montanapalooza 2002

“We hope.”

“Aero,
That's fime with Malinda and me as well. We ARE bringing our significant others, right?

Malinda just informed me that we ARE, or at least I am. ;-)

Pugs, Sunday @ 11:30.”

“Great pics Areo!!!!!


8)”

“WET yet?”

“I don't know about you guys, but MT is wet tonight. Hooray. More rain please.

Geezr, my significant other will be Newergirl, and she will also demand to go. She loves to eat out. I think she enjoys trying to distract me from any chance at eating my own meal or having a conversation. LOL!”

“Aero, that's a LOT of snow up there. Wish I were there now! 7 weeks!

Little Aero is a doll!”

“Areo- good shots, ThanksSpeakin of weather, what can we expect for july? In YHO.
NG,LOTS of rain commin your way.”

“It rained hard here last night. Newergirl was a little scared actually.”

“Poor baby, She will learn that rain is a friend. Hows your gear doin?”

“jerbear- The weather should be pretty good for 8,000-10,000 feet. That's the warmest time of the year up there. You can count on an afternoon thundershower each day; usually a short burst. The clouds build up during the afternoon, enough to build thunderheads and then *BOOM* it's over. The highs would most likely be 70-80 and the lows 35-40. Those are just averages and it could do anything from rain to snow. I'd pack a rain jacket and a fleece jacket as well as shorts and sunscreen!”

“10-4.”

“As to your itinerary. I would suggest that some stay at Russel Lake. Probably those that may not be in the best shape or not quite acclimated. Others who are stronger can go on to Ouzel. The next day, everyone could meet before the drainage divide going to Fossil Lake.

This would keep everyone spread out fairly good. And as I recall, there aren't very many places to stay at Ouzel, unless you get off the beaten path quite a ways. I know there are a bunch of sites at Russell, but when we stayed, there was a bunch of people already there. We found a great camp on the upper end of the lake. Well over 200 feet from the lake too.

JMHO”

“i love those high mountain thunderboomers in the afternoon~~~~~~~”

“I got the 7.5 minute maps!
I get to start studying tonight!”

“I remember Bald Knob having a fair amount of room and LOTS of eager trout. It's 7 1/2 miles in from the trailhead, which isn't too bad.

Your right Chief, fair amount of room at Russell, but I don't recall what's available at Ouzel.”

“I'm just thinking more about the flatlanders and newbies (No Offense Intended) on their first day out. And, it may be a later start with all the shuttling.

Russell is about 6 miles in and just after Russel is a pretty good ascent. As best as I can remember, I could be wrong though. Topo looks steep after Russell.”

“Looks like about 800' between Russell and Bald Knob. That's a bunch if backpacking is new to you or you're coming from sea level. Russell would be a better choice for some and then they could do that 800' and 1 1/2 miles on fresh legs.”

“Man that sounds great for weather!!!!!!

I am going to bring lots fo sunscreen to get a nice tan high up there at least I am counting on it.

8)”

“Jerbear, gear is good. I need to start looking for appropriate clothes. Any suggestions?”

“Newgirl,
I'll try to get to the post office tomorrow. Sending a pack, raingear, fleece jacket, and I threw in a pair of long underwear. Rain pants might be a little short on you, but with gaitors it'll work. I'll bring the gaitors with me in July, since I might be using them in the next few weeks. I can use my short ones for Montanapalooza.”

“jgeils,
i'm going to try and get to basecamp today or tomorrow. will check on the availiblity of your cannisters.”

“I'm still partial the Bald Knob/Ouzel lake area. Russell Lake is kind of "horsey" and trampled down; I wasn't impressed. Plus you're still down in the trees. Ouzel is only about a mile further and you're right near the timberline with better views.IMHO”

“geezr, the Base Camp had all types of cannisters there. They were out of the MSR type when I last bought some, but I got another brand (can't remember the name, but it was still ISO/Pro)

If anybody needs white gas when they come out, I've got plenty. I could find a few bottles too, if anybody needs one. People will have a few more chances once they're out here. Red Lodge has a couplke places that should be open Sunday and the Cooke City Bike Shack has a bunch of stuff.”

“I agree with you Aero. I think Chief was concerned about getting a late start and people not being able to make it the 8 1/2 miles to Bald Knob, but we shouldn't get that late of a start, do you think? Plus, I remember it being a good area to camp and fish.”

“Aero,
I hiked Trail 8 from the Beartooth Hwy to Silver Run Plateau yesterday . . . well not quite to the plateau. I fought snow until I got wet and turned around at about 9200', approximately 2600' in three miles. The UP part went great but I can feel the 2600' I had to come back DOWN in my right knee. Still, it felt good to get some altitude under me!”

“We can start as early as we want on Monday since the cabin is only 5 miles from the trailhead. We'll get the vehicles shuttled on Sunday and have the pre-Palooza social hour and barbeque at our cabin Sunday night.”

“And that's the dry side! The other side (Cooke City) was snowed in down to 8,000'. That's great you got up there as far as you did for this time of year. I need to do at least some day hikes up there soon.”

“Aero,
Have you seen a Esbit stove around town? I have half a notion to try one. I'm thinking about trying a modified version of lightweight backpacking. I wasn't taking a stove or fuel at all and just eating non-cook items. But, this stove and fuel tabs seems like a lightweight alternative. Any experience with it?”

“I actually hit snow at around 8700' but it was just spotty. Then as it deepened, I cut west and followed that ridge that overlooks the Snow Creek drainage . . . I think it's Snow. It was still tough going and no gaiters so lots of snow down the boots. Kind of miserable hiking down soggy.”

“I haven't but I know a lot of TT'ers have used them. I think they might have them at the Billings Army-Navy store downtown. For lightweight trips I started using a Pocket Rocket (3.2 oz) and the cannister is about 8 oz? I'd like to see how many days i could go with a Dana Bombpack. That would be a quick, lite trip!”

“Well, I can't afford to switch over completely, but am looking at ways to cut back. The last time I did this trip I think I went in with 42 lbs. This trip I'd like to get down to 30. I did get a one person tent last fall that Campmor was closing out and I kicked caffeine so I can live without a stove and fuel. Backpacking meals have never excited me much and think I could get by with Power Bars, bagels Snickers, etc.

Plus I want to leave room to hit the Grizzly!”

“Aero, Geezr, maybe at Sun. brunch we could plan a little dayhike sometime in the near future. I would love to get out there and try some of this out. I've only car camped up there, hung out at lower elevations, camped in the Woodbine area, etc.”

“OK, I checked out some of the grades on that first day or 2 of hiking for y'all (actually for myself, but I'll share). I used the TOPO program, so it is probably reasonably accurate but not perfect. In summary, most of the trail from the trailhead to Ouzel/Bald Knob lakes is not too steep, but with four distinct steep upgrades. Here's how it looks to me:

1.3 miles, 2% upgrade
2.6 miles, 1% upgrade
0.3 miles, 13% upgrade
1.2 miles, "flat"
0.8 miles, 9% upgrade (arrive at Russell Lake)
0.2 miles, 4% downgrade
0.7 miles, 10% upgrade
0.3 miles, 1% upgrade
0.3 miles, 22% upgrade (ouch!) (arrive at Ouzel Lake)
0.5 miles, 1% downgrade (whew!) (arrive at Bald Knob Lake)

Then, the next segment is a pretty constant 6% upgrade for 1.6 miles to the top. Once at the top, the rest of the hike basically follows the direction of my running career - downhill....”

“Martyb,
I've about made up my mind what I want Santa to bring me . . . TOPO! That sofeware is amazing. I guess I'd better start working on being nicer. :-)

Do we top out at around 10,000'?”

“Got to love the burn!!!!!

8)”

“Sherpa Aero should be able to carry most everyone's gear up that 22%, it's only .3 of a mile. ”

“GRIN”

“Now I know why you're called newgirl. You mean to tell me you've never backpacked, or dayhiked??????????

We will have to get you out!

Of course you carried newergirl for 9 months that should count for something.”

“If you make a human pyramid 34 feet high at the high point of the trail you can get someone over 10,000 feet. Or, you could just follow the ridge a 100 yards or so to the south and get there, too....

IMHO, I think TOPO!'s worth the 90 bucks - I'll give you a demo when I get there....

FWIW, everyone, my trip will be with me, a 69-year-old, and a 7-year-old, (and maybe a 14-year-old) we'll be coming from sea level, and I honestly think we can do the 8 miles in the first day without too much trouble. Just do the math: start early (say 8 AM), walk the first 5.4 almost flat miles in as slow as 5 hours (including breaks), plus an hour for lunch, putting you only 2.3 miles from Ouzel lake. Assuming a pace as slow as TWO hours per mile, you'll still get there by around 5-6 PM. That's a ton of flower-sniffing, break-taking, photo-snapping stuff over an 8 mile distance - just relax and enjoy it (and don't forget to EAT along the way for energy).”

“Newgirl,
If a 69 year old man, a 7 year old "AND" Martyb can make it, you shouldn't have a bit of trouble. Like Marty stated, we have nothing but time. Find a pace that suits you and enjoy the experience.”

“Similarly, if a GEEZR can make it, so can YOU!!!”

“Hmmm.... I have some 14 year old Rye... my packs about the size of a 7 year old ..... and as for 69 umm....

Guess I'm all set, too”

“Forget it Hodgeman, just bring the Rye!”

“Am I the only tequlia drinker?”

“Newgirl
Well, you don't need to worry about geezrs, but you might want to keep an eye on Hodgeman. ;-)”

“Stop picking on us old people!”

“Make him stop!”

“Naviguesser - I would bring Tequila, but the blender and Magarita mix adds a lot of weight”

“Old people are cool in my book!I have a saying if you are not old unless you can't walk anymore.

8)”

“jgeils,
as aero mentioned, basecamp has fuel cannisters for your primus. The manufactures have gone to a universal size so any cannister should fit it, however they do have the primus brand.”