My Journey

[tgil]

"the smile & love from a Golden Retriever is welcomed by most all that we meet....." Isn't that so true! I've met only one person that was literally afraid of Scout. That reminds me, over the weekend I met an old classmate (hadn't seen each other in 30+ years) for breakfast. He chose Sonic, so we could sit outside on a patio. I had Scout, but left her sitting in the Jeep. The top and doors were off, and we were within sight of her. After we had been there for a long while, a supervisor (I'm making an assumption here) came out and said "one of girls is freaking out about your dog, would it be ok for her to go pet her?" I told her, "Sure! She likes lettuce, by the way." When the employee came out, she had two more with her. I sure didn't intend for them to give Scout that much lettuce, but she wasn't complaining at all! Thinking back, I was I had snapped a pic of the goings on.

Tanner's airplane ears were great! Funny how he enjoys boarding the planes!

 

[Ace Brown]

Tanner is something else. Hope to meet him some day.

You too Jerry, but as you have also said, I like most dogs more than most people.

Ace


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[Arjan]

Goldens are different....

Mine usually make people smile - even the biggest cat lovers.

Yes, planes and dogs go together very well.

Goldens & Land Rovers, too... Was out to the Alps for just the weekend and missed Duncan with me as he loved coming with me there and the various people are still asking about him.

Thanks Jerry.

Thanks Tanner.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

JD.....I got to say he really does love the airplanes.....makes me smile.....

Jbynum.....thank you.....

Mccaf.....I'm not sure if I'm just kidding myself or if I'm really ready to settle down. Covid-19 has changed the world and travel so much that I no longer know what to think. At times I miss community, yet I value my solitude and freedom more than most anythng. Loneliness is a feeling that I once dreaded yet now I pretty much embrace it. Often I think I'd like to buy a piece of land and build my own log cabin.....and I sometimes wonder if it would be appropriate to post a log cabin build on XP.....anyhow, we just love to wander.....that's just who we are.....

Ace.....I would imagine our paths will cross at some point.....

Arjan.....maybe one day I'll find out about Golden Retrievers and Land Rovers.....Covid-19 controls that one.....

tgil.....he's a character for sure.....



The golden wheat fields of Central Montana.....here we came to play.....





.....the air was still cool and crisp.....it was an early Montana morning.....





.....there was a westerly wind that flowed across the golden wheat fields of Central Montana.....





.....and that dog barked and howled and I swear that the wheat fields sang right along.....that dog was filled with so much joy.....as was I.....he jumped high into those golden wheat fields of Central Montana.....





.....and we took pleasure in our simple way of life.....



"We were wanderers from the beginning."

Carl Sagan

 

[Riversdad]

Great pictures of Tanner playing in the field. I often see that joy on my own dogs faces when they play and think how nice it must be to be them.

 

[Sierra Valley]

Where are those fields? Stunning pics with Tanner. I would love to see that area.

 

[longhorn1]

Amazing shots. Love that smile on his face. No cares, No worries.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Riversdad.....thanks and I think the exact same.....

Sierra Valley.....that's right near the Lewistown, Montana airport (literally across the street). We would go there in the morning and he would chase whatever lived in those fields. I would imagine that it was field mice he was hunting. You'd hear him bark or howl, then he'd disappear into the wheat, and then he'd pop right out again. It was great.....he loved those fields.....

JD.....yep and thank you.....



After a weeks "rest" in Lewistown, Montana, we finally got back out and hit the road again. We retraced our tracks, got back onto Red Hill Road, and drove south this time. I was almost done with the Big Snowy Mountains but I had to go back just one last time. I had stopped in at the BLM Headquarters once again, got a bit more information, and devised a new plan to access those mountains.....



I had posted the opposite side of this signpost awhile back and said that I didn't stop here cause I didn't know where that trail led.....



It turns out that this trail heads up into the Big Snowy Mountains (from the east) and eventually to the summit of Lost Peak (8,199').....



That trail sign said 3 miles to the summit.....there is absolutely no way that is correct (the All Trails ap has it as 9.2 miles roundtrip).....



.....and honestly we actutally could have cared less how far it was.....these mountains were our feel good place.....





We hiked for several hours constantly climbing higher along the eastern slope of the mountain.....the trail began in a dense forest in a valley but eventually it reached a ridgeline, busted right out of that dense forest, and here we had the most magnificent views as we continued our hike towards the summit of Lost Peak.....





It took us several hours of hiking to finally make our first summit of the day.....



I was feeling exceptionally well rested on that particular day and as I stood on the summit of Lost Peak I thought that I wanted more. I wanted to hike all day on that bare ridgeline where the views never stopped, and I swear I never wanted to come down. On top of that mountain is freedom.....there is no Covid-19.....there is no chaos of the world. And so I said to Tanner "let's go" and that's just what we did that day.....we just kept on walking.....

 

[Ace Brown]

That last sounds like a line from Forest Gump. “So that’s what we did. We just kept right on walking.” Not an exact quote but close.


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[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Ace.....I probably should have said hiking since I guess it's called hiking when you're in the mountains.....





I'm not sure that we could have picked a finer weather day than that particular day.....we had actually hung around town a few extra days just waiting for that perfect weather day.....



I wasn't the least bit surprised that we came across another small cave along that ridgeline.....that's just how it is in the Big Snowy Mountains.....



This particular cave turned out not to be all that deep but I made a mental note of its location in case the weather took a turn for the worse.....the mountains of Montana are well known for their afternoon thunderstorms and I thought this would be an excellent spot to hide out and avoid a passing afternoon storm.....



As far as a trail goes up there.....well, there really wasn't one.....





We continued walking.....I mean hiking.....that ridgeline with another summit in our sights.....





The one problem with making a second summit on the same day is that you've got to descend from the first summit, hike downwards so many feet to a saddle, and then hike upwards to ascend the second mountain.....it really challenges the knees and feet.....

 

[longhorn1]

Beautiful Views. Check the Crazy's out

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

JD.....I did.....and I'm probably not quite done yet.....


Now we were hiking with a new goal in mind.....Old Baldy (8,678').....



There's a lot of mixed information on the internet regarding access to Old Baldy, and even still, with all our technologies, there seems to be a dispute regarding its height. Some say that Greathouse Peak (which we climbed previously) is the highest summit in the Big Snowy Mountains but others say that Old Baldy is a foot higher.....



I'm not certain if it was my goal to climb the highest peak in the Big Snowy Mountains that day that pushed me to go further.....or if it was something deeper.....the simple love of the mountains.....



After several more hours of continual climbing.....



.....we would finally reach the summit of Old Baldy. Next to Tanner you see an oddly shaped sculpture which said "In Memory Of.....".....I actually never read the name.....



There was a brass cap set here at the high point.....a jar with a pencil and a small notebook (summit log). I signed it Tanner & Jerry.....Bozeman, Montana.....and of course added the date of our ascent.....



We had snacks and water.....didn't stay long.....we had miles and miles ahead of us. On our descent I noticed yet another cave.....



The opening was mostly blocked by that large flat stone.....once my eyes adjusted to the darkness I peered into that cave and it seemed to be a deep hole which went straight down.....to nowhere it looked.....



Eventually we returned to the forest and regretfully left behind the wide open expanses of the Big Snowy Mountains.....



I hobbled that day to the finish line and was so incredibly happy to see the Jeep there waiting for us at the trailhead. That night I glanced at my Fitbit and it said 20.98 miles for the day. I doubt it is perfect in its calibrations in that terrain but who cares.....what a wonderful day and way to end our stay in the Big Snowy Mountains.....

 

[longhorn1]

21 miles, good days work.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

JD.....yes it was and I paid a price for that day.....



My phone rang early one day and it was a friend that needed a favor.....now I had a time and a place where I had to be.....how odd that it is in my life which typically has no structure whatsoever.....I honestly can't remember the last time I had to be somewhere at any specific time.....so now we continued south and the time finally came to leave the Big Snowy Mountains behind.....



I'll miss the wide open expanses of the prairies.....they have a way of capturing a mans heart and while I'll always love the mountains, there's still plenty of room for the prairies.....

We drove for miles and miles on the back roads.....



.....and rarely did we see anyone else traveling on these roads.....



The fields were filled with the grazing antelope.....



.....finally we connected with pavement and we made a stop for lunch in the small community of Ryegate, Montana.....



Here we connected with Highway 12, then we drove west until we made a left turn onto Highway 191, and then we drove further south along Highway 191.....we followed this road until we reached the next town.....Big Timber, Montana.....



The plan here was to stay just a single night, but like most plans we make, that did not happen.....



We drove down to the fairgrounds looking for a spot to spend the night.....a local cowboy said sure you can stay here so long as you pick up your trash.....



The first night here we were all alone.....



But that was to change.....the cowboys were coming to town.....

 

[tgil]

Ironic that he told YOU, of all people, you'd have to "pick up your trash".
This line, "My phone rang early one day and it was a friend that needed a favor.....now I had a time and a place where I had to be.....how odd that it is in my life which typically has no structure whatsoever.....I honestly can't remember the last time I had to be somewhere at any specific time" sounds like a quote from a book!