October 6, 2011
Hike a forest trail with me on a rainy day (1)
Rain dripping from the brim of my hat, tiny rivulets of water making their way down my poncho toward the ground, warm boots grasping footing on a slippery wet trail, fir needles shimmering in the sun-less light, low growing brush showing off its color just before laying a brilliant red and gold blanket on the ground, tree trunks on display like statues in the mist; all along this trail in the clouds. What a beautiful day in the forest!
(Photos were taken October 6, 2011 on USFS trail 340 in the Baldy Mountain roadless area of western Montana.)
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Montana Outdoors 
Probably a welcome change after the dry summer and early fall!
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Comment by columbiahighlands — October 6, 2011 @ 6:38 pm
It was. We had an inch of rain over night which I think was more than the last three months combined.
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Comment by montucky — October 6, 2011 @ 6:52 pm
I can feel the moisture from here!
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Comment by Roberta — October 6, 2011 @ 6:43 pm
It varied from a mist to a light rain as the clouds moved through. Very refreshing!
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Comment by montucky — October 6, 2011 @ 6:53 pm
that stump in the fifth picture reminded me of when we were hiking around jefferson lake, co and i saw a burned out tree stump and thought it was a bear…i went running and screaming back down the trail…
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Comment by Sandy — October 6, 2011 @ 6:57 pm
Especially in a heavy mist! I can’t count the times I’ve trained my binocs on a bear/stump!
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Comment by montucky — October 6, 2011 @ 7:02 pm
What a beautiful and intriguing trail. The mist and rain are palpable. Very nice.
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Comment by Teresa Evangeline — October 6, 2011 @ 7:01 pm
I had thought there might be new snow up there, but instead was rewarded with a delightful walk in the rain!
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Comment by montucky — October 6, 2011 @ 7:06 pm
Oh..wow! I love these..
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Comment by Roberta — October 6, 2011 @ 7:04 pm
I’m glad you liked them! It was such a pretty trail today!
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Comment by montucky — October 6, 2011 @ 7:09 pm
It looks–and sounds– beautiful. I love walking in the rain as well.
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Comment by kateri — October 6, 2011 @ 8:06 pm
Today was extra special, knowing that it will soon be white falling from the sky.
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Comment by montucky — October 6, 2011 @ 8:14 pm
Beautifully written and photographed. Thanks for taking us along on your wanderings.
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Comment by anniespickns — October 6, 2011 @ 8:38 pm
Thank you Annie. I wish more folks could walk that trail in the rain.
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Comment by montucky — October 6, 2011 @ 9:43 pm
Wish I had been there too. I love hikes in the rain.
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Comment by jomegat — October 6, 2011 @ 8:44 pm
I think you would like this trail. I had hoped to perhaps get above the clouds, but they were over 5,000 feet deep today.
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Comment by montucky — October 6, 2011 @ 9:44 pm
Wow, thanks for the tour. Like Roberta, I, too, could feel the dampness. Those are gorgeous sights (and sites).
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Comment by Candace — October 6, 2011 @ 10:20 pm
That’s where one should be on rainy days!
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Comment by montucky — October 6, 2011 @ 10:59 pm
Fantastic. How beautiful the scenery can be also when it is raining and having fog. The forth photo from the top is my favorite. The path is leading to somewhere, fog and downhill are not revealing to where.
I love these photos.
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Comment by sartenada — October 7, 2011 @ 3:18 am
Yes, that’s an exciting thing about these trails when they are in the clouds. I know where they are going, but never just what may be waiting there.
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Comment by montucky — October 7, 2011 @ 10:22 am
I love those intimate days in the woods when I can get them. When a cloud settles in it can feel like the trees in your immediate vicinity are sharing secrets that no one else could know. Colorado looks to have gotten snow down to the 7000ft ish range. Season change is coming quick!
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Comment by daveabirding — October 7, 2011 @ 8:43 am
I simply must get out into the forest when there is a big change in the weather to enjoy its response. Snow above 6,500 feet has been in the forecast here for several days now but it hasn’t happened yet.
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Comment by montucky — October 7, 2011 @ 10:24 am
Beautiful! I remember many walks/hikes through the woods, growing up in Germany, and on vacation in Austria…. you just don’t get that here in TX. Looks like you had perfect hiking weather.
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Comment by thedailyclick — October 7, 2011 @ 12:16 pm
I spend a lot of time in the forests. Rainy days are among the most beautiful times.
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Comment by montucky — October 7, 2011 @ 4:07 pm
I would have enjoyed it for the colors and the fragrance of the damp trees. Just lovely!
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Comment by sandy — October 7, 2011 @ 2:31 pm
The colors will spread and deepen as fall goes on. The scents are always wonderful.
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Comment by montucky — October 7, 2011 @ 4:07 pm
You must have really good raingear, Montucky, and a watertight pack to protect your camera equipment. How do you keep your lenses dry?
(BTW, my problems with your blog not appearing have fixed themselves – turned the computer off for a few days and when I turned it on today, you were back!)
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Comment by Kim — October 7, 2011 @ 9:22 pm
I’m glad your computer bug has left… I hope for good!
I make sure that I have the means to keep my camera and lenses dry, I prefer to keep my pistol dry too if possible and I’m careful to stay dry myself (when it’s cold I’m careful of getting wet from perspiration too). Getting wet at high elevations is an invitation to hypothermia. My extra lenses are kept in waterproof bags in my pack, which is covered by a rain fly. My camera hangs in its case from my pack strap, and in heavy rain, I use a poncho to cover me and the pack as well. Besides, I always carry a good rain jacket and a spare plastic poncho. It’s a rather funny thing, but my favorite poncho has become an old military one that I found on a high peak in a roadless area several years ago. It’s kind of scruffy looking and the hood leaks (which doesn’t matter because I wear a hat), but It’s large and comfortable and tough and I just love the old thing. (You know, if you have a big old poncho, you can curl up inside it under a pine tree on a hillside and take a rest in the rain if you’re so inclined. I see a lot of game that way.)
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Comment by montucky — October 7, 2011 @ 10:19 pm
I’m glad your computer bug has left… I hope for good!
I make sure that I have the means to keep my camera and lenses dry, I prefer to keep my pistol dry too if possible and I’m careful to stay dry myself (when it’s cold I’m careful of getting wet from perspiration too). Getting wet at high elevations is an invitation to hypothermia. My extra lenses are kept in waterproof bags in my pack, which is covered by a rain fly. My camera hangs in its case from my pack strap, and in heavy rain, I use a poncho to cover me and the pack as well. Besides, I always carry a good rain jacket and a spare plastic poncho. It’s a rather funny thing, but my favorite poncho has become an old military one that I found on a high peak in a roadless area several years ago. It’s kind of scruffy looking and the hood leaks (which doesn’t matter because I wear a hat), but It’s large and comfortable and tough and I just love the old thing. (You know, if you have a big old poncho, you can curl up inside it under a pine tree on a hillside and take a rest in the rain if you’re so inclined. I see a lot of game that way.)
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Comment by montucky — October 7, 2011 @ 10:18 pm
Moseyed on over here from my friend Homestead Rambling’s blog. Absolutely stunning pictures! Reminds me of our time living in the Pacific Northwest. We never made it over to Montana, a big regret. Maybe someday!
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Comment by Mama's Empty Nest — October 12, 2011 @ 2:55 pm
Thank you for the visit! I’m pleased that you liked the photos.
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Comment by montucky — October 12, 2011 @ 11:29 pm
[…] Hike a forest trail with me on a rainy day (1) « Montana Outdoors […]
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Pingback by Hiking Montana — October 14, 2011 @ 3:47 pm
love the lil narrow paths… you shoot them so well, too! =)
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Comment by Tricia — October 17, 2011 @ 7:40 am
This trail was developed in the 1920’s as a pack trail to build, access and supply a lookout on the peak. It has been maintained ever since in about its original condition. It gets some summer traffic, but not a whole lot.
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Comment by montucky — October 17, 2011 @ 9:55 pm
Mystical results from your rainy day hike… the second and last are my personal favorites… both for the fall color and the composition!
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Comment by Victoria — October 20, 2011 @ 10:13 am
It’s a very pretty time to be in the woods, and after a very hot summer, the cool temperatures are delightful.
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Comment by montucky — October 20, 2011 @ 8:35 pm
I’m having fun poking around on your site! We’ve spent time in Montana, but mostly eastern Montana. I love your photos.. they are just beautiful. The fog, the mist, the early frost on the beautiful fall leaves….the vistas from the mountain tops. Gorgeous. Your photos are crisp, clear and stunning, as you capture the beautiful, untouched land in the west. As I posted today for my Weekly Photo Challenge: Peaceful….I love being in the mountains and near water. (we don’t have many mountains in MI!!! So we have to go west!) We’ll have to do more trips in Western Montana, I can see! 😉 Thanks for great posts. (PS….I’ll be reading more and I keep passing the computer to my husband, who also enjoys your photos!)
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Comment by Judy — January 14, 2012 @ 10:13 am
Thanks for your kind comments, Judy! It makes me very happy that you enjoy seeing pictures of Montana’s beautiful back country: my only agenda in keeping up this blog is to make some of nature’s beauty here visible for other folks to see, especially scenes in the roadless areas.
I wish so much that I could be walking this trail right now, but the snow level here is now around 3,000 feet and that trail head starts at 6,000 and there’s no way for me to get up there until spring (it will probably be in June before the road is drivable).
I have visited Michigan several times, but only briefly. My older brother married a gal from Michigan after he returned from the war in the Pacific and they settled at her home town of Grand Rapids. I remember when he brought her and some of her family to Montana they were quite nervous to be on some of the mountains around here because they were not used to them. I was pretty young then and thought that was strange!
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Comment by montucky — January 14, 2012 @ 10:38 pm