My Journey
- Thread starter YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
- Start date
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
ITTOG.....current bid is at $5,500.....
Furbucket.....I'm not a fan of trekking poles. Back in the day when I climbed bigger mountains with a 70 pound expedition pack, I was a user. Now I'm pretty much just a day pack kind of guy.....
Arjan.....no pain on the flat ground for the most part.....sadly it's the slopes that I love.....and there, I have pain.....
"Trappers and sailors are similar in regard to the money that they earn so dearly, daily being in danger of losing their lives. But when the voyage has been made....., they think not of the hardships and danger through which they have passed, spend all they have and are ready for another trip."
Kit Carson.....Memoirs.....
Our next stop was at the Big Horn National Recreation Area.....
While there appears to be tons of hiking & climbing opportunities here, I had penciled in two hikes that certainly appealed to me. The first one for us was a climb of Sykes Mountain (4,618'). This would turn out to be one of my more frustrating days in the backcountry. First problem was Google Maps as it took us to the wrong trailhead. So.....instead of climbing, we ended up at Horseshoe Canyon.....
That in itself is not a bad thing but anyone that knows me, knows that I prefer climbing something as opposed to leaning over a metal railing taking pictures.....
I got onto my AllTrails ap and realized that we were a good five miles from the real trailhead.....
Now it was already well past 3:00 p.m. when I took my last photograph here.....so we headed south down the paved road.....hoping that there was still time in the day to climb this one mountain (it was an easy one).....
It was 4:00 p.m. when we started this climb / hike.....a little late in the day but it still seemed doable to stand on a summit. We hiked through a small canyon intially.....it was really, really beautiful. And then.....from out of nowhere, an Owl did a nosedive right for us.....
The Owl landed not too far off the trail at the mouth of what appeared to be a small cave.....I still wonder.....do Owls nest in small caves such as this ? Did the Owl nosedive towards us to fend us off ? To keep us away from its nest ? I elected not to check out its territory.....we moved on.....
From this point onwards, the trail climbed out of that small canyon and up onto a plateau.....a rocky shelf.....that continued to gain elevation.....yet very, very slowly. The trail was often difficult to find but the Bighorn River which was just to the east, kept us from getting too far off course. The views from the rock slabs overlooking the river were nothing short of breathtaking.....outstanding.....
Furbucket.....I'm not a fan of trekking poles. Back in the day when I climbed bigger mountains with a 70 pound expedition pack, I was a user. Now I'm pretty much just a day pack kind of guy.....
Arjan.....no pain on the flat ground for the most part.....sadly it's the slopes that I love.....and there, I have pain.....
"Trappers and sailors are similar in regard to the money that they earn so dearly, daily being in danger of losing their lives. But when the voyage has been made....., they think not of the hardships and danger through which they have passed, spend all they have and are ready for another trip."
Kit Carson.....Memoirs.....
Our next stop was at the Big Horn National Recreation Area.....
While there appears to be tons of hiking & climbing opportunities here, I had penciled in two hikes that certainly appealed to me. The first one for us was a climb of Sykes Mountain (4,618'). This would turn out to be one of my more frustrating days in the backcountry. First problem was Google Maps as it took us to the wrong trailhead. So.....instead of climbing, we ended up at Horseshoe Canyon.....
That in itself is not a bad thing but anyone that knows me, knows that I prefer climbing something as opposed to leaning over a metal railing taking pictures.....
I got onto my AllTrails ap and realized that we were a good five miles from the real trailhead.....
Now it was already well past 3:00 p.m. when I took my last photograph here.....so we headed south down the paved road.....hoping that there was still time in the day to climb this one mountain (it was an easy one).....
It was 4:00 p.m. when we started this climb / hike.....a little late in the day but it still seemed doable to stand on a summit. We hiked through a small canyon intially.....it was really, really beautiful. And then.....from out of nowhere, an Owl did a nosedive right for us.....
The Owl landed not too far off the trail at the mouth of what appeared to be a small cave.....I still wonder.....do Owls nest in small caves such as this ? Did the Owl nosedive towards us to fend us off ? To keep us away from its nest ? I elected not to check out its territory.....we moved on.....
From this point onwards, the trail climbed out of that small canyon and up onto a plateau.....a rocky shelf.....that continued to gain elevation.....yet very, very slowly. The trail was often difficult to find but the Bighorn River which was just to the east, kept us from getting too far off course. The views from the rock slabs overlooking the river were nothing short of breathtaking.....outstanding.....
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
ITTOG.....you lasted longer than me. I was out at $2,000.....
We continued to follow the trail as best as we could but we quickly ran into yet another problem. Google Maps, AllTrails, and OnX Hunt showed our intended mountain summit in a spot where the map contours would indicate that there was no mountain. To further complicate things, the trail on the AllTrails ap (which was shown as Sykes Mountain Trail) did not lead us to a mountain.....
I decided to just keep on going.....we hiked past a massive rock uplift.....maybe 100 to 200 feet high.....maybe a half mile long. I couldn't help but wonder if this was the mountain summit but we continued on.....just admiring the beauty that surrounded us.....
If there's one thing that I'm good at, it's reading maps. As a matter of fact, decades ago I used to draw maps with the aid of an alidade and a plane table.....this was long before satellites and what not. I suspect that I've drawn miles of contours on the east coast, a few of the western states and Alaska as well.....
Finally I decided that after miles of hiking and with no real summit in sight.....I'd make my own summit. It was a high point with plenty of large boulders that I chose, it had great views.....it felt like a summit.....and maybe it was !?!
We had water & a few snacks.....at this point it was well past dinner time and the sun was getting low in the sky.....
On the way back we decided to ignore the trail and hike back along the canyon rim.....
Shadows began to form along the western walls of the canyon walls.....
It was well past 7:00 p.m. before we finally made it back to the Jeep.....and we still had a short drive to our planned campsite.....returning to the Yellowtail Wildlife Habitat Management Area.....
We continued to follow the trail as best as we could but we quickly ran into yet another problem. Google Maps, AllTrails, and OnX Hunt showed our intended mountain summit in a spot where the map contours would indicate that there was no mountain. To further complicate things, the trail on the AllTrails ap (which was shown as Sykes Mountain Trail) did not lead us to a mountain.....
I decided to just keep on going.....we hiked past a massive rock uplift.....maybe 100 to 200 feet high.....maybe a half mile long. I couldn't help but wonder if this was the mountain summit but we continued on.....just admiring the beauty that surrounded us.....
If there's one thing that I'm good at, it's reading maps. As a matter of fact, decades ago I used to draw maps with the aid of an alidade and a plane table.....this was long before satellites and what not. I suspect that I've drawn miles of contours on the east coast, a few of the western states and Alaska as well.....
Finally I decided that after miles of hiking and with no real summit in sight.....I'd make my own summit. It was a high point with plenty of large boulders that I chose, it had great views.....it felt like a summit.....and maybe it was !?!
We had water & a few snacks.....at this point it was well past dinner time and the sun was getting low in the sky.....
On the way back we decided to ignore the trail and hike back along the canyon rim.....
Shadows began to form along the western walls of the canyon walls.....
It was well past 7:00 p.m. before we finally made it back to the Jeep.....and we still had a short drive to our planned campsite.....returning to the Yellowtail Wildlife Habitat Management Area.....
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Pacific Northwest yetti
Expedition Medic
I always liked the sound of working for the USGS.
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
Current bid is at $6,500.....and then I made a quick check before posting and.....current bid is at $7,500.....
Current bid is at $8,500.....
Current bid is $9,000.....
Current bid is $10,000.....
Current bid is at $8,500.....
Current bid is $9,000.....
Current bid is $10,000.....
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AlwaysRoaming
Member
Looks like it sold for $12k. Very nice.
Been on the road (within 160 miles of home, however) parts of the last 3 weeks, so just catching up with your Journey.
It may come as no surprise to you to know that the caves you found in the Pryors, as well as the ice caves up top on Big Pryor Mtn, are hosted by the Madison Group limestones of Mississippian age. Same stratigraphic horizon as you and I explored, within a few weeks of one another, in the Big Snowies (where you were man enough to venture to the summit and its ice caves while my wife and I settled for the Crystal Cascades for our "Madison fix"), and also the same as we each saw in the east and south ends of the Little Belts between Checkerboard and Utica, MT back in September 2024. The Madison is everywhere in Montana, and it provides endless opportunities for shelter and transmission of huge volumes of groundwater. Big Spring, MT, in Great Falls, flows from the Madison. Edit: the Natural Bridge Falls on the Boulder River south of Big Timber are affected by the perforated Madison Group limestones, as well, as has been previously discussed.
It may come as no surprise to you to know that the caves you found in the Pryors, as well as the ice caves up top on Big Pryor Mtn, are hosted by the Madison Group limestones of Mississippian age. Same stratigraphic horizon as you and I explored, within a few weeks of one another, in the Big Snowies (where you were man enough to venture to the summit and its ice caves while my wife and I settled for the Crystal Cascades for our "Madison fix"), and also the same as we each saw in the east and south ends of the Little Belts between Checkerboard and Utica, MT back in September 2024. The Madison is everywhere in Montana, and it provides endless opportunities for shelter and transmission of huge volumes of groundwater. Big Spring, MT, in Great Falls, flows from the Madison. Edit: the Natural Bridge Falls on the Boulder River south of Big Timber are affected by the perforated Madison Group limestones, as well, as has been previously discussed.
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YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
AlwaysRoaming.....thanks for posting that. I was trying to figure that out but had no success.....
Foy.....there appears to be quite a few caves in southeastern Montana. I haven't spent much time in that area but I think that I should. Maybe this summer I'll make a return.....I'm not sure. I've got a lot of stuff rolling around in my brain these days. Thanks again for posting here. We love that stuff.....
Barry's Island Trail was next up for us. It was simply the word "Island" that captured my attention here.....
Well.....it turned out not to be on an island as I initially expected but we went ahead and did the 4.3 mile hike (of course we were able to make it quite a bit longer with our off trail forays).....
It was still early morning when we first arrived at the trailhead.....nobody was here. As a matter of fact, nobody was here the entire time we were here.....
Deer tracks were prevelant on the trail as well as another animal which I'll guess was a mountain lion due to the size of the tracks and the dismembered deer carcass that we found.....
Since there were no real challenges here.....the trail was fairly flat and easy to follow. I mean.....it's kind of difficult to get lost when you're mostly surrounded by water. So I'd venture to say that this was one of those meditative morning walks.....
I took time to admire the spring flowers that were just beginning to sprout from the ground.....the blue berries were dropping from the cedars.....
.....and creating lines of berries along the trail as they rolled down the hillsides creating streaks of blue.....
Only once was the quiet and calm disturbed by the sound of man.....a small boat heading north on the Bighorn River was the culprit.....
One area of interest to me was this tiny inlet where a spring emerged from the ground. I found great interest in all the animal tracks.....I suspect that I saw tracks from coyotes, deer, mountain lion, & turkey.....possibly more.....
Foy.....there appears to be quite a few caves in southeastern Montana. I haven't spent much time in that area but I think that I should. Maybe this summer I'll make a return.....I'm not sure. I've got a lot of stuff rolling around in my brain these days. Thanks again for posting here. We love that stuff.....
Barry's Island Trail was next up for us. It was simply the word "Island" that captured my attention here.....
Well.....it turned out not to be on an island as I initially expected but we went ahead and did the 4.3 mile hike (of course we were able to make it quite a bit longer with our off trail forays).....
It was still early morning when we first arrived at the trailhead.....nobody was here. As a matter of fact, nobody was here the entire time we were here.....
Deer tracks were prevelant on the trail as well as another animal which I'll guess was a mountain lion due to the size of the tracks and the dismembered deer carcass that we found.....
Since there were no real challenges here.....the trail was fairly flat and easy to follow. I mean.....it's kind of difficult to get lost when you're mostly surrounded by water. So I'd venture to say that this was one of those meditative morning walks.....
I took time to admire the spring flowers that were just beginning to sprout from the ground.....the blue berries were dropping from the cedars.....
.....and creating lines of berries along the trail as they rolled down the hillsides creating streaks of blue.....
Only once was the quiet and calm disturbed by the sound of man.....a small boat heading north on the Bighorn River was the culprit.....
One area of interest to me was this tiny inlet where a spring emerged from the ground. I found great interest in all the animal tracks.....I suspect that I saw tracks from coyotes, deer, mountain lion, & turkey.....possibly more.....
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
All along this was a planned short trip.....a week at most.....so after this hike we deicided that it was time to go home. We had already made plans for yet another trip in just a few weeks.....so I really wanted to get home and have some down time at the cabin.....
On the way out a sign captured my attention.....so we made an unplanned stop.....
When I saw that cabins' roof.....well, I can honestly say that I fell in love.....I love this stuff.....
It turned out not to be a cabin.....it was a small barn. That was a bit disappointing to me.....but it was still super cool.....
Initially when I saw this homestead....
built a good half mile and probably more from the river.....had me questioning its location. Why would someone build so far from the river ? Then I saw this sparkling stream that ran through a thin forest.....it was out of this world beautiful.....my question was answered.....
There was a small footbridge that led from the barn to a one room long cabin.....
.....which turned out to be the schoolhouse.....
Unfortunately the door was locked so I was left with smearing my face up against the glass windows.....to see what I could see.....
And other than a few short.....very brief stops to stretch the legs.....we drove west.....back to our little cabin in the mountain valley.....
On the way out a sign captured my attention.....so we made an unplanned stop.....
When I saw that cabins' roof.....well, I can honestly say that I fell in love.....I love this stuff.....
It turned out not to be a cabin.....it was a small barn. That was a bit disappointing to me.....but it was still super cool.....
Initially when I saw this homestead....
built a good half mile and probably more from the river.....had me questioning its location. Why would someone build so far from the river ? Then I saw this sparkling stream that ran through a thin forest.....it was out of this world beautiful.....my question was answered.....
There was a small footbridge that led from the barn to a one room long cabin.....
.....which turned out to be the schoolhouse.....
Unfortunately the door was locked so I was left with smearing my face up against the glass windows.....to see what I could see.....
And other than a few short.....very brief stops to stretch the legs.....we drove west.....back to our little cabin in the mountain valley.....
I'm unsure what you mean by caves in Southeastern Montana, but once you get east of the Little Rockies, Little and Big Snowies, and Pryors/Bighorns in MT/WY, you've gotten out of where the Madison Group outcrops at the surface in Montana (and, therefore, where Madison caves and caverns are located). But she's present in the subsurface as a major oil and gas reservoir rock all the way into ND and SD, and comes to the surface again in and around the Black Hills uplift in SD.
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
Ace.....I'll bet that place was once a real wonderland. I would have loved to have seen that canyon when the river flowed free prior to the construction of the Yellowtail Dam.....
Foy.....I was looking around on the internet, reading a few articles, nothing specific.....and it seemed to me that southeastern Montana has a lot of caves.....
We arrived home just in time as I don't particularly care for driving in snowy conditions.....and snow it did. Maybe 3 or 4 inches we got the following day.....
I filled the bird feeders.....always taking care of my friends.....
One good thing about the snows that come to Montana in late April & into May.....that snow doesn't last too long.....
Every Spring I see a pair of Canadian Geese on the old barns' rooftop.....I always wonder.....could it be the same mating pair ? On walks I'll see them bedding down in the tall grass along the brushy canal.....here they are again.....
It's been a good while since I've seen a fox.....but the deer still come here.....
The deer did quite a job over the winter eating my Norway Spruce seedlings.....they're quite the disappointment.....
I'm trying to convince the mice to move on.....it's amazing how good Trapper is at catching these pesky critters.....
The birds.....they do no harm.....
It felt good to be back at the cabin.....back with my friends.....it's hard to believe that we stayed here for such a short time.....
Foy.....I was looking around on the internet, reading a few articles, nothing specific.....and it seemed to me that southeastern Montana has a lot of caves.....
We arrived home just in time as I don't particularly care for driving in snowy conditions.....and snow it did. Maybe 3 or 4 inches we got the following day.....
I filled the bird feeders.....always taking care of my friends.....
One good thing about the snows that come to Montana in late April & into May.....that snow doesn't last too long.....
Every Spring I see a pair of Canadian Geese on the old barns' rooftop.....I always wonder.....could it be the same mating pair ? On walks I'll see them bedding down in the tall grass along the brushy canal.....here they are again.....
It's been a good while since I've seen a fox.....but the deer still come here.....
The deer did quite a job over the winter eating my Norway Spruce seedlings.....they're quite the disappointment.....
I'm trying to convince the mice to move on.....it's amazing how good Trapper is at catching these pesky critters.....
The birds.....they do no harm.....
It felt good to be back at the cabin.....back with my friends.....it's hard to believe that we stayed here for such a short time.....
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
Usually when I talk of friends, I'm speaking about the wildlife. But its not always that way.....sometimes it's people that I'm talking about. I made time to visit the neighbors that live on a neighboring property.....he likes stickers too.....
We don't agree on everything.....but that doesn't matter to me. We respect each other and accept our differences.....not as a negative thing but just that we are different.....we are friends.....
We made a trip downtown before hitting the road.....
Some people were angry.....
On the way home we passed by an old guy that forgot to tie his garden tractor down.....it was hanging on that wire fence when I first arrived.....
I flagged down that younger guy and we lifted that garden tractor off of the wire fence and we were able to reload it for that old guy.....I'm not sure what his political affiliations were.....cause it don't matter.....only being decent does.....
We stopped at Walmart for the after Easter sale.....that's when the dogs get those 75 % off stuffed toys.....
Trapper sure does love hers.....
We've had some really beautiful skies.....I can't seem to stop photographing them.....and admiring them.....they're just so darn beautiful.....
We don't agree on everything.....but that doesn't matter to me. We respect each other and accept our differences.....not as a negative thing but just that we are different.....we are friends.....
We made a trip downtown before hitting the road.....
Some people were angry.....
On the way home we passed by an old guy that forgot to tie his garden tractor down.....it was hanging on that wire fence when I first arrived.....
I flagged down that younger guy and we lifted that garden tractor off of the wire fence and we were able to reload it for that old guy.....I'm not sure what his political affiliations were.....cause it don't matter.....only being decent does.....
We stopped at Walmart for the after Easter sale.....that's when the dogs get those 75 % off stuffed toys.....
Trapper sure does love hers.....
We've had some really beautiful skies.....I can't seem to stop photographing them.....and admiring them.....they're just so darn beautiful.....