NEW Etsy Shop!

I recently opened an Etsy Shop - for selling artwork; originals and prints.
I currently don't have very much listed, but hopefully soon I will have more listings! Check it out!

GRACE HESLEP ART 

The Beaten Path, 2016

Leftover snow from a September storm that came through a few days before us.

My husband and I hiked the Beaten Path on September 19th-20. We hiked the entire 26 mile trail in under 32 hours (Whew!) and camped one night on the trail. Hiking in late September could be a little risky, as there could easily be an early snow storm and cold temps. We had watched the forecast closely & were blessed with wonderful spring-like temperatures and lots of sunshine.

I had previously hiked the trail in 2014 and 2015 during mid-July. The first time I spent 3 nights on the trail, the second time I spent 2 nights on the trail, and this third time, I spent 1 night on the trail!

Personally I think only spending 1 night is too rushed; it didn't leave enough time to appreciate the scenery, and its a lot harder on the ole' bones. But it was still very fun.



We pushed hard and hiked fast, while still taking the necessary photo/snack/water breaks along the trail whenever needed. We camped at Dewey Lake, which is about the half way point on the trail.


In a nutshell this was our trip schedule:

A friend met us in the morning at our house and we then caravanned in two cars to East Rosebud, where we left one vehicle in the recreational parking area. Then we all road together in our 2nd vehicle over the Beartooth Pass to the Clarks Fork Trailhead. Our friend dropped us off at around 11:20am. (And then he drove our car back to our house.) All total driving time was around 4hrs.

We were on the trail by 11:30am and we arrived at the camp site at Dewey Lake at around 6pm.
My husband and I made pretty good time. I was very tired by the time we reached Dewey. The last 2.5 of the 12 miles to Dewey we were hiking in a thunder storm. It rained/hailed pretty hard, making the downhill trail pretty slick and got cold. But it slacked off just enough for us to get camp set up and to make a quick Mountain House supper with the JetBoil. We cleaned up our supper mess, hung our food bag, stashed our backpacks, and just as we were crawling into our tent for the night, the storm picked back up. We watched lightening flash and listened to thunder shaking the mountains. It stormed long into the night. Thankfully we stayed pretty dry and warm.

The next morning at around 9am we were ready to hit the trail again. It was partly cloudy with the sun shining - it was beautiful. We took 40min lunch break at Rainbow Lake. We arrived to East Rosebud at around 4pm. I was pretty exhausted and had a few large blisters on my feet. (Even using moleskin!!) My husband didn't get any blisters, but was pretty tired. It felt really good to change out of my hiking boots and into the sandals I had left in the car. I recommend having a change of shoes for the car, regardless of how fast you hike this trail.

Again, here are additional detailed accounts from hiking the Beaten Path in 2015 and 2014.

Below are photos from the hike.

Somewhere along the trail... Heading down to Rainbow Lake.

Just after Impasse Falls. Standing on the edge of the tail, looking down on the lake below. 

Storm clouds chasing us. This is one of the water crossings. In late September the water levels are very low. We rock-hopped across ALL the water crossings and didn't get our shoes wet or had to take them off!

The fall color was beautiful on the East Rosebud side of the hike.

Impass Falls.

Hiking Around Fossil Lake. All the grass had turned golden, it was so beautiful and different from hiking the trail in July, when everything is very fresh and green. 

My husband experienced some mild, but annoying altitude sickness around Fossil Lake.  While Jonny is an extremely active, fit person,  it did slow us down a little bit. 

Just as the storm was starting... (We used the rainflys and black garbage bags to keep our packs dry. It got very pretty dark and the trail was pretty slick in places.)

On the Cooke City side, bears are more of a threat. We saw quite a few large black bear prints right on the trail. 

More fall foliage. 

Jonathan and myself.

Along the final stretch of the hike, descending to East Rosebud through the canyon. 

Almost at East Rosebud, looking back up the canyon. SO BEAUTIFUL! 

If you have any questions, let me know and I'll do my best to answer.

My previous two posts on hiking the Beaten Path have received a lot of comments from fellow hikers - you should read the comments on those posts if you have any questions, and maybe you'll find some answers there.

Below is my list of MUST HAVE hiking gear when I hike the Beaten Path:

• sleeping bag (my bag is good down to 21 degrees, fahrenheit) 
• tent
• sleeping mat 
• Jetboil & extra fuel tank 
• proper amount of Mountain House food & high protein snacks
• rain gear / pants & coat 
• bear spray & gun 
• first aid kit (My husband is an EMT, so he packs a very well-rounded kit.)
• moleskin 
• water bottle & water filter
• one change of clothes, extra hiking socks, underwear, plus long underwear & socks for sleeping in
• bug spray 
• biodegradable toilet paper and liquid hand-sanitizer 
• compas & trailmap 
• flashlight
• leather-man knife
•  paracord (for hanging the food bag)
• a few carabiners 
• waterproof matches & lighter 
• beanie (no matter the season), baseball hat & sunglasses 
• phone, camera & ID
• spork
• warm but lightweight coat
• a small waterproof bag for stashing electronic items
• a large black garbage bag (for keeping my backpack dry if it rains)

HAPPY NEW 2016!

wow. it's been another year. where has time gone? i can't believe it. one sec it was summer, then suddenly there was snow on everything! this past year has been amazing, a real roller coaster - with big ups & downs. highs & lows. some hard & crazy & wonderful-good stuff has happened. God is good, so so good. my family is a huge blessing to me. i love them. in this past year i've explored, done lots of fun stuff & gone on some grand adventures in the mountains. i've grown, learned much & continued to matured. (still have lots to learn!) i'm one blessed girl. this year, my only resolution is: to simply seek Jesus more then ever. i need Him so much. so so so much. 

i need to trust in Him. 

i need to listen, love, & obey Him. 

i need His grace & peace. 

also! peace is not the absence of trouble, its the presence of Christ in your life in the midst of whatever is happening. think about that! life can be hard, crazy, exciting, turbulent - but with Jesus, by Jesus, because of Jesus, i'll get through it… you'll get through it too, if you submit your life & plans into His hands. He sees the depths of my heart, your heart, & He loves me the same. He's called me to be His child. i'm exactly where & who He wants me to be. i'm just gonna keep plugging along, slowly, surly, as i can. trusting in Him. 

looking back to this time last year - & who i was - i feel like a totally different person. God's been busy working in my life; i'm excited to see what this new year holds!

here's to forever seeking His face, His word, His light - & pressing onwards up the winding road, keeping my heart & mind open to seeing His beauty, wherever it might be found. 

hope you have a truly incredible 2016 - 

~GB 

Attempting To Summit Granite Peak 2015!

GRANITE PEAK, MT 

in a nutshell: 

This hike (or climb) is strictly for experienced, well-conditioned hikers.  

Starting point & elevation: West Rosebud Lake, Mystic Lake Trailhead. Elev. 6,000'ft.
We hiked about 12miles the first day, gaining over 5,000ft in elevation. Once we hiked to Mystic Lake, we took the Phantom Creek Trail 17 — (3.5 miles to this junction from starting point). From there, we hiked UP the mountain side, counting 29 switchbacks. It's an intense climb, but really beautiful.

Upon reaching Froze-To-Death-Plateau, you have hiked about 5.5 miles from the starting point. The elevation is now over 10,000'ft. Once on the plateau - you have to hike about 5-6 more miles to the base camp. You will hike / scramble / hop over boulder fields and marshy tundra, following a scattered trail of rock cairns.

Base Camp destination: a rocky boulder field, with man-stacked rock walls on the west edge of Tempest Mountain, elevation 11,700ft. (We didn't camp at the actual basecamp; we camped further away from Tempest, nestled up against some large boulders that provided more shelter from the wind and storm.)

But you can set up camp at whatever spot appeals to you, and hope the weather holds through the night — So you can summit Granite the next morning. Granite Peak is about 1.5 miles from the base camp area. The elevation of Granite Peak, the highest point in Montana is 12,808'ft.

Boulder fields on the plateau … covered by hail.

____________________________________________________

My notes & observations: 

Myself, Jonathan and Jessica went on this hiking trip.
Afoot and lighthearted, we set to the open road — at 6:20am, arriving to the trail-head at 7:45am.
While we were hiking up, we were the only souls on the mountain.

WHEN TO GO: The best time to hike Granite is late July — early September.
We went on Thursday-Friday, September 3-4, and had the mountain to ourselves. Hiking down on Friday afternoon, we passed 10 or 11 other hikers, Granite bound. I would totally recommend hiking DURING the week. All those hikers would have a hard time figuring out where they would want to pitch their tents, as "camp sites"  with wind shelters were limited. Other then scattered large boulders and ground-level rock, there isn't much privacy on the plateau.

(Camp site: see photo directly below.)

HIKING UP: Total time took us 9hrs of uphill hiking… covering over 12 miles. While hiking on Phantom Creek Trail we were wearing T-shirts and shorts. It was hot. We drank a lot of water. My backpack weighed a bit over 30lbs. I had a 2 person tent, my harness, climbing gear etc,… plus 2 large water bottles, extra clothes, sleeping mat, bag (my sleeping bag is good down to 21'F degrees), it kept me warm during the crazy storm-filled night. Pack as light as possible. Ever ounce makes a huge difference! 

Note: We actually ended up deciding we didn't need all the rope we were carrying, and stashed some of it under a rock on the way up. (We got it later when we came down the next day.) If we try summiting Granite again, we are not going to bring quite so much climbing gear. We over packed with ropes, harnesses, carabiners, etc. We plan to scramble/boulder up to the top, and hopefully without much rope. BUT depending on the year, and how much snow the Beartooth Mountains got, there could be a dangerous and large snow wall you have to cross along the ridge-line of Granite. Ropes and safety measures are a necessity, if that is the case!

ELEVATION GAIN: I have done a lot of hiking at 10,000ft or higher, so I am accustom to thin air.
My fellow hikers (while being avid hikers), had not done much high elevation hiking. They got altitude sickness, upon reaching elevations around 10,000ft. Upset stomachs, nausea, and no appetite. Our highest elevation point was around 11,000ft, since we did not summit.

CAIRNS: At times the rock cairns are quite small and difficult to locate.
We took "scenic route" to our base camp site, and added about a mile to the hike, because we accidentally missed a cairn. Total ascending time took 9hrs. (Including many breaks, lunch too.) But overall, wasn't too bad. The plateau seemed to drag on more then the 29 switchbacks did.

WATER: Top off your water bottles at Mystic Lake before climbing up to the Plateau.

There was one small stream along the lowest sets of switchbacks.

MAKE SURE you have a good filter. In places, water on Froze-To-Death plateau is contaminated by E. coli (human waste). The ground is very rocky, and it is nearly impossible to dig cat holes. In places while I was hiking, I could smell poop. Super gross! A lot of hikers don't care or even bother to try digging a hole. Some hikers choose carry out their waste, which is a hassle, but is very nice and helps preserve the environment!

There are several small & shallow water courses (nearly submerged snow-melt springs) on the Plateau. You will have to hop over the narrow springs or skirt around the marshy-swamp like places while hiking on the Plateau. Make sure you take water from FLOWING sources when on the plateau. The basecamp spots are DRY campsites. 

WEATHER PROBLEMS: You WILL get rained on while hiking no matter what. I've done a lot of overnight hiking in the Beartooths (I've hiked nearly 100 miles this summer!!), and know well enough by now, that no matter what the forecast says, it will rain and maybe even snow on you. While hiking across Froze-To-Death-Plateau there was a thunderstorm, sleet, rain and large hail. The temperature held steady at 40 degrees during the day. It was very windy. Bring proper rain-gear! 

TENTS: During the night while camping, it stormed for hours. Thunder shook the mountains. Lighting flashed through the night. In the morning, there was an inch of snow and ice was coating everything. It got down to 28'F degrees. We didn't sleep much. It felt (sounded?) like our tents would flap away, even though they were properly anchored.

STARS: Are tiny holes in the floor of heaven, or so it seemed. They were so very bright & beautiful. We got to stargaze for about 45min before storm clouds started moving in. We ate supper at about 8:30pm, and it got dark enough to see stars just after 9pm. 

PLANT LIFE: Hiking to Mystic, and along the switchbacks there is an abundance of plant life and trees. Once on the plateau, there is nothing but  hardy grasses and lichens growing. I did, however, see some flowers blooming on the plateau at around 10,400ft. I identified it as the late blooming tundra-loving-cold-weather flower: the Arctic Gentian.  

SUMMIT?: We didn't make it to the summit, due to the ice, wind, and snow from the storm, and we could see more bad weather was rolling in. But we were in view of Granite, just over 2 miles away. We had a summiting plan, a rough idea of a route picked out - I talked to several people who have summited Granite, to get a idea of what works best. I had reference photos and notes about the climb to the top. We had climbing gear, a harness, ropes, etc. Though we mostly planned to "free climb" to the top.  

HIKING OUT: Hiking down the next day took 4.5hrs. (Much faster then when we hiked up!)
We went about 11mi, and fortunately hiked below and missed most of the bad weather. The sky was black by 12pm, and it was starting to rain as we were leaving the Plateau.

TOTALLY WORTH IT: Every step of this hike was totally worth it, regardless of summiting or not. The views are AMAZING. The beauty of God's creation will blow your mind! I have a new-found awe and admiration for mountains. The views and mountains were incredible!

NEXT TIME: We try this hike, we want to hike up to the Plateau and camp the first night at around 10,000ft, so that we can adjust to the altitude. On the 2nd day: hike leisurely across the plateau to basecamp, on Tempest Mountain. Then the 3rd day: attempt/climb Granite, and hike out. 

Below are photos from the hike.

Mystic Lake, seen from about the half-way point, while hiking up to the Plateau. I will add that I've hiked to Mystic lake 10 or more times over the past several years. It is one of my favorite day hikes. To Mystic hike round trip is 6 miles. The lake is beautiful. Lots of good camping spots around the lake, and though I don't fish; I know the fishing is good.

Taking a break by one of many cairns…

Cold wind, thunder, hail and very slick boulder-fields on Froze-To-Death-Plateau. 

False summit. But at the "top" of where we were camping. This was as good as it got!

I was standing atop large rocks to get an "aerial" view of camp. Nothing but pikas, some mountain goats & hardy lichens live in this rocky place. No grass.

View out my tent door.

At 5am it was 28 degrees, and there was an inch of snow and ice on everything. The rocks were slick. It didn't get light outside till just after 6am. When I took this photo, and ventured out of the tent into wind, it was blowing at around 10-15mph, which seemed calm after an extremely windy night. During the night, I'd guess it was blowing around 45mph. 

Hiking back down. Mystic Lake obscured by cloud, view from atop Froze-To-Death-Plateau. 
Storm clouds in the distance. 

Selfie with Jonathan and Jessica!

Froze-To-Death Lake down below. Storms coming in the distance. Photo cred: Jonathan

Once we got down to Mystic, we were walking IN the clouds we saw from above, just an hour or two earlier. We could hear the water lapping against the rocks we were walking on. 

Descending the mountain, on the return trip, we hiked into a thick fog-like cloud. 

"LIFE is getting up an hour early, 

      to LIVE an hour more" 

MORE THOUGHTS:

When you consider things like mountains and stars, our earthly woes don't seem to matter very much… Being on top of Froze-To-Death-Plateau was an incredible experience. The mountains were huge and the stars were awesome. I felt so alone, so free, so alive, so light, so high, and so small! God is SO good, huge and powerful -  He shakes the mountains with thunder. He provides for the mountain goat and pika. His creation is amazing.

When I go anywhere, or do anything, I try to be enthusiastic about LIFE! Even when your just at home, or at work, or wherever — You are alive and that is amazing! I think it's important to enthusiastic, no matter what you or doing, or where ya are. Living in the moment is being aware of the moment we are in. If our minds are in the past or working about the future, we are not truly alive in the present. 

While hiking, I found myself increasingly living "in the moment". Hiking is so care-free, exhilarating, and exhausting. The world is such a vast interesting place - I'm truly thankful for good heath and the ability to explore, and I am immensely blessed by my friends who like to explore with me!

"Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done." -C.S.Lewis 

No matter where or what I'm doing, I'm always trying to rely solely on God: Start with Jesus, stay with Jesus, finish with Jesus, EACH day. Grow in Him, love Him, serve Him, do all things for His glory.… 
Keep the wonder. 

He much become greater, I must become less. (John 3:30)

Happy Hiking,

-GB 

open in new window to view larger. ^^ 

Guided summit climbs to Granite with http://www.beartoothguides.com 

(I'm acquainted with a couple of the guides - they are really good at what they do!! Check them out.)

The "AFALCON Guide"  book for the hiking the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness has insightful information on hiking Granite (& countless other hikes) is within its many pages… 

Additional info can be found by stopping by & talking to people at the Sylvyn Peak Store.

Sylvan Peak, Ent. 

9 South Broadway 

P.C. Box 463 

Red Lodge, MT 59068 

Smokey August •

There are wildfires raging throughout the western states… Montana, Idaho, Washington, California, etc. In MT we've had bad fires close to home, & lots of smelly smoke from Idaho has been blowing in - it's been obscuring the mountain views for days…

Tonight I took a drive (with visiting family) up into the Beartooth Mountains to try & escape the smoke - it turns out it's just as thick at 10,000'ft as it is down in the valley. Normally (as I'm sure you've noticed if you've even been in high country) mountain air is the coolest, purest & clearest there is. So it was disappointing that there was so much smoke in the atmosphere… . but it made the sunset look pretty awesome.

If you haven't driven over the Beartooth Highway - you NEED to put it on your bucket list! It's been dubbed "America's most scenic highway" - & I vouch  for it 100%. I've driven the highway 7 or 8 times this summer, & will probably be up a few more times before it closes for the season, usually in October, when the snow starts falling…

 al•pen•glow 

'alpen, glo/

noun

"the rosy light of the setting or rising sun seen on high mountains" 

Pictured above left: feeding the chipmunks! On the way up to the top, there is a lovely vista point / road side pull off - & there are LOTS of greedy little rodents who beg for food. right: my 6yr old cousin, & my 11yr old brother dancing (on the edge of a cliff). Love these weirdos.

I had fun exploring — I'm up in these mountains so often, but I always talk lots of pictures whenever I'm there. It was extra special tonight, because my family went! We spent the afternoon in Red Lodge, ate a Bogarts, drove the Beartooth Highway, stopped at Beartooth Basin, went to the "top of the world" store & visited the fire tower… From the firepower we could see Pilot & Index peaks & a herd of elk down below… The views are AMAZING. I'm so thankful for & blessed by family. Thankful that we can talk, laugh, live & explore together for a few days.

ALSO - very thankful that "my" mountains aren't burning up, that the smoke is from elsewhere - & very thankful for all the hard working firemen & women who have fought hard, & are still fighting to preserve our wild lands!

-GB 

Glacier Lake, Beartooth Mountains, MT

 • NEVER STOP EXPLORING •

Today I hiked a moderately strenuous, but short hike to Glacier Lake! Total roundtrip was about 5 miles. The trailhead elevation is 8,680ft & the lake is at 9,702ft, but the hiking trail actually climbs more then the difference (1,022ft) in the 2ish miles to Glacier Lake. There's a ridge in the middle thats about 800ft higher then the lake. So at the peak of the hike the elevation is about 10,500ft, then you descend to the lake from that point.

Hiking was a breeze, & the landscape was beautiful. You could almost always hear the sound of Moon Creek gushing in the drainage to your left as you hike up to the lake. There is also a nice bridge about 1/2 mile into the trail where you cross over the creek. Once at Glacier Lake, you inevitably will cross over the state line of Montana into Wyoming. This sorta "no man's land" I (& other locals) like to call Wymont.  

The hardest part of this hike & getting to this lake, is actually getting to the trailhead. A high-clearance vehicle (truck or jeep) is needed. The 7.6 mile dirt road is very rough. I wasn't keeping track of time, but I'm guessing it took us about 50min to drive it. A long, slow, bumpy drive, but totally worth it.

 

Even though the lake sits at 9,702ft (above the timberline), there are some large trees along the shoreline, & around the trials near & below the lake. There were large wind-blown dead trees, & some very hardy pines. When we hiked, we veered off the trail & explored quite a bit of the surrounding areas just before reaching the lake. There are amazing views & vista points along the way. It's totally worth it to hike off trail once you are at the high point & boulder field. 

The mosquitoes were not bad, but be sure to take bug repellent just in case!
There were many pools of still water along the trail closer to the lake.  

Ok, now that you've read & looked at the pictures, take another look at the top picture. On the island, there is a human! My friend SWAM out to the island. This would not be recommended for everyone to do. The tempature of the water is around 43ºf. I took of my shoes & dipped my feet in the lake & nearly froze. I can't imagine making the long (55 yards) swim out to the island. Go look at the pic! Small human standing on the right side, atop a rock. ^^ 

This would be a fairly easy trail for kids. We passed a couple hiking with kiddos in backpacks. My 11 year old brother had a blast hiking up to the lake. He is not an experienced hiker, & did have to take a few little "breather" breaks along the way, but overall did great. 

Allllllrighty! Summer is gonna be over soon. In the past 2ish weeks, I've hiked 40+ miles in the Beartooth Mountains - The Beaten Path, Mystic Lake, & Glacier Lake. It's been super fun & I'm hoping to pack in the miles before school starts later this month.  Mountains are awesome & summer is going by too fast!!!!!! Wanna go hiking with me?! 

-GB 

The Beaten Path, Montana, 2015

Elk Lake, elevation 6800'ft. 

Busy is a choice. Stress is a choice. Joy is a choice. Choose well. 

JUST GO HIKING. 

It has become a yearly tradition to hike "The Beaten Path" once every summer. I hiked it last year - you can read a detailed post about that experience here. 

AHHHHH! I love hiking - getting up into the mountains & total wilderness — feeling like a little ant walking on the earth — the size of these rocks is awesome! Creation is amazing, & God is good. I'm super blessed & thankful to have the health & life that I have. I'm trying to make the most of summer while it lasts!

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. - Colossians 1:16 


This year I hiked The Beaten Path with 2 friends - We started at the Clarks Fork Trailhead, just past the Chief Joseph Campground on July 16th & finished on the 18th at East Rosebud Lake.

This hike is "approximately" 26 miles long, not counting any side trips off trail. It is a strenuous hike, but not technically difficult or dangerous. It is also a well-traveled path, & perhaps the best way to experience the diversity & beauty of the Beartooths.

If starting at the Clarks Fork trailhead the elevation is 8000'ft - the peak elevation on the trail is just over 10000'ft, & finishing elevation is 6000'ft. You get more downhill hiking starting on the side we did. You hike uphill 90% of the first 10 miles, then from there its like 85% downhill  for the remaining 16 miles. (As opposed to starting at East Rosebud, where you hike a steep long uphill for the first 16 miles.)

In a nutshell: We hiked The Beaten Path in 3 days, 2 nights. The first day (starting at  the Clarks Fork Trailhead, 9:40am), it took us about 9 hours to hike 12 miles to Dewey Lake, our camp site for the night. (10 of the 12 miles were uphill. We hiked about 2mph the first 7 miles, & also took numerous little breaks along the way. Stopped at Russell Lake for about 30min too.) The next morning, it was an easy  7 miles downhill (9am-1pm) to Rainbow Lake & our camp site. The 3rd day we hiked 7 more downhill miles, finishing the hike by 12pm at East Rosebud Lake. We rested for about 40min at Elk Lake on the way.

Impasse Falls - around 300ft tall. 

When hiking the Beaten Path -you will get rained on, no matter what the forecast says. The forecast is hard to predict in the mountains. Two of the 3 days I was hiking were supposed to be "50% chance of rain"; but both those days were sunny. The "20% chance of morning rain" day turned into a wild afternoon thunder storm… The last 2 of the 12 miles we hiked the first day, we were hiking in a hail/sleet thunderstorm. The temperature dropped from mid 60s to low 40s.

Honestly, no one likes hiking in the rain, things get slick! Bring good rain gear so you stay dry & warm! Also, make sure you know what to do if caught on the plateau in a storm. Don't make yourself a lighting target! 

The mosquitoes are bad. Take strong bug repellent.  I brought repellent that was 25% deet, it seemed to work ok, but I still got more bites then I liked. The bugs are blood thirsty up there! They only seemed worse on the higher lakes, near the plateau. The lower we got, towards Rainbow Lake, the fewer they become. (At least during this time of year.)


All around the trailhead (Cooke City side) the bugs were bad. East Rosebud side, no bugs.

Obviously is grizzly country - proper food storage, bear spray & guns are a really good idea, & safety precaution. When I hike, I'm packing a .357 & bear spray. (Better to be safe then sorry!!!) I hang my food at night too.

Last year when I hiked in July - there were still HUGE snow drifts we had to hike over. This year there wasn't ANY snow we had to hike over. (Dryer winter….) Having a walking pole could be helpful for some people. There are 3 major water crossings, & depending on the snowmelt, the water could be over knee deep or you could "rock-hop" across with shoes left on. Hiking in "convertible" short/pants works great, & keeps you dry.

This year water levels were very low, so nothing was very hard to get across. Last year however, the water was almost thigh deep in places, so it was much harder getting across the "rivers" as the current was swift. 

I found it interesting when reading about The Beaten Path in hiking books, "river/lake" crossings were NOT mentioned…. Make sure you pack some water shoes!

There are countless beautiful lakes, several note-worthy waterfalls, endless views & wildflowers galore on this trail. I would suggest taking a longer time to hike The Beaten Path - & setting a camp somewhere near Fossil Lake - from there, there are numerous day hikes & other lakes to hike to.

Here are some pics for you to enjoy!

The trail between Elk Lake & East Rosebud - 3 miles from the finish.

Ouzel Lake, elevation 9445'ft. 

Twin Outlets Lake, elevation 9200'ft.

A well-traveled trail — Saw a good number of other hikers throughout the entire trail, & two horses & some mules along the way. The Beaten Path is a very popular trail, but everyone spreads out on it, so you seldom see other hikers, even though there could be dozens of hikers on the trail. 

My hiking buddies JohnRoss & Jessica! 

Hiking on the beautiful plateau, just past Fossil Lake (elev. 10,000+ft) 

- With storm clouds chasing us! We got stormed on (thunder / hail / rain / sleet) the last 2mi of the 12 miles we hiked the first day. The temperature got down to 42'F. 

Camp site 2nd night at Rainbow Lake.

 We hung our damp clothes out to dry at our camp site.  The storm soaked us pretty good the night before. There are many great camp sites by Rainbow Lake. 

Rainbow Lake, elevation 7700'ft. 

Rainbow lake displays a beautiful blue-green color (often called "glacier milk") indicative of a glacier-fed lake. The water felt wonderful on my tired feet & sore knee. :) 

Hiking around Fossil Lake, elevation 10000'ft. 

If ya have any questions, lemme know in comments below & I'll do my best to answer! 

Some good resources for hiking in or around the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness:

• www.beartoothguides.com — guided backcountry summit climbing / skiing / backpacking 
• http://www.beartoothtrails.org — general information 
• The Silvan Peak backpack/hike shop in Red Lodge would have info: (406) 446-1770 to talk to someone at the shop.

Happy hiking,
GB