montanapalooza 2002

“A few minutes before I leave for work and wanted to say good morning and that it's good to hear most everyone has made it home safely!

gforce, that's easy enough for you to say. ;-)

Take care all and thanks!”

“Great pictures!
Great views!
Great people!

I'm green with envy.”

“Day 3- 7/15- After a hearty breakfast at the Soda Butte Lodge and a photo op at the Cooke City Sinclair, we're off to the trailhead. The mosquitoes are fierce! Snow Nymph, once ridiculed by the group at the barbeque the night before for wearing a full-body bug suit, is now the envy of the entire group. Crazy Mike is beginning to envision her as a belly dancer. The combination of thick clouds of mosquitoes and rarified mountain air combines to make breathing difficult as we make our way to the treeline. After a lunch along the falls below Russel Lake we make the final assault on Ouzel Lake, 8 miles and a 1,400 feet elevation gain from the trailhead. Newgirl has performed admirably thus far on her first outing. Crazy Mike watches helplessly as his Nalgene bottle rolls off the smooth rocks into the raging torrent below the falls. It "rocks" regardless!

At 9,400 feet we finally reach Ouzel Lake and drop our packs. We smear DEET on our exposed skin to ward off the swarms of hungry mosquitoes. Several members eagerly volunteer to apply the repellent to Newgirl. Hopes are dashed when she appears in sweatpants, a fleece jacket and a borrowed headnet. After dinner and a few sips of Hodgeman's Crown Royale, we settle in to observe the lightning show from the thunderstorm moving in from the southwest.

Day 4- 7/16- We arise early from our camp at Ouzel Lake. Today we say goodbye to Newgirl, assuring her that there are no bear or moose on the trail back to the car. "Yeah, right. Like there were only a 'couple' switchbacks on the way up here, Aero?' Hmmmm, good point. Well anyway, we tell her to make some noise and she'll probably be OK. We pack up camp and head up the trail to the next destination, Windy Lake and hopefully fewer mosquitoes.

On the way we make several stream crossings and pass meadows of bright wildflowers. They seem to be exploding everywhere in this sub-alpine environment. After a short while we near the drainage divide between the Clarks Fork and the East Rosebud. Off to our left is Windy Lake sitting at 9,800 feet. Crazy Mike exclaims, "I've never been this high!" We all seriously doubt this.

We make camp on a rocky point overlooking the lake with spectacular views of the high peaks that surround us, including Granite Peak, to the north, the highest point in Montana at 12,899 feet. Several of us take short day hikes in the area. TX is the lone contestant in the "Wet T-shirt Contest" after a dip in the icy waters of Windy Lake. After dinner several members hike to the top of the divide above the main trail for a spectacular view of the camp and sunset. Crazy Mike sets a new "personal high" of 10,050 feet above sea level.

We all dive into our sleeping bags for a good night's rest only to be awakened by a low, rumbling thunder. The approaching storm intensifies and soon we are in the midst of a tempest of rain, high wind and lightning. Pepperdog is desperately holding down the four corners of her tent from inside to prevent the gale force winds from carrying her into the lake. Lightning is flashing all around us causing us to question whether the wisdom of setting up camp in such an exposed area. Most of the group are finally able to turn in after they realize that Snow Nymph and Snow Dude have the highest tent site. Our tents and Hodgeman's sil-tarp survive the storm in fine fashion and we return to sleep.

Stay tuned for more!!”

“LOL, Aero you are too funny! Good report, expectantly awaiting MORE!! :-)”

“Wow! I sure would have volunteered to hike back with Newgirl.

Nice trip reports, aero.”

“yeah you big tease. i'm leaving in 4 hours to pack a few days with hoi and i won't get the rest of the story till wednesday unless you get it done soon.”

“As always Aero, you are a great storyteller.

Gforce, you got one cool name!

Geezr, great pics.! What happened to all the pics. of me eating? That was the most important documentation! LOL! Kidding.

If you guys want to know how my trip out went, check the Newgirl's Backcountry Adventure thread.”

“Geezr, fantastic pics!

Aero, MORE PLEASE!”

“Great trip report so far Aero,..hurry up and get it written:)”

“OH MAN!!!!! I can honestly say that was the most exciting 7 days away from the 'patch'. A hike, to end all hikes to date. I knew a few years back when I found this site that it would eventually pay off. Its been a few years since I've been 'dancin in the moonlight' with my Ti axe!! I'm greatful no one so my shadow! BTW, some of you could those 'Breath Right' strips and Crazy,,,,, you never reach REM. ZIP!!!!! MOOHAHAHAHA!

Ditto's on all the kudo's being placed upon Aero, Geezer, Newgirl and Chief. Y'll made this happen. Mi casa!, su casa! Aero, thanks again! Geezer, I think I got it now! NG, you 're a fine young thang, if that boy doesn't get his head on his shoulders you best move on. Chief it was a pleasure to meet you and your buddie Gordon. I sure wished you two guys could a made this hike. Thanks all for what you all did to make this happen for the rest of us.

Aero thanks for the kind words. From OM's car, to the wildland fire and to getting Prowler's family off the Mountain everyone for the most part acted unselfishly and sacrificed alittle in order for things to happen almost hitch free. I'm just happy that I was there and was able help as much as I could.

Tex, and the SnowCouple you're all goodhearted people for hanging out. Tex, it was a good thing you came along. And too those that piggy back Prowler's family and gear off the mt. Gojo, Geezer, Hodgeman and any others I may have forgotten; I tip my hat to you gents for stepping forward in the time need.

The highlight for me was by far and away the Wildland Fire. Here is alittle of what I saw the last day. I awoke to slightly overcast skies. Jerbear and myself saw about five deer heading up valley before many others had even begun to stir.(hmmmmmm I wonder now) Some time passes, I've swilled my coffee and broken my camp. Geezer, Crazy Mike and Gforce break out early, almost a hour ahead of schedule, and it was a good thing too. Real good!

I'm thinking I may have been the fourth out. And I didn't make it to far down the trail till I was greeted by Geezer rushing back to tell others of what lays ahead. I hiked a little further on down to see what he was taliking about. That is when I intially saw the smoke plumes bellowing up from below the trail just ahead of me. Upon arrival I saw a 4 to 5+ foot ground flames dancing beneath a tight canopy of trees about 15+ yrd's down a rock debris slope on a little bit of what appeared to be inaccessible land.

I dropped my pack, grab what I could to hold water and Aero's old metal ski poles and headed for the fire. I met Crazy Mike at the bottom. Doing the Crazy Mike thing!!! He had already begun to try to contain the fire with a trench on one end of it.

My only concern at the time was to put water on the areas that had the taller flames before something worse was to happen. Lady Luck was on our side, the lake was only paces away from this fire. So I gave Crazy my leaky cookset bag and with my cook pot in hand we began to saturate the more serious hotspots, quarts at a time until support arrival with bladder bags, collapsible buckets, the quenching 'bearkaid' canister that belonged to the SnowCouple.

The fight didn't last long but a thorough mop up was in order before I would leave the area. The ski poles I knew would be useful but not that useful. Thanks Aero. I hope everyone down there got a better understanding about how fire can act. Pepperdog and Gforce and others feeling bare handed in the ashes and duff for hotspots. The Water Brigade! Gojo and others leveraging the fallen tree over so we could hit the underside. Man, it was meant to be for us. That fire was beat dead in just over an hour I would say, 98% 'cold to touch' when we all left. You should all feel special for doing what we did. Bragging rights, you bet!!!! say it with a smile. That was one he!! of a time. It was a pleasure to met everyone you. You're all wonderful people. Thanks for the memories!!

Hottie!! Its got a good ring!!! Good call Chief!”

“Hey people whats going on are you ok?

What to say about this trip I don't know what to say I am still in shock at the fact that I was still backpacking in Montana in the Mnt's.

Ok here it goes.First I would like to say that all the people that went on this trip were some of the most coolest people that I have every meet in my life.You all made me feel so good to be around and too hang out with.I felt like I had know all you people for years and that too me kicked all forms of @ss!!!!

Gojo the dogs were very cool too....8)

By the way Geezer did its going to be ok....8)

Man the other thing is it sucks to be back home.....8(

Man the fire that was a trip I am so glad that we all did our part to get that fire out becuase if we were a hour later that would have been a real mess.

To sum it all up.

I would just like to say that I have never had so much fun in my whole life and this was by far the best backpacking trip that I have ever been on.And I have made lots of way cool new friends.

You guys all ROCK!

8)”

“Those pic's rocked Geezer!!!!

8)”

“"…Crazy Mike is beside himself…"

aero
10:07:14 PM
07/20/02


TWO of 'em?? <GRIN>

JEEEZ, what a trip! It sounds like you guys had a little bit of everything this time around.”

“Not wanting to infringe upon Geezr being able to fully experience that last day in the mountains hiking with Crazy Mike ;-) I decided to give them about a ten minute lead out of camp that morning. About 10-15 minutes down the trail I noticed Geezr standing just off the trail yelling down to Crazy Mike, who had gone down a steep embankment. Now you have to understand this was Crazy Mike down there so who could imagine what craziness he was up to. So with that in mind I decided to quietly slip on by so as not to ruin Geezr’s “experience.” No sooner than I rounded the next bend, about 25 yards down the trail, I looked back and saw flames shooting up in the air down by the lake and Crazy Mike working feverishly to trench around the fire. So with my one gallon collapsible water jug in hand I worked my way down the embankment to help battle the fire. Well the rest went pretty much as Briar described so well.

After everyone was fairly confident the fire had been contained well enough until others could monitor the situation, we all made our way back up the embankment. To my surprise we had another emergency situation on hand with Prowler. Seeing that Prowler was in no shape to carry out the load he came up with, let alone himself, his gear and gojo’s was split up as best could be. Gojo carried out Prowler’s son in Prowler’s pack/child carrier. Now with an extra 10-15 lbs. to carry out, I decided the best for me was to get the rest of the trip over as quickly as possible. So off I went, with the others to soon follow, while Tx, Snow Nymph, and Snow Dude stayed behind with Prowler.

During the hike out I began to reflect on the events that had just transpired. The hike out followed through a very large area of the canyon that still displayed the remnants of a fire that had swept through in the more recent past. To hike through this area and know that we may well have helped save the area around Rainbow Lake from this same destruction was truly overwhelming. And even more overwhelming was the tremendous feeling of how everyone, . . . from Briar leading us to put out the fire, Snow Nymph tirelessly carrying canister after canister of water to the fire, Pepperdog digging through the duff by hand, Jerbear hiking on ahead to notify the rangers, Tx with her newly acquired skills leading the way with Prowler’s situation, and those who carried out the extra weight . . . only to mention a few, worked together so unselfishly under such trying circumstances.

In a word this trip was A W E S O M E !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are no words to describe, nor any pictures that will capture the breathtaking scenery encountered on this trip. But what’s more rewarding is the feeling that’s left inside from being associated with such an outstanding group of people. You TT’s KICK ALL FORMS OF ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“I 2nd that!

8)”

“Great pics; great trip reports--keep 'em coming!”

“gforce & CMB, good to see you two made it home.

I was wondering if "it was going to be OK." GRIN”

“Hey gforce!! Anyone that can drive in a car with Psycho Mike-o for as long as you have deserves a purple heart medal!

I bet you all forgot the new name Pepperdog invented for Crazy Mike at breakfast, didn't y'all?

Gforce, that name suits you better than the old "SB". Especially now that I know what SB stands for..LOL

Going off to Wally World to pick up my pixt. I will scan the best of em and post a link to my webshots page. Later Y'all!

Tex”

“btw, has anyone heard whatever happened to 2scoops? Was he at aero's when ya got back to Billings?

Geezr: we were treated to a spectacular Montana lightning show on the way home Fri. night. Our planned late night stop in a hotie, turned into another crash at a rest stop. We were told that all the hoties were filled within a 150 mile radius of Rapid City. Some dam corvette club convention!”

“Its ok!

Hhahahahahah!!!!!!

8)”

“No word from 2scoops. Perhaps he had a bed beside Prowler @ the Red Lodge Hospital. ”

“I got no phone call from him!

Thank god!

8)”

“The Betty Crocker Award goes to Om.

That was one great birthday cake you made for Phil, not to mention the kettle corn and potatoes and onion dish for breakfast. YUM!

The Martha Stewart Award goes to - Snow Nymph.

This woman is the epitome of creativity. Yeah, lots of you laughed at her bug suit ("she looks like I Dream of Jeanie!) but y'all weren't laughing when those killer Mosquitoes came out!

The Psycho Award goes to - Psycho Mike-o.

No explanation needed 'cause you know "this award ROCKS!!"

The Hospitality Award goes to - Aero.

From organizing this bunch, sending emails, arranging shuttles, opening his cabin and his home to cinnamon rolls for breakfast (they kicked all forms of a$$!) Thank, Aero, you made a dream of a lifetime come true - I owe you big time!

The Beer Man Award goes to - Chief

Truly inspiring the way you roared up the Chief Joseph Highway and never spilled a drop from the Keg or your cup. Now THAT is skill, ladies and gents! (PS. Drop me an email with your snail mail so I can mail your map back! Thanks, Cutie!)

The Cowboy Award goes to - Gordon.

While he might have been a bit rough around the edges in appearance, there was nothing rough about his personality. What an intelligent, kind-hearted human being. Gordon, the pleasure was all mine in making your acquaintence.

The Great White Hunter Award goes to Psycho Mike-o.

What a sight he was crawling on his belly across the pasture at Rainbow Lake in pursuit of his wild prey. His prey caught sight of him and moved in for a closer look....oops! Too close (the deer said), I'm outa here! (Dave, you didn't tell me there were nettle plants here!! Ouch!)

The Jimmy Houston Award goes to Gojo, Sarabelle and Gizmo.

Gojo and gang never saw a lake that couldn't be fished! And you should see Sarabelle help "net" the catch once Gojo reeled it in! Gizmo is a one man, errr, dog cheering section with his tail and whole body wagging with excitement!

The Jack La Lane Award goes to - Geezer.

No question in my mind, this man is in awesome shape for his age, heck, for any age and can scramble up mountains like the best of 'em! Way to go Geezer!

The Tolerance Award goes to - gforce.

Anyone that can spend 1400 miles in a car with Psycho Mike-o, get out, hike in the backcountry of Montana for another 5 days with Psycho, then get back in his car and drive 1400 miles back home with Psycho is a SAINT in my book. Hat's off too ya, gforce! :-)
(Ps, that was a wise decision not letting Psycho drive your vehicle..)

The Grizzly Adams Award goes to - Jerber.

This man epitomizes the word friendship with his kind demeanor. He kinda looks like Santa Claus (okay, a SKINNY Claus) and Grizzly Adams rolled into one. Get that "rolled into" part, Jer? Let's not do anymore "Rolling Bear" imitations, okay please?”

“Tx you rock!

8)”

“The Storm Trooper Award goes to - Briar Rabbit.

Hey Briar, you were awesome the way you took charge and led the fight against that forest fire. No doubt in my mind that if we have kept to our original schedule and left an hour later we ALL could have been in serious trouble up there. Aero, ya gotta see what you can do about a mention in the local paper. All the US Forest Service people we came into contact with were extremely impressed by the way us TT-ers handled that situation. We couldn't have done it without you Briar! (Thanks for letting me borrow your chair, too!)

The Water Wings award goes to - Pepperdog.

This woman has an unique way of handling river/creek crossings. All I can say is you have to experience it for yourself! Hey Pepdog, I really enjoyed hiking with you and your fine art of conversation!!

The Canuk Award goes to - Hodgeman.

Hey Hodge, good thing you were the only Canadian on this trip, eh? I love your accent, btw! Thanks for the fruit bar treats too. Mine saved me on the hike out after the "rescue". Can't wait to hike with ya again! ;-)

The Insepctor Gadget Award goes to - Snow Dude.

Although a "bit" quiet at first, Dude really opened up when questioned about his new, digital Sony camera. Course, he kept it hung around his neck and stuck in his shirt pocket. I got the feeling he didn't want anyone messing with his stuff...

The Bartender Award goes to - Naviguesser.

This man can mix a drink with the best of 'em and man, what ingenuity he had in taking some glacier snow to use in his mixed drinks..LOL

The Pippi Longstocking Award goes to - Newgirl.

Well, she looked like the first good thunderstorm would blow her off the mountain, but looks deceive!! She held her ground amidst a clan of experienced backpackers and came thru with flying colors. Next time NG, let's get you out there for the whole trip! You did great!

and Last but not Least -

The Know Your Limits Award goes to - Prowler.

Hmm..what to say here that hasn't already been covered in a posting or two or three...?

Glad you are okay Prowler! Lighten that load and pace yourself!”

“Good advice from a smart E.M.T.

8)”

“Tex, you're making me blush! You're heart is as big as the state you call home. No one deserves more kudos than you. Thank you for being there when we needed you most. I hope Prowler appreciates the fact you very well could have saved his life.

Snow Nymph and SnowDude, he has you to thank as well!”

“Well, I made it back, to my 'home and native land', safely and in pretty good time.... about 6 hours from Spokane and no border waits.

Great job, on the trip report Aero and everyone that added to it.

As I was driving through the Cascades, I was already looking back, on the trip, and what are sure to become fond memories, of Montana and the friends that I met there, for years to come.

If each one of your United States has friendly, generous people like "y'all", then America hasn't seen the last of the Hodgeman. I can hardly wait for the next time.”

“I'll be back is that what ya ment to say Hodge?

You are way cool I can't wait to backpack with you again that goes for all of ya.

You might be seeing me sooner then you think.

8)”

“I heard there was a "full Moon" in broad daylight up at Rainbow Lake on Thursday...

You wouldn't know anything about that now, would you Jerber??

*evil grin*”

“Oh thats right?

When snow Nymph gets back she needs to put that up.

8)”

“Awesome pics and great trip reports! Looking forward to more pics.”

“The pics really make me sick that I had to miss this one.”

“I just got my pics back - now I gotta scan them and figure out how to put them on Web Shots and create a link. Unfortunately my camera got dunked during my creative creek crossing so it didn't really work right after that but there are some great pictures there.

Did I mention that I really had a great time and love each and every one of the people who were on the trip (don't take that wrong, Mike).

Work is going to really suck tomorrow........”

“i hope OM is doing ok. did she get to head out and do her own thing, once y'all were done?”

“WORK SUCKS!!!!!!!!

PepperDog you are so cute I blow a kiss at ya!

8)”

“hmm. i guess he took it wrong.”

“After a great trip on a great trail with great scenery I now find I'm only thinking about the FANTASTIC people I met!

Thanks Aero, Newgirl, geezer, Chief for putting this trip together.
Gojo, for the patches.
And to all you other ones, Thanks for your company. You're great people and welcome on my trail anytime.”

“Here's a look at the patches, that Gojo surprised us with
”

“Wow! That must have been one GREAT TRIP!! Keep the photos coming!

Mozark sweating it out in the Ozarks!”

“Ya that patch rocked!

8)”

“Thanks for the compliment Tex. I'm sorta' proud of how well I haul a$$ up a mountain, too. Mikey, how's the braid? Did SnowNymph help you out w/ that?”

“You guys got patches also?! That is way cool! Nice design!

Your trip reports all sound fantastic. If you guys would have me, I'd love to come next year if it's held again. Sounds like Newgirl is hooked!”

“Artex, the truth is that this amazing group of people was the clitcher. They were so supportive and gave me so much positive energy about doing this.”

“That's great, Newgirl. I haven't met any of the people face-to-face on that trip, but I can honestly say I'm not surprised, they seem like a very cool bunch of folks.

Glad you and everyone had a great time! :-)”

“Geezr: those pics were awesome! I loved the lightening strike pic... actually, I loved 'em all.

Thanks for the pics and thank all you Montanapalooza vets for telling us about the trip.

Kewl patch Gojo!!”

“Ya I took it out today.

8)”

“As soon as I get that pack (from the veeeery generous Evergreen), I'm going to sew that patch on there.”

“Good deal pimpster!

8)”

“Pimpstergirl. How 'bout that Mike?”