June 29, 2013
Cool, cool water
The daily temperatures here are heading up into the 100’s for the next few days, and I know it’s hot also in a lot of other places now, especially in the western states of the U.S. Seems a good time to post some “cool” photos that were taken on the first of June this year of Revett Lake on the Montana/Idaho border. (Hard to believe, only a month ago.)
Revett Lake is a small mountain lake that sits at an elevation of 5800 feet in the Bitterroot Mountain range just west of the Montana/Idaho border in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. From Thompson Pass, which is about 20 miles west of Thompson Falls Montana on highway 471, you can take Forest Service road 266 to its end at the trail head for the lake (about a mile and a half). From there, USFS trail 9 will lead to the lake, a mile and a half to two mile hike with a fairly easy climb in summer; not so easy in June.
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Montana Outdoors 
Fortunately, temps in GA haven’t gotten quite that high. Even so, those pictures look really refreshing.
Malcolm
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Comment by knightofswords — June 29, 2013 @ 8:16 pm
You’ve been spared the heat and have gotten plenty of rain. I would prefer that!
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Comment by montucky — June 29, 2013 @ 8:22 pm
I got goosebumps looking at the ice on the lake. Very cool pics!
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — June 29, 2013 @ 8:20 pm
I might have to head back that way in a few more days, but most of the snow and ice would be gone now. Still, most of the trail is in the trees..
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Comment by montucky — June 29, 2013 @ 8:23 pm
Beautiful place, Terry…and it’s amazing what the difference in latitude will do with the snow and ice. I was up at Lake Blanche three weeks ago, 8,900 ft in elevation, and there were only bits of snow remaining on the sides of the mountains above it…. We hit 101 or 102 today….so thank you, doubly, for the cool, cool water photos. 🙂
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Comment by seekraz — June 29, 2013 @ 10:10 pm
I can still see patches of mountain snow from the valley here and some as low as 6000 feet. A lot of it will melt in the next week though: we are scheduled for several triple-digit days too.
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Comment by montucky — June 29, 2013 @ 10:55 pm
I can hardly believe you’re having such high temperatures at your elevation – you must get a very wide temperature range overall. I just love those photos, especially the lake that has thawed and re-frozen – and the huge trees – just spectacular.
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Comment by Jo Woolf — June 29, 2013 @ 11:52 pm
Yes, we do have a wide temperature range. I remember about a dozen years ago arriving at work one morning and seeing that it was -33ºF; and now the forecast for next Wednesday is 104ºF. It is not uncommon to see at several different times during the year, a temperature difference of 40 – 50 degrees from night time low to day time high. It makes preparing for high country hikes a bit challenging.
The high country lakes are usually very pretty and there are many of them similar to this one. I enjoy them because there are no roads to them nor motorized vehicles allowed ( and therefore very little traffic), so they can be experienced as they have evolved over the millenniums.
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Comment by montucky — June 30, 2013 @ 12:30 am
Incredible! I thought our climate was bad enough! I can only imagine the tranquillity of these high lakes – something akin to being in the Cairngorms, I would imagine. Beautiful!
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Comment by Jo Woolf — June 30, 2013 @ 12:59 am
I find that one of the real joys of hiking in the mountains is that even in June and July you can still come across patches of cool snow.
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Comment by Charlie@Seattle Trekker — June 30, 2013 @ 12:06 am
I enjoy that too, Charlie. Several times last summer, in the middle of a long hike, I found a nice grassy spot next to a snowbank that was just perfect for a short nap. Now if that isn’t satisfying, I don’t know what is!
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Comment by montucky — June 30, 2013 @ 12:33 am
It’ll be interesting to see what effect the high temperatures have on that snow and ice. I wonder if it’ll be gone next week.
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Comment by New Hampshire Gardener — June 30, 2013 @ 5:49 am
Rather hard to say Last year I visited Pear Lake, which is only a dozen or so miles from Revett and another thousand feet higher, on July 23rd and found some prettu good snow banks up against the rims.
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Comment by montucky — June 30, 2013 @ 4:46 pm
With a forecast of 100+ temps for the next 5 days I will hold these beautiful, cool looking pictures in my memory. I don’t like the heat but its part of summer and does bring a bounty of fresh fruits and veggies to the table. Heading up to Lassen Park in a week or so wo will be enjoying the mountains soon but right now Thank YOU! for these beautiful images.
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Comment by anniespickns — June 30, 2013 @ 6:17 am
That’s pretty high up there, isn’t it. Should be cool! Enjoy and stay safe!
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Comment by montucky — June 30, 2013 @ 4:49 pm
Without a doubt a distinct contrast to the heat that the west is experiencing. Mean while we’re drowning in the northeast, almost a foot of rain this month alone where I live, and the humidity is oppressive, but the temps aren’t all that bad. Some nice pics here!
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Comment by WildBill — June 30, 2013 @ 7:17 am
The valleys here are cooking now. Probably a week of this in store for us. The saving grace is that we are in the 50’s at night.
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Comment by montucky — June 30, 2013 @ 4:50 pm
That is real cool, cool water. Fresh pictures, Montucky.
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Comment by bentehaarstad — June 30, 2013 @ 9:26 am
That was a very cool day. I remember having to put on a jacket and warm my hands while taking the pictures.
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Comment by montucky — June 30, 2013 @ 4:51 pm
Nice!!! When it’s hot it’s hot around here..
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Comment by Roberta — June 30, 2013 @ 10:56 am
This year it feels hotter than usual because the humidity is also higher than usual. I wouldn’t mind one of those cold, snowy days of winter about now.
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Comment by montucky — June 30, 2013 @ 4:54 pm
Me..I almost think I would go barefoot… lol!
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Comment by Roberta — June 30, 2013 @ 5:36 pm
Hi Montucky, Very refreshing. At least here in FL where I live, it is not as terribly hot (even with humidity) as many spots out West. Your pictures are cool and very beautiful. Nice spot. Thanks for your considerate post topic. Have a super good coming week!
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Comment by wildlifewatcher — June 30, 2013 @ 7:55 pm
I’ve noticed the east coast weather from here. It seems strange for us to be warmer than there at present. I’m afraid that the next several days will be unpleasantly hot for us, but that will pass. At least we have cool nights! I hope you have a great coming week!
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Comment by montucky — June 30, 2013 @ 9:22 pm
Oh, are these ever marvelous. This past weekend we broke our heat records (107 in Houston, 105 here), so it is a delight to know that the cool places are carrying on. It does surprise me that you’re going to be so warm, but that’s just a result of not having much history with Montana. I’m still learning, thanks in good part to you!
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Comment by shoreacres — July 1, 2013 @ 6:16 am
Looks like everywhere in the west is getting heat. Every few years we will get up into the hundreds. This year is hotter than most. The big problem here is that it exacerbates the whole wildfire scenario.
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Comment by montucky — July 1, 2013 @ 12:15 pm
Great photos, your moutain areas are so beautiful. Thank you for sharing this with us who follow your blog ! // Maria 🙂
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Comment by mariayarri — July 2, 2013 @ 2:28 am
Thank you, Maria. I have loved these mountains all of my life.
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Comment by montucky — July 2, 2013 @ 8:07 am
Very cool.
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Comment by WildBill — July 3, 2013 @ 6:24 am
Those are very refreshing to imagine. It’s only 103 right now, much more pleasant that 119. It’s surprising that 109 can feel so much more pleasant than 119.
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Comment by Candace — July 3, 2013 @ 1:00 pm
I remember those temperatures very well. I drove around all summer in a Jeep with only a bikini top and loved it. Also used to think that 85 was the perfect temperature for riding in an open Jeep.
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2013 @ 12:21 am
Wonderful mixture of summer and Spring photos. You’ll laugh when I say that we have here during few days 86.0ºF. Anyway, it is was warm here on our scale.
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Comment by Sartenada — July 4, 2013 @ 11:17 pm
86 is very warm, but for here at this time of year just a little above average. It does cool down into the 40’s at night though.
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Comment by montucky — July 5, 2013 @ 10:09 pm
Refreshing. Humidity and heat are starting to roll into my area …
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Comment by bearyweather — July 5, 2013 @ 8:46 am
I greatly prefer the colder weather. With the heat comes the specter of wildfires and incessant smoke in the air.
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Comment by montucky — July 5, 2013 @ 10:10 pm
Stunning scenery- the state of Montana ought to put you on salary 🙂
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Comment by Watching Seasons — July 6, 2013 @ 5:16 pm
Thanks for the kind thought! Sadly, I think that the state is concerned with what tourists can see from the highways and in the parks, and very few of my photos are taken in those places. They are not concerned at all with the roadless areas and other wild places other than the potential of exploiting them for profit.
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Comment by montucky — July 7, 2013 @ 8:51 am
Beautiful views! We also had a few 100+ days, and even broke a couple of record highs here in the Salt Lake City area.
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Comment by Fergiemoto — July 7, 2013 @ 11:41 pm
I think we shared some of that weather. We did about the same here.
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Comment by montucky — July 8, 2013 @ 7:58 pm
Beautiful…I can hear the quiet.
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Comment by dhphotosite — July 12, 2013 @ 1:20 pm
Some of the trails are hard, but just getting far away from all civilization is worth the effort. The sounds are all made by Mother Nature up there, especially when the trail is buried in snow as it was that day.
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Comment by montucky — July 12, 2013 @ 9:38 pm
I’m thinking of a hike to the lake on the weekend of June 11-12. Will it likely be iced over like you pics that time of year. I was expecting that it would be clear. Maybe should wait until late June?
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Comment by Anonymous — May 13, 2016 @ 9:51 pm
I haven’t been able to go to that area yet this year, but I suspect that it would be best to visit there later in June. There is still some snow remaining in the higher places, especially in shady locations. It would be a shame to make a trip there only to be turned back by snow banks on the trail. Perhaps you could get information from the Forest Service. I believe that area is in the Idaho Panhandle Forest.
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Comment by montucky — May 14, 2016 @ 9:13 am