These photos were taken from trail 478 between the Goat Lakes and the top of Mt Silcox, and I will post them with only one comment, for perspective. If you look closely in the lower center part of the last photo you will see a faint, roughly horizontal line just above the trees: that is the lower part of the trail just above the Goat Lakes.
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Montana Outdoors 
what an adventure! gorgeous scenery all around. all of these posts (the last three) are from one day?
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Comment by silken — September 29, 2010 @ 7:29 am
One day. That trail covers some rather diverse terrain. I will post more photos of the area too.
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Comment by montucky — September 29, 2010 @ 8:56 am
Terry:
Wish I could have joined you on that hike. Magnificent scenery!
Chad
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Comment by Chad — September 29, 2010 @ 7:31 am
I wish you could have too, Chad. From Silcox I was able to get a photo of our old friend, the cabin on Priscilla Peak too. There’s another hike we might consider: leave a car at the Four Lakes trail head, then drive up to Vermillion Pass and hike over to Headley and on down to Cabin Lake.
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Comment by montucky — September 29, 2010 @ 9:01 am
I bet the smell of pine and spruce is everywhere out there. Beautiful shots.
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Comment by Preston — September 29, 2010 @ 9:35 am
And cedar as well, and the wind through those trees is the most beautiful music I know.
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Comment by montucky — September 29, 2010 @ 7:50 pm
Gorgeous images .. So many life..
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Comment by Matias — September 29, 2010 @ 9:51 am
Thank you Matias, and thanks for visiting!
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Comment by montucky — September 29, 2010 @ 7:51 pm
Hi Montucky, The rock formations with those slender deep green trees are very picturesque. Outstanding pictures of all the scenes you present in today’s post. Have a wonderful day!
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Comment by wildlifewatcher — September 29, 2010 @ 10:42 am
Those trees are Subalpine Firs. The extreme pointed tops help shed the heavy snow that occurs up there. They seem to do very well.
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Comment by montucky — September 29, 2010 @ 7:53 pm
Rugged territory. Great for photography and bushwhacking.
Malcolm
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Comment by knightofswords — September 29, 2010 @ 11:42 am
It is, Malcolm. Both are honorable endeavors.
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Comment by montucky — September 29, 2010 @ 7:56 pm
Beautiful photos!
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Comment by digitalphotoalbum — September 29, 2010 @ 12:29 pm
Thank you, digitalphotoalbum!
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Comment by montucky — September 29, 2010 @ 7:56 pm
Wow! Gorgeous and so scenic. It looks like, in some ways, the land was poured over the mountains. I just love the first two photos… the first in the ruggedness and the second of the mountains outlined.
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Comment by Anna — September 29, 2010 @ 2:02 pm
There is what seems like an endless variety of terrain in these mountains. There’s something new to see on each trip.
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Comment by montucky — September 29, 2010 @ 8:01 pm
Beautiful! Love the look of the sky in the first shot! I’ll bet when you are up there, you don’t want to come down.
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Comment by sandy — September 29, 2010 @ 3:35 pm
That’s sure true Sandy, but sometimes after 8 or more hours on the trail the truck or the Jeep look pretty good back at the trail head. Often though in the evening after returning from a trip like that I spend time with my maps planning the next high country visit.
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Comment by montucky — September 29, 2010 @ 8:04 pm
I have no words anymore. These photos just take my breath away.
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Comment by Robin — September 30, 2010 @ 5:08 am
I feel like that too when I’m on those high trails, Robin. Thank Goodness for these roadless areas!
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Comment by montucky — September 30, 2010 @ 11:06 am
What the heck am I doing sitting here in a high school classroom when I could be out hiking in that glorious country? Oh yes,… I’m 2/3 away across the country and like my paycheck! 😉 Amazing photos, Montucky! I especially like the next to last one and also the first one. Is that sedimentary rock in the first one? Interesting formation.
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Comment by Cedar — September 30, 2010 @ 6:37 am
I’m not very strong on geology, but I think most of the rocks in this area are sedimentary. They were flat once, then pushed up by the earth’s plate movements until they stand on end. Here is a photo from a few years ago that shows the layers tilted up.
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Comment by montucky — September 30, 2010 @ 11:10 am
Amazing. I admired the rock in first photo.
Last photo is incredible. I really do love it.
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Comment by sartenada — September 30, 2010 @ 11:02 pm
Thanks!
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Comment by montucky — October 1, 2010 @ 8:16 pm
Yes, seeing that trail makes the perspective all the more incredible. How long did your hike last that day? And how many miles do you think it was?
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Comment by Candace — October 2, 2010 @ 6:28 pm
Because I hike more slowly these days, I was on the trail for about seven hours that day, including lots of time for photos and lunch. For some reason it seemed a tiring hike although it was only about six miles round trip, and the climb wasn’t all that dramatic, from about 5,400 feet at the trail head to 6,857 at the peak and the trail was quite good. The scenery, however, made it a delicious trip!
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Comment by montucky — October 2, 2010 @ 9:15 pm
In the top one is that a fossilised tree or a rock, or what? I can see all sorts of artistic possibility in it!
Brill photos as usual, Terry. Always difficult to say anything other than beautiful, brilliant, fabulous… etc. But they are!
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Comment by Val Erde — October 4, 2010 @ 2:22 pm
It’s just what we call a “rock outcrop”. The larger ones take the form of cliffs, sometimes very large.
The country just is what it is. I gravitate toward the roadless places where the landscape is untouched except for the trails that go through it. The scenes just seem to frame themselves. and I bring back lots of images that I want to remember and share.
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Comment by montucky — October 4, 2010 @ 6:40 pm