Montana's Burning!

Driving towards Missoula, the sky was dark with smoke and flames were seen on nearby ridge-tops!
A slurry bomber dropping its payload on a wildfire near Kurt's neighborhood in Missoula
Kathy slicing through the ferns on the Alpine Trail in northern Montana.
We escaped the fires of Montana, heading towards Canada via the Highway to the Sun inside Glacier National Park.

When we left home, the fires were still smoldering in Mesa Verde and west of Glenwood Springs in Colorado. The skies were hazy but it was nothing compared to what we were to see in Montana.

On our way north we had a brief stop with Eve Bennett of the BLM in Casper, WY to look at multi-use possibilities on the Muddy Mt Recreation Area. Eve showed us some beaver pond trails and we pointed out sustainable reroutes to accommodate the many different user groups. Eve said our timing was great since they had fire trouble just days before we arrived.

We had hoped to spend a little time in Bozeman but the smoke from the west was already too intense. Driving on the interstate towards Missoula, flames were nearly licking the pavement and the sky was dark by mid-day! We stayed with Kurt and Jennifer Krueger of the Low Impact Mountain Bicyclists. Five days prior to our arrival slurry bombers flew directly over their deck to get a clean drop on a fire about to engulf their neighborhood. That fire in Missoula was contained but many others raged on, surrounding Missoula. During our visit in Montana there was over 25 separate fires and 300,000 acres of forest burned. Most of the forests would become closed to public access and the entire state would be declared a disaster area.

There would be one day before the closures would take effect so we assessed the popular Sawmill Gulch Trail system. It was very smoky but we were able to survey 15 miles of trails looking at maintenance solutions. We also looked at new trails they are proposing in the area. In town, we met Julie Huck of the Adventure Cycling Organization, a group that provides international information on the best places to bicycle. Julie and the staff were quite busy giving route alternates for the many bike tourers passing through Missoula.

We also stopped by the office of Montana Conservation Corps, regional supervisor Dave Kiely. Our conversation revolved around multi-use trails and a desire for a trail seminar with them for next year. We felt lucky to meet so many wonderful people and sample some of the great trails of Missoula.

The next day we woke up to dark smoky skies and the forests surrounding Missoula were officially closed down. Kurt had one more trick up his sleeve; a ride in the Swan Range sandwiched between the Flathead Valley and the Great Northern. A good night's rain had quelled the smoke and this forest was still open. Kurt and Dave had reconned a 30-mile route traversing the high ridge. The Alpine Trail from Strawberry Lake to Hungry Horse is now on our list of super epics! We traversed the Swan Range immersed in wildflowers with intermittent views of Glacier National Park and the Flathead Valley. Near exhaustion, the final leg rewarded us with a descent through giant cedar trees. The lush cedar grove provided mossy carpeting over the trail that hushed our noisy bikes to sleep. What a ride! Tomorrow we drive to Canada through spectacular Glacier National Park.

Thank you,
Joey and Kathy, TCC2.