I wanted to get out for a quick trip before snowfall and long dark days. Nanc, two friends, and I put together a quick trip up to the end of the road along the St Joe river. For this time of the year the weather was perfect; cool sunny days and crisp, cold nights. We took two vehicles and met midway where we stopped for a quick lunch along the river. The remaining drive that first day was paralleling the St Joe til we hit the end of the road and wilderness. Surprisingly, there were a relatively lot of campers in the USFS sites. A close look at them revealed that the majority were fly fishers getting their last chances on the river too. Once in camp and set up, Kent and I took the dogs for a nice hike while the ladies stayed in camp. We both brought a lot of firewood so as soon as it looked a wee bit dark along the western ridgeline a nice campfire was started. It was delightful!
The second day was pretty much spent doing short hikes, lounging about camp reading, and playing cards until it was so dark we could no longer see them. Everyone chipped in for cooking and no one went to sleep hungry. Kent brought some very fine Japanese bourbon which he shared. I'll have to get some of that stuff! Kent and Marie even brought along a birthday cake so we could belatedly celebrate Nanc's 39th anniversary of her 29th birthday!
Nanc had Zoom meeting set up for the evening of our third day, so in the morning after a bloated breakfast everyone started packing up. This area has numerous USFS and county roads winding through the mountains. So we took a wonderfully meandering route to St Regis, MT. After lunch of a chocolate malt and cheeseburger (thank you civilization!) Nanc and I hit the interstate and were home in a couple of hours.
Our friends are considering a month-long trip to the southwest sometime this winter to flee the snow. We just may join them!