Okay so I don't know quite where we're at right now .. amazing scenery.. this is
just a phenomenal view .. amazing scenery.. it's just mind-blowing
You know really God, what else can you give us?
My appetite for the American West was whetted last year with a trip to Colorado.
Not long after returning home I began to dream of making another trek.
As I studied the maps there was one place above others that just kept drawing me.
After months of planning my wife and I jumped on a plane and chased the setting
sun to Big Sky Country.
Montana.
Sometimes called, "The Last Best Place."
The names comes from the word 'mountain.'
Maybe that's why I was drawn there?
For this hike I reached out to Brian from the Great Lakes backpacker YouTube
channel. Brian and I have been corresponding via emails texts and phone
calls for nearly nine years yet we had never met. We both share a passion for
the outdoors, for writing, for shooting video, and on matters of faith. I asked
Brian if he'd like to meet me in Montana for a hike. He jumped at the chance
We met in Red Lodge Montana and that became our home base. Our wive's shuttled
us to and from the trail and then would seek out their own adventures in that
busy little town.
Our plan was to hike a trail known as The Beaten Path. It's an approximate 25
mile trail found within the spectacular Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness.
The reviews we had read about and had celebrated the trails beauty and
ruggedness but nothing we read could have prepared us for the grandeur that we
were about to experience. The plan for our first day was to begin at Clarks
Fork trailhead and hike in a northeasterly direction. We would
steadily gain altitude all day as we climbed toward our first campsite.
Although the hiking wasn't difficult our pace was slow being stopped by the
constant stream of views as we stood under the 'Big Sky.'
At every juncture, at every turn, pure snow fed water danced all around us. Streams, lakes, waterfalls;
they were everywhere. One of the amazing things about this
trail was the scenery seemed to be constantly changing. At times we walked
through quiet glen's, at other times we were enveloped by rich forests or we
might find herself surrounded by fields of rocks being lapped at by mountain
lakes. In no time we had emptied ourselves of the superlatives needed to
describe the world into which we had been immersed. But if there was anything that
remained constant it was the mountainous backdrop that
always competed for our attention.
We reached Lake Ouzel where we would spend our first night. A light rain had begun to fall earlier in the afternoon
causing us to pull out our raingear, but we were way too excited to give
the rain much of a thought. We first pitched our shelters and then made our
way to the lake where we gathered water.
An ancient rocky ledge became our dining room table.
We were just getting done with dinner when a heavy rain began to fall.
It chased us back to our hammocks for a while where we lay suspended from the
wet while soaking up absolutely everything we could from the experience
of our first night on the trail in Montana.
Just after first light I was awakened by a noise from somewhere outside of my hammock. I cautiously
leaned out to discover a young buck wandering through the camp. I was amazed
as to how close it came. Breathlessly, I leaned out of my hammock to watch this
graceful creature.
Soon a doe appeared in the background but it wouldn't come as close. For over five
minutes I watched the pair until they wandered off.
It was an amazing start to what would be an amazing day.
There was no shortage of rocks that could be fashioned into tables with a little imagination. Finding
one we had her breakfast of oatmeal and coffee while waiting for the morning sun
to warm us up a bit. I was anxious to tell Brian about my early morning
encounter. After packing our things we set off both of us eager for the day
The Beaten Path had lined our morning walk with breathtaking bouquets of
colorful wildflowers; yellows, reds, and purples, and every hue in between reached
out to touch us as we walked along. Our already filled senses were almost on
overload we had become laden by colors
Sometime during the late morning we reached a large rock cairn. We learned
from a passing hiker that this marked the highest point on The Beaten Path.
My Garmin watch registered 9,983 feet above sea level. The rest of our journey would
be a gradual descent.
Just past the fossil lake we decided to stop for lunch.
This became one of my
most memorable moments. We just sat down in a windswept field among the grass and
rocks with a lake in front and a circle of mountains embracing us.
I don't recall what I had for lunch but I know I could have eaten pretty much
anything out there, and it would have been good.
Not because I was so hungry, but because I was in a good place.
After lunch, Brian and I continued our trek. Brian proved to be an excellent
companion on this hike. Our paces matched perfectly and he was every bit as
enthusiastic of our adventure as I was. A long time ago I'd recognized that Brian
was good with the camera. He was far more patient than me in
taking his pictures. Some might think it's strange to go hiking with someone
you've never met. Perhaps. But the trail has a way of smoothing everything out,
leaving no one a stranger who doesn't want to be.
One of the day's highlights was Impasse Falls. We approached it from the top and
then circled beside it. From a very sheer vantage point we were able to see the
water cascade down over the top.
It then emptied into Duggan Lake that we walked above and beside.
The rugged peaks soon gave way to some wicked switchbacks that led us down the
pass to bend us beneath the treeline again. That was a good sign for a couple
of guys who needed some trees to hang their hammocks for the night.
When we reached Rainbow Lake we were excited to find a beautiful campsite near the water.
We immediately began stringing up our shelters. However, we soon discovered that
we were setting up home in an area where no camping was permitted, therefore, we
had to pack up and move to another
location.
We were able to find another spot though it wasn't very prime and it required
some work to make it hospitable. By the time we sat down we were both feeling
tired and not just a little dejected. But we were able to have a fire that night
and as fires usually do it lifted our spirits making the end of our second day
a very good one.
As morning broke on our third and final day, we emerged from our hammocks fully
refreshed and eager to find out what lay in store for us.
We retrieved our food, which had been stored in waterproof bags and suspended
high in the forests' canopy, outside of camp. This is grizzly country and so it
was important to take every possible precaution to avoid a close encounter
with uninvited guests.
On our last day our backpacks would take us from Rainbow Lake to the trailhead at
East Rosebud Lake, which is the end of The Beaten Path.
The trail winds around and above Rainbow Lake, leading the hiker along a narrowing
path that was breathtaking for more than just one reason.
Soon, we got the sense that we were descending rapidly and that her hike was nearing its end.
The mountains were rising higher around us, and we started to get glimpses of
East Rosebud Lake off in the distance.
We also began encountering day hikers who were out for short walks.
As we walked I think Brian and I both grew a little quieter.
There was an excitement that we both felt, knowing that we would soon realize our goal.
But it was also mixed with a melancholy that hikers often experience as a trek is
drawing near it's close. Sometimes words seem like inadequate vehicles to convey
what a person is experiencing or feeling.
But words are all we have. So we have to work with them.
It's just hard when you feel that you've run out of superlatives.
(laughs) Congratulations. Brian: Congratulations, we did it.
Hey there this is Dane from featheredprop.com and I want to say thank you for
watching my latest video superlatives taken from my Montana trip a special
shout-out thanks to Brian and Michelle for driving halfway across the country
to meet a couple of strangers we had a blast together and won't forget our time
thanks to Brian also for allowing me to use some of his video in my video so the
scenes you just saw were taken from Brian's camera but he allowed me to
incorporate in my video a Brian will probably get a trip report done and when
he does I'm putting the links below also Brian and I did a little bit of a
collaboration video based on this trail I'll put that link below when it becomes
available please check out Brian's channel he's got some good stuff over
there also a just a thank you for everybody who's watched my channel over
the years to the subscribers who keep coming back to those who like it and
share it and especially to those who take the time just to make a comment it
just means the world to me I don't think you ever understand how much it means to
have someone just take the time to write a comment so I appreciate it very very
much if you give this video a thumb down a thumbs down that's okay but tell me
why maybe if you can give me some constructive criticism I can adjust it
then and make some better videos in the future which I intend to do it tend to
put out some more videos on my channel so thanks again for all the support over
the years and look forward to more videos and look forward to you coming
back thanks
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