HIKING THROUGH THE GALLATIN FOREST

 This year I took two weeks off for vacation. Decided I wanted to see some "real" mountains, not these pudgy little east coast ant hills. I arrive at Gallatin Field in Bozeman, Montana after a full day of flying. I didn't rent a car, so everywhere I went I either got a cab or walked to it. Bozeman is a small city of 30,000. It's located in a valley, with two mountain ranges to the north and south of town. Trip starts and ends here at the Backpacker's Hostel in Bozeman, Montana. Only $14.00 per night. Dorm style accommodations, full kitchen, place to store excess gear while hiking in the Gallatin Forest, HOT SHOWERS(!) and cool solo travelers like myself (some traveling by bicycle, motorcycle, car, and hikers). Met people from France, Russia, North Dakota, and Massachusetts.

Second day in town. I'm hiking 5 miles along a two lane road to get to the "M" Trail. The letter M is whitewashed on the mountain in the background. This is the southern terminus of the Bridger Mountains. Elevation at the trailhead is 4820'. I took along a Garmin E-trex GPS to help guide me along on my trip.

This is the view atop the "M" Trail. Great panorama of the city of Bozeman, Montana. The hike up nearly killed me. I came from 27' in South Florida and was quickly climbing 6000' mountains! I'm at 6516' in this picture--a gain of 1696'. Altitude sickness bothered me for the first several days. Temperatures got into the 40's at night. My Moonstone synthetic sleeping bag is rated to 30 degrees, but I was shivering on a few nights without a campfire.

This is sunrise at 6:15 A.M. I shot this from inside my Eureka super-lightweight tent. I was way too tired from the previous days climb to get out of my tent for a photo.

 Me packed and psyched up to hike around the Hyalite Reservoir Recreation Area. I'm standing in front of Hyalite Reservoir located about 15 miles south of Bozeman.

 Campsite set up at Hood Creek Campground. Big mountains off in the distance.

Nothing like a warm campfire during cool Montana summer nights. Sun's going down and it cools off real quick. Typical day went from low 90's during day to low 40's at night.

 On my way to the East Fork Hyalite Creek Trail I spotted this interesting "Pirate-like" mountain along the hike.

 Hiking along the logging road that gets me to the East Fork Hyalite Creek Trail.

 Hyalite Creek running along the right of the frame.

 Now here is without a doubt the most beautiful campsite I ever stayed at. I'm camped out along Emerald Lake, a high alpine lake filled with lots of trout. The mountains loom over my site. Elevation here is 9047'. Mountains in the background are over 10,000'.

 A mile further to the south sits another alpine lake--Heather Lake. I'm climbing up the mountain to make a phone call. The canyon wraps around the lake. A black bear visited my campsite on this particular evening snooping around looking for something to eat. Not something that I want to repeat anytime soon. Earlier in the evening I had hung my weeks supply of food on a tree branch. Elevation at the lake is 9200'.

 The view looking straight up the side of the mountain. I got to within 300 foot of the summit before chickening out. I'm at 9874' when I took this picture.

 Beautiful and cool Palisades Falls.

 Another chilly night and a warm fire to make sleeping comfortable.

 For sure one of the most picturesque hiking trails I've been on. This is called the Wildhorse Trail and it makes a steep winding switchback descent along the side of the mountain. While not particularly difficult on the way down, the return trip was one heck of a cardio workout with a full pack and 90 degree Montana heat.

 Another alpine lake, this one called Mystic Lake. I hiked 5 1/2 miles to reach this area. There's a remote wood cabin with wood stove and no electricity located directly behind me. Elevation here is 6475'.

 A view of one of the many creeks that come off of the Montana mountains.

 It's early morning and the lighting is real soft. The light made really interesting shadows on the Pine trees.

Here's Bill from Bozeman giving me a lift back to Bozeman. He's one of the many helpful people around the area. We shared many interesting stories.

 A shot of the awesome Bridger Mountains off in the distance.

 Bozeman is home to the University of Montana.

 Downtown Bozeman. Main street is about 3/4 of a mile long and has all kinds of neat coffee shops and mountaineering stores. I ended up spending too much money when I was in town.