadowrue, so unusual.
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Comment by Candace — July 23, 2010 @ 7:37 pm
I’m planning to take more of the trails in that general area. Although it’s not heavily traveled, the Cabin Lake trail gets more traffic than the others because it’s relatively short (but a little steep).
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2010 @ 9:36 pm