Montana Backpacking Trip

In August our family was blessed to be able to go on a 12 day trip to Montana. We fit all 7 of us (Mara and Thomas traveled with us too) in our mini van and hitched a trailer full of stuff on behind and headed out.

The day before we left I had gotten stung by a bee/wasp (I am not sure) when I went up to check on the garden. It just very randomly flew up and stung me in the eyelid. My eye quite quickly swelled up and I looked rather weird. So that is how my trip began. :-)

We ended up staying 2 nights at hotels on the way out. We never had enough beds for all of us and our boys are not very good about sleeping in the same bed. Both nights there was a lot of drama and silliness as things got figured out. Here Aaron has put pillows all the way down the middle of the queen bed but then I think he still ended up sleeping on the floor because Jonathan didn't promise that he wouldn't touch him during the night.

 Our first major stop was Big Sky, Montana. Aaron loves Mountain biking and has dreamed of actually doing it in the mountains. We were able to bring his bike along and he was able to go for a day at Big Sky Ski and Mountain Biking Resort. He very much enjoyed it and wore himself out. After getting there we were rather nervous that he didn't have knee and elbow pads as pretty much everybody else was wearing them but he made it through the day without to much damage. We did get him a set for his birthday however so now he is ready for next time.

While Aaron biked, Ken and Jonathan climbed a mountain. They had a fun time and Jonathan got to do some filming too so that was fun.

I got to chauffeur people to their destinations. Thomas had a phone interview for a job to do so he went off to do that while the girls and I then took the van to be checked out since it had started making a funny noise. I found some super nice and helpful guys at both the Napa Auto Parts Store and the Napa Auto Mechanic in Big Sky. We didn't figure out the problem at the time but they at least ruled out a lot of things that could be bad. We were able to get it fixed (I don't remember now what it was) when returning home and it was something fairly simple.  

The girls, Thomas and I ate a picnic lunch at the Resort.

That night we went and stayed in Missoula - there we saw the Lady of the Rockies.

We had 4 guys on our trip that were 6 feet, 6' 1", 6' 4" and 6' 5". Things felt a little tight at some points but we made it! :-)

From Missoula we went to the Bitterroot Mountains to go back packing. We went on the Chaffin Creek Trail. We were only a few miles from Idaho (a place I have never been) but we didn't manage to go there as it would have meant driving over a pass and we were short on time and the van didn't sound so good.

Jonathan was our videographer as we went along. He carried his pack and his camera and filming equipment.

Thomas was giving instructions on making sure your backpack is properly adjusted. Mara still struggles with her health but she was still able to enjoy the backpacking trip and we were really thankful for that.

Megan was a pretty energetic backpacker. We were able to borrow her Nana's pack for her to use and it worked great.

Aaron tends to be the leader of the pack.

Ken is the trip planner and keeps us updated on how far we have gone and how far we have left to go.

I used my dad's old pack again (that he used in Alaska back in the 60's/70's). I like it and find it pretty comfortable.

Studying the signs before we took off.

The hike started through a lovely wooded area.

There were some good sized trees.

These two generally led the way. We were a little concerned about snakes which Megan is very afraid of (though it has gotten much less extreme since our trip down south) so I wanted to make sure that she was not the first person to go down the trail.

We sat on the rocks and had some lunch.

Jonathan tried to catch it all on video. Not that it will all get used as he does a ton of editing but he wants to make sure and have plenty of content.

Mara and Thomas the tree huggers.

Much of the trail was along side the rushing creek. It wasn't always right next to it but you could usually hear it.

Aaron always enjoys getting a little climbing in.

Enjoying the views!

Aaron and Jonathan ended up making it to the waterfall first. We had to cross over it. It was a beautiful spot and the place we ended up camping by. 

Resting after we arrived.

Aaron (with some helpers) put together a nice firepit for our stay. We were hiking in State Forest area so you can camp where ever which is kind of nice. You just want to leave no trace.

For supper that evening we made a quick meal with Ramen with dried purslane in it and fried peppers and sausage. When you are camping pretty much everything you cook tastes delicious.

Our camping area. There were many big slabs of rock.

The next day after breakfast and a little "church" service we ended up dividing into 3 groups to do different activities. Thomas, Jonathan and Aaron decided to cross back over the waterfall and climb to the top of the mountain on that side, Mara and I decided to continue forward up the trail to Hart Lake and Ken and Megan decided to stay around camp and rest up and play games.

Mara and I enjoyed much beautiful scenery and a really great visit. It was great to get to spend that time with her.

As is our normal when out in the wild we noticed and appreciated the Flora and Fauna. 

Heart Lake. 

A rushing river.

Ken and Megan playing Suicide Spades.

When we got back we all went down by the river/waterfall and looked up to see if we could spot the boys. We did and then we watched them come down.

Beautiful Fireweed and the view down the valley.

I have a very lovely lens on my camera so I can zoom in a long way. So I got this picture of the boys up on the side of the mountain.

The lovely Mara.

That evening Megan and I decided to create a game out of sticks, rocks, pinecones, moss and bark. Everybody played it with us. We struggled a little with the rules so the idea isn't quite ready to sell. :-)

Ken, Jonathan and I went down the next morning to catch the sunrise. It was a beautiful time to be out.

Jonathan did some filming and time lapse photography.

I loved going to this place each morning to spend some time in God's word, sing some songs of praise and worship and pray. There is something special about being able to enjoy such amazing beauty while visiting with the One who made it.

On Monday we divided up again according to interests. Aaron, Megan and I wanted to do some actual climbing so we went up a different way than Aaron had gone the day before. Ken and Jonathan hiked up the trail and Mara and Thomas went off another direction.

Here are a bunch of pictures from Aaron, Megan and my climb...

Aaron doesn't think it is necessary to chose easy routes and we did a lot of scrambling. I had my big camera with me which made me a little nervous that I would bang it on rocks but I figured out a way to keep it tighter to my chest but to still allow use of it and that was good.

We brought water and snacks a little first aid stuff and a rope. We used all of it. :-) (The band-aids were to patch up Aaron's knee - he had torn it up a little Mt. Biking and it started bleeding again.)

I love these two adventurers!

The twisted old trees were really cool!

We were often right on the edge of large drop offs. It was exciting.

Up that valley is where Heart Lake is.

Aaron had to do some waiting on us at times. I believe that at this spot we rather argued about whether we could climb it or not but he talked us into it. We made it - both up and down! Down for us girls was with the help of a rope.

Aaron waiting while Megan works on getting up.

This was the spot that Megan and I ended up giving up (we had gotten grit in our eyes and the way was quite challenging). Aaron made it to the top and we sat and waited for him.

We ended up going a different way down. It is fun to explore as many areas as you can.

I found a shower!!

This was a cute little pool in the woods.

Suppertime - Thomas had brought an MRE and we all enjoyed watching him unpack it. 

We had Mountain House  (I think!) backpacking food that evening. Spaghetti and Beef Stroganoff. It was yummy!

Ken and Jonathan enjoying their supper.

Tuesday it was time to pack up....

and hit the trail...

The hike down is always easier (at least I think so).

Here is a neat video that Jonathan made of our trip: 

Then we were off to meet up with Ken's mom and siblings near Glacier National Park.