Yearn to Wander

A Westerly View from the Continental Divide at Flesher Pass in Helena NF

Our love affair with Montana continued in Missoula, especially with its natural beauty.

We arrived after driving forest roads across the Continental Divide at Flesher Pass, and along Montana 200, an east-west blue highway across the state. If you have the time, MT-200 is an ideal alternative to I-90.

Many of the forests around Missoula are green and beautiful. The sky is spectacular. The Big Sky blue is complemented with exciting, ever-changing cloud formations in all directions. I used to think having a westerly view to watch the changing weather would be best. But not here; every direction offers a "moveable feast."

Missoula is a real city, not just a tourist town. The vibrant small business economy is accompanied by many government jobs. The city center has many historic buildings and some good
restaurants. Adventure Cycling, the organization that provided the maps for my TransAm bicycle ride, calls Missoula home, as does the state's major university, the University of Montana, where natural resources programs are its forte. While the city is similar to Evanston in its liberal political climate, the "Montana effect" adds another dimension.

We enjoyed several forest drives to take in the natural beauty in between getting some Chicago business done. Yes, being away doesn't relieve us of responsibilities at home.

Our first drive was over Lolo Pass on US 12, another blue highway. I wanted to relive one of the best days on my TransAm bicycle trip in 2002, and show it to Tom. Missoula was the most northerly point of that trip. Recalling the wonderful day up over Lolo Pass and down 66 miles through Clearwater National Forest along the Locksa River was a nice trip down memory lane. I still wonder how Lewis and Clark did it in 1805!

The green Lolo and Clearwater National Forests seem remarkable in this day of the bark beetle. The local FS office said the beetles hadn't made it to Lolo yet; others said the winters are cold enough to freeze them out. Either way, a green forest was a pleasant change.

Views of the forest showed the checkerboard management that's been in place since 1908. To accommodate the Northern Pacific Railroad, the area was divided into sections which were alternately owned by the Forest Service and the railroad. Today those ownership and management patterns continue, which along with many natural events: fire, blowdowns, avalanches, microbursts et al (no ski slopes here) affect the appearance of this forest and others.

Other drives took us on one-lane dirt roads with switchbacks, hairpin turns, no barricades, and the occasional turnouts for oncoming traffic. Tom calls them "snakes with aneurysms." Whatever, it's impossible to drive and watch the vistas, unless we want to go over the edge.

One trip was through more of Lolo NF up over the Holloman and Yukon Saddles, where fire had changed much of the vegetation. Progression of the flora and fauna following a fire is an interesting study. New plants which require sunlight are among the first to move in. The fauna change, too. One fire-gutted area reportedly had eight species of woodpeckers move in to take advantage of the new insect life.

Another drive took us along Rock Creek through the canyon. Tom couldn't find enough superlatives for its beauty as well as all the potential fishing opportunities in these Gold Medal trout waters. The route was adjacent to the Welcome Creek Wilderness, so wildlife was abundant: a couple dozen Big Horn Sheep, some Turkeys, White-Tail Deer, a Coyote, a Pika and several different ground squirrels.

Our last drive took us through Pattee Canyon, where I photographed several vistas decorated with invasive plants, e.g., Spotted Knapweek, the subject of intense eradication processes, and Tansy, a bright yellow flower. Some day they'll be removed and native flowers will bloom in their place.

For more about our stay in Missoula, check the articles about the Missoula County Fair, Eradicating Invasive Plants, and the National Bison Range. More will come later about forests, fire, and bark beetles.