July 7, 2011
Road 5587 (3)
This is the last set of photos from this trip, perhaps a few too many, but after all it was a fairly long distance and a good day for scenery; also hopefully a feeling for the kind of scenery one comes across in an area like that.
This is a zoom shot taken from the same place as the previous photo, done to show the lookout cabin on Eddy Peak about ten miles away, across the Clark Fork valley and in an entirely different mountain range.
Oh, and the Beargrass are starting to bloom already in that area.
Beargrass ~ Xerophyllum tenax
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Montana Outdoors 
Definitely looks like a place I would not ever want to leave..Beargrass it pretty cool looking!
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Comment by Anonymous — July 7, 2011 @ 10:46 pm
I will not ever leave western Montana. I remember my father saying that many years ago, and he never did leave it.
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Comment by montucky — July 7, 2011 @ 11:35 pm
I love the place. It seems to be a place where I could walk around, to feel me free and enjoy life. The third photo from the bottom is interesting. The road invites to drive on it and to see what there is to be found after the curve.
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Comment by sartenada — July 7, 2011 @ 10:50 pm
It is a place to do exactly that, Matti. Roads and trails like that seem to always be inviting me too. That is part of the excitement of exploring these places. It’s nice now too to know that the road in the photo is closed to motorized vehicles of all kinds except for the Forest Service in emergencies only. Such roads are treasures because they permit exploration on foot or bike or horseback. In this area, they are seldom used except during hunting season.
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Comment by montucky — July 7, 2011 @ 11:40 pm
question…it looks as though some of those trees have been cut down by man…why would they do that in a meadow in the middle of nowhere?
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Comment by Sandy — July 7, 2011 @ 10:51 pm
In some of the photos you can see large green areas with no trees. Those are old clear-cuts where all of the trees were taken for logs. That kind of timber harvest is no longer allowed. The land beyond the meadow in the first photo is in the TeePee – Spring Creek roadless area, and there has never been timber cutting there as well as no road building.
The meadows in the first four photos were actually created by a forest fire. The trees were cut either to stop the progress of the fire or shortly after to make sure they wouldn’t allow it to restart. By the size and location of the meadows, the fire was probably lightning-caused: lightning strikes on ridges like that are very common. When I first arrived at the ridge top and found the meadow, I saw evidence of a trail and followed it for a distance before I realized it had been created as part of the fire line that was dug around the fire when the fire was in progress. The wildlife apparently use parts of the old fire line now as a trail.
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Comment by montucky — July 7, 2011 @ 11:53 pm
Seeing the lookout cabin from a distance really gives it perspective. What isolated summers those must have been. The roads in your photos look so enticing. What an adventure.
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Comment by Teresa Evangeline — July 8, 2011 @ 5:22 am
Those were very lonely posts, especially in the early years before they even had telephones. One of my uncles manned several different lookouts in those days and had some interesting stories about them. There were a total of 639 lookouts in Montana: I have visited the sites of only 13.
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Comment by montucky — July 8, 2011 @ 9:33 pm
I meant to add: I’m unfamiliar with beargrass. That’s an interesting plant and a great photo.
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Comment by Teresa Evangeline — July 8, 2011 @ 5:24 am
Beargrass is very pretty when it blooms and especially on the years when most of the plants have blossoms. Each plant blooms only about every seven years. Some years the blossoms will cover whole mountainsides. The larger blossoms are about 4 inches in diameter and 6 inches tall and grow on stalks that often get as tall as six feet. The leaves form large clumps at the base of the flower stalks, and I have slept very comfortably on them where they were very thick.
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Comment by montucky — July 8, 2011 @ 9:37 pm
Sandy asked the very question I was thinking,…. clear cut? fire? What beautiful country,… How I would love to grab a backpack and hang out up there for a few days!
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Comment by Cedar — July 8, 2011 @ 5:24 am
There were clearcuts there and the meadows from which I took photos were created by fire. High ridges like those attract lightning and nearly all of them show signs of fire. Along toward fall I intend to return there and spend a few days, probably around huckleberry season.
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Comment by montucky — July 8, 2011 @ 9:41 pm
Enjoyed your ride, Terry. What’s cool about you having a Mountain bike is that you have real mountains to ride it in!
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Comment by Scott Thomas Photography — July 8, 2011 @ 11:33 am
W sure do. Interestingly, I never see anyone riding these old roads, even though there are a lot of mountain bike riders in Montana. I guess nearly all of them congregate on the few mountain bike trails that are set up, some at ski areas. I think of mine as transportation, rather than a thrill toy though.
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Comment by montucky — July 8, 2011 @ 9:44 pm
I like the picture of the road leading toward the peak, where the Mtn. is framed by the trees. Excellent! Have a wonderful day!
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Comment by wildlifewatcher — July 8, 2011 @ 2:38 pm
That’s an enticing scene, isn’t it! I have spent thousands of hours following roads and trails like that just to see what’s around the bend or over the next hill.
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Comment by montucky — July 8, 2011 @ 9:45 pm
you could never show enough photos of Montana… never – love the one of the road in the foreground =)
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Comment by Tricia — July 8, 2011 @ 2:39 pm
Well, I have about 14,000 photos now in my library and they keep adding up. A week from now a friend and I have a bike/hike trip planned that should have some nice scenery that I haven’t photographed before in country a little higher than this area was.
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Comment by montucky — July 8, 2011 @ 9:49 pm
A very beautiful place, with nice wide open space.
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Comment by Ratty — July 8, 2011 @ 5:26 pm
Yes, lots of wide open spaces. From the taller mountains here one can see for a hundred miles on a clear day.
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Comment by montucky — July 8, 2011 @ 9:51 pm
That beargrass is really pretty! I have a feeling that if we ever make it to Montana on vacation, two weeks aren’t going to be enough!
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Comment by thedailyclick — July 8, 2011 @ 7:34 pm
Two weeks, the first time you come, will serve to whet your appetite for more I think. I’ve lived her a long time and there are still so many places that I want to visit.
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Comment by montucky — July 8, 2011 @ 9:57 pm
No, never too many. You show us a place that most of us will never get a chance to see. Thanks.
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Comment by sandy — July 9, 2011 @ 5:58 am
Thanks Sandy. Sadly, many of the folks who live here never get out to see these places, but I’m pleased that you like to see them!
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Comment by montucky — July 9, 2011 @ 9:34 pm
Opps! Made an error. I meant: Wow! What a vista view! Wild, rugged and beautiful. Love the views of the mountain from the trail and lookout cabin. 🙂
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Comment by Anna — July 9, 2011 @ 7:11 am
Thanks Anna!
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Comment by montucky — July 9, 2011 @ 9:35 pm
ooooo… I can’t wait for more beargrass photographs… I remember them from the past and they are fascinating. Thanks for the information in your answer to Sandy, because I too was wondering about the tree cutting. Never too many photos of your hikes!!!
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Comment by kcjewel — July 9, 2011 @ 8:35 pm
I have seen a few beargrass in bloom, but not all that many yet. I really like them too, and I’ll try to get up to a couple of areas that usually have lots of them in bloom.
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Comment by montucky — July 9, 2011 @ 9:37 pm
When I first encountered bear grass on a horsepack trip into the Bob Marshall in 1975 (before I moved here by 9 years, but one of the reasons I did move here), I was told that the Indians call it “Maiden’s Breasts” and if you can catch two similar sized flower stalks blooming side by side and photograph them from above, you will immediately see why.
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Comment by Kim — July 11, 2011 @ 12:28 pm
I had not heard of them being called by that name, but I can understand it!
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Comment by Montucky — July 11, 2011 @ 4:36 pm
Beautiful!! Never too many photos of a good trip. Love the distant snow-capped mountains. What an incredible view!!!
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Comment by Marcie — July 10, 2011 @ 9:24 am
Especially in summer when it’s possible to get into the high country, photo possibilities abound, and I love the views too!
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Comment by montucky — July 10, 2011 @ 9:46 pm
Ohhh, I can’t wait to see more beargrass photos as the summer progresses. Those are truly fantasy-like. Isn’t it fun when you wind up with more good photos than you even had hoped for? Doesn’t happen often to me but when it does, it’s fun.
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Comment by Candace — July 10, 2011 @ 1:18 pm
On some hikes into the high country I will bring back 150 photos and end up keeping most of them. If I ever get around to doing something with them, there are plenty to work with.
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Comment by montucky — July 10, 2011 @ 9:48 pm
There is no such thing as too many photos when they are all as beautiful as these! The views of the lookout are great… especially the zoom shot.
Side comment about clear cutting… it seems the Swedish haven’t gotten the message about that yet… we frequently saw areas where ALL the trees had been cut. Logging is big business in Sweden as it seems many still use wood to heat their homes, especially in the northern parts of Sweden.
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Comment by Victoria — July 25, 2011 @ 6:11 am
The clearcuts around here are all old: I don’t think that is allowed any more here. However, there is a timber company called Plum Creek Timber that still owns about a million acres of Montana forest. They are cutting near here and what they leave behind looks like a scene from a war zone. Recently I took some photos from one of their recent logging sites and will publish a post on that. It’s sickening!
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Comment by Montucky — July 25, 2011 @ 9:59 pm