Illinois Peak: On Monday I joined a group hike to Illinois Peak sponsored by Wild Montana. Wild Montana is a conservation and wilderness advocacy organization dedicated to keeping our public lands accessible and keeping our wild lands wild. The weather was a bit iffy at times with lots of wind and some rain on the summit, but all in all a great day. Hayley Newman (Executive Director) and Sarah Bates from the Great Burn Conservation Alliance joined the group for the hike and led a discussion about the Great Burn Proposed Wilderness, the Roadless Rule and other conservation topics. A couple of us saw a fox on the trail but that was the extent of our wildlife sighting. It was a great hike with some tremendous people, it was a great time. I am hoping to participate in another hike in the future.
Heart & Pearl Lakes: On Friday, I headed up Trout Creek to hike into Heart Lake and beyond. My intent was to visit Heart, Pearl & Dalton Lakes and then continue up to the stateline trail, loop around to trail #171 back to Heart Lake. The weather wasn't great, but it was supposed to improve over the day. But as it turns out it got worse as the day progressed. I was optimistic as I made it past Pearl Lake with just some sprinkles at Heart Lake, but then just before the saddle between Pearl & Dalton it really started raining. I stood at the saddle for a few minutes in the downpour deciding to bag it or continue; I decided to bag it and headed back down the hill to Pearl Lake. I found a big tree there to huddle under to change out of my wet shirt and have lunch. The rain let up to sprinkles and I headed back to the truck. The colors are absolutely great right now and will be fantastic with a bit of sun. I met Pete, a journalist student at the University of Montana who was packpacking into Dalton for a couple days and a couple from Missoula in for the day.
