montanapalooza 2002

“HELLO<<<<<<<<<<”

“"The trip is still on for July 14. I need to update the email list and send you so more info. we haven't had a huge amount of snow up there so it should be fairly open by mid-July. We can still meet up in Red Lodge and get everyone over to Cooke City the night of the 14th. Should be nice..."
aero
08:43:25 AM
02/20/02”

“I can't wait!!!!


8)”

“Hey, it's almost July!
Here's who I have so far:

newgirl
snow nymph
snow dude
sirpeteofmillwork
OM
SB
hodgeman of BC
china chas
crazy mike
prowler
pepperDog
naviguesser(?)

let me know if I'm missing someone!”

“Aero-jerbear@backpacker.com. I am still planning on attending this one. TNX”

“OK, gotcha!”

“did you forget about your shuttle guy already? I've got a couple of friends who want to go on this shuttle thing with me, if there is enough room.

I've told them about this site and this trip. Imagine, they think I am crazy to associate with a bunch of axe murderes. LMAO”

“jearbear you should catch a ride w/ us if you need one!”

“that 'us' is you and crazy mike?”

“As I have been from the beginning, I am still interested but still a long-shot at being able to come...”

“I just fired off an email, so check you in-boxes! It's not Spam!

Sorry chief! I'm planning on you at the barbeque 7/14 (bring beer!)”

“You name the beer and I'll see if I can get it in keg form. Should be enough people to get rid of an 8 gallon keg, right?

If not, we'll bring in some recruits from Cooke City.

No e-mail yet though.”

“MOOSEDROOL!”

“It is going to be a problem for me staying Sunday night. Is anyone going to be around for Saturday night? I might be able to stay, I'll just have to get up early to get to work on time. (Bummer) Otherwise we'll have to work out the logistics of getting the 'empty' keg back to Cody. I could stop in Billings the weekwnd of the 27th on my way back from MN and pick it up. If I take Monday off, my wife could get a bit pissy.”

“Newgirl don't worry about "lack of skills". It looks like you will have plenty of people to watch out for you.
Last year on the Llamarama I saw I am Om lagging behind. I slowed down a bit to keep an eye on her. What a great decision that turned out to be. I think we were always the last ones to get to camp, but we got to explore an old cabin, found some wild onions, and marveled at the wild flowers.
So, if your "lack" includes walking slow, please join Om and me in the rear. She is one great lady to walk with!”

“Aero,
Please keep me on the e-mail list; I'm doing this trail a couple of weeks later so I'm definitely interested in the subject matter.
Thanks.”

“Prowler, Briar Rab. I am meetin some folks for there vacation somewhere tween Ark and South Dakota so I will be debarking from yellowstone? Yo bears!”

“If you come through Cody, you better stop in and say hi.”

“will let u know!”

“I hope you guys realize that I'm not up for an "Eco challenge" on this trip. The length of the trail is about 27 miles and each day is about 6-8 depending on which lakes we stay at. So, we could decide where to stop each day and get there when you get there; it's the only trail so you can't get lost! If you go fast you can fish for awhile, explore or take a nap. If you want a slower pace to stop and smell the wildflowers, that's cool, too. There are a lot of photo ops along the way.”

“Yo'bear what are you doing in Jellystone? you soloing thru there or got company?”

“Not sure, somthing you interested in? A month or so out. Mt rushmore, jelly, Mt.WY. ????”

“No ego-challange for me either! Mohhhhaaaaaaaaa!”

“I plan to do a lot of stopping to smell the roses! I am looking forward to those early morning long evenings so we can do lots of lingering.”

“Right! Each leg only takes about 3-4 hours if you hiked fairly steadily, so there's time to sight see. Early evenings are great for goat-watching on the cliffs.”

“I want to do side trips to Snow Lake and Nymph Lake. Should have plenty of time for that. And I'm planning to take LOTS of pictures. The Snow Nymph site will have its own section on Montanapalooza /the Winds, like the JMT page.”

“I want a picture of Snow Nymph actually in Nymph Lake!”

“Can't be any colder than Sierra lakes. Maybe, but not nekkid.”

“Snow Nymph in Nymph Lake?

Aero in Aero Lake.

Crazy Mike in Twin Outlet Lake.

Newgirl in Mermaid Lake.

But who will we get in Fossil Lake?”

“Well, Bear,

I'ma itchin to get out west again. I've driven the SR 212 over them Mt.'s along time ago and promised myself that I would return one day to see more of them than I did that go around. And this hike sounds like the ticket.

I got credit w/Delta that needs to be used by the end of summer so I've been thinking of maybe, just maybe of crash this shindig. I would much rather drive, since 9/11 stills weights heavily on my mind and plus there is a farm just East of Omaha I'm thinking about hunting this fall. A road trip would allow me to check it out before wasting cash for a Iowa license. But then again I have a buddy goin to see it the first part of May.

I'm kinda strapped for cash until Uncle Sam returns what is rightfully mine but I would be willing to drop out for a month or less IF I can bank it. I gotta find out if Delta goes in to Cody. If they do and the price is right, I may just need a pick up if possible from any TTer. Any takers?????

I've done the Rushmore thing but the Big Horns and more of Jellystone would be something I would be interested in checking out more.

I'll do a little research w/Delta and get back! Yobear!”

“I know one thing....I'm not going into Froze to Death Lake

Chief, where is Nymph Lake- I can't find it on my map. I'm sure I've seen it, though.

Crazy Mike in Twin Outlets Lake? LMAO!!”

“There is a Crazy Lakes for Crazy Mike. I think it might be in WY though.

Mtn Gal could get her picture while 'dipping' in Ouzel Lake.

Get it?

Now we have left, Russel, Can't Remember the one before Fossil, Dewey, Slide, Lake at Falls, Rainbow, and Elk.”

“it is on the way from Ouzel to Fossil. I believe it is in the direction of Cooke City, but not positive. The lakes do have different names on different maps.

Rabbit, Delta flies through Salt Lake, then to Cody it is Sky West. United also flies into Cody through Denver, but as Great Lakes Aviation.”

“I'm looking at that now!! Chief! I would like to fly into Cody because of its proximity to Jellystone, the Big Horns and the Keg!

Presently I'm looking to arrive a few days proir to the 14th for cost sake. Friday departures typically cost more from what it looks like so I'm shopping either a Sat. 13th or Thursday 11th for arrival. See if I can't sweet talk Jerbear into doing some of Jellystone or the Big Horns after this shindig! And flyin out towards the end of the month. Like the 30th or so.

Yo! bear do you have things set in stone? Like a post march thru Jelly or some place? 'cause ifin I make these reservation I'm lock in. You free after the poolza? Could you pencil me in?”

“Nymph Lake

Snow Lake

There's also a Goose Lake by Snow Lake”

“My wife and family will be leaving either the afternoon of the 12th or the morning of the 13th to Minnesota for the week prior to mu going to MN. You are welcome to come to Cody and campout at my place until the Montanapalooza.

Don't want to invite others on someone elses trip, but. there are a few that will be doing the Wind Rivers after Montana.”

“Snow nymph- They called Nymph Lake "leo Lake" on the map I had! But Nymph lake it is! A good place to camp is on the south end of Ouzel lake, so Nymph Lake would make a nice side trip.

here's the description from a fishing book I have:

"Even though it is not visible from the trail, you can feel it's presence (wwwooooo!); the trail is mildly gradient, the creek has time to pool and the contour of the land looks mellow enough for a lake basin. Leo (Nymph) was stocked in 1968; since then it has become self-sustaining and provides excellent fishing for dandy cutthroat trout."

Hmmm, I might have to go there too.”

“We're doing a dayhike in Yellowstone after Montanapalooza, then 10 days in the Winds, ~ 10 mi/day. Still working the itinerary and a shuttle to get back to the start trailhead.”

“Chief, thanks for the offer, I'll take you up on it if this all falls thru. I was flippin thru this thread early and saw something else that caught my interest. Whats it cost for 18 and a cart? ;)

DAG! Snow Nymph 10 mpd for 10days, some of that easy hikin? 'cause I had you figured for a different kind of whip cracker! ;)”

“Normally it's $35 and $20. If you come with me it will be around $18 for the golf and I'll get the cart.

Of course then we'll probably need some refreshments to keep our 'aim' straight. So we'll need some 'aim' juice. But that's cheap too! LMBO”

“So will I get to play like that in those lakes???

I hope so I am going to be takeing over 150 pictures on this trip so it is going to be well logged!

I am very much looking forward to meeting everyone!

8)”

“and OBOY....lakes...for swimmin...it will be a lag fest for me...
i gotta merge with it all..therefore, i lag

see you at camp!”

“I wouldn't count on doing a whole lot of swimming. It's gonna be waaaaaayyyyyyy cold. But hey, go for it. Just get a lot of pics for us.”

“Hey Chief, are you guys leaving before the 14th, or can you take a load from E. Rosebud over to Cooke City? I think we'd get over there by mid-to-late afternoon so you might have time for some of the barbeque. I think it's about 80 miles back to Cody...”

“I don't leave for MN until the 19th or 20th. Yes, I will shuttle from wherever. As this approaches, we just need to figure if anyone will be arriving in Cody rather than Billings. Than we will drive from Cody to either Red Lodge or East Rosebud.”

“Sounds good. Yeah, we need to leave about 3 vehicles at E. Rosebud, but there's quite a few people flying so we'd probably need you to help shuttle over from there to Cooke City. Once we're in Cooke City we can can shuttle Monday a.m. up to the trailhead even if it takes a couple trips. It's only 5 miles from the cabin.

You should definitely make the Sunday afternoon social hour!”

“Am I understanding this correctly, the 14th is a day of gathering and BBQ or are y'll hitting the trail that day?

Or is the 15th a Monday the first day on the trail? and its looks like this will all be finished by the 18th Thursday. And Chief you're skippin out that following Friday or Sat the 20th for MN.

Will any of you other folks have time to stay out longer either in the Beartooths or some other area?”

“I can definitely recommend the short side trip to Nymph (Leo) Lake. I spent a sunny day hanging out there and fishing for cuts--very nice and no people. I don't recall seeing much in the way of a camp site, but it is an easy side trip from a great campsite at Ouzel.”

“is Sunday afternoon at Aeros cabin in Cooke City. The hike starts Monday morning. I'd suggest taking more time on the trail and having at least one 2 day layover before Fossil Lake for dayhiking and fishing. If you go to Snows link to Nymph Lake, go up 1 more map, you will see the name of Fulcrum Lake. Right where the (u) is is a great place to camp. There are a number of sites around that lake. On my map it is called Mermaid Lake. the 'swimming' in Mermaid is cool. There were a ton of wildflowers on the eastern slope (where the lake makes an L shape on the southern side) when we were there last time.

I'm headed to MN the following weekend for a week. Snow Nymph, Snow Dude, and I believe OM (?) are headed to the Winds for another 10 days after Montana.”

“Chief,
Is Mermaid (Fulcrum)above or below treeline?
Any fish?”