A change of seasons

Just a little over two weeks ago when I visited the Corona Lake area, the trees were yellow and gold and the ground was brown. When I returned yesterday the ground was golden and the trees were brown, and a little white had entered the landscape.

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West from Corona Divide

Corona Lake

On a visit today to Corona Lake in Montana’s Cabinet Mountains we found the Western Larch to be at the peak of their fall colors.

Islands in a sea of clouds ~ Another visit to Corona Divide

Today a friend and I visited the Corona Divide one last time before the weather conditions that create these scenes subsides and found that today there were islands in the sea of clouds.

Ice crystals formed in the track of a wolf.

A visit to Corona Divide

High pressure has been in place over western Montana for what has seemed like an eternity, trapping low stratus clouds and freezing fog over the Clark Fork River. Viewed from the valley, the clouds dim the light and obscure the mountain tops (and sometimes the mountains themselves) that surround it. Sometimes however, that can bring an opportunity for seeing some very pretty scenery if you can get above the clouds. On a hunch today I took a forest road for fifteen miles to the Corona Divide about three thousand feet above the valley and it turned out to be just above the low dense clouds. The following are some of the ninety photos I brought back from the Divide today.

East of Big Hole

Today a friend and I hiked several miles on an old road on the east slope of Big Hole looking for a trail that has been decommissioned by the Forest Service and abandoned for many years. We found it in pretty bad shape with a large number of trees down over it. It would be nice if we could convince the Forest Service to revive it because it would complete a nice loop that would be good for horse people as well as an occasional hiker.

I’ve included a few photos showing what the old road looks like, followed by some of the things that are in bloom at 5.600 feet. The road was cleaned up last year to allow some heavy equipment to get up to work on the Copper King fire so it will be in good shape for a few years before the Alders again close in over it.

These tiny flowers (about 1/8 inch across) caught my eye but I can’t positively identify them. I think they may be Western Wood Anemones (Anemone oregana) but I’m not positive.

Sitka Alder ~ Alnus viridis

Utah Honeysuckle ~ Lonicera utahensis

Huckleberry ~ Vaccinium membranaceum

Northern Black Currant ~ Ribes hudsonianum