montanapalooza 2002

“jg- Mermaid is above timberline, at 9,700' elev., and has cutthroats which were stocked in 1982. It's a small lake, 6.8 acres, about 30' deep.”

“It is right at treeline. We were going to spend 2 days there but it started raining about 4:00 pm the 2nd night and didn't stop until 4:00 pm the 3rd night, so we stayed 3 nights. We found enough wood around to keep a fire going throughout the rain (off/on) and keep fairly dry.

The fish in Mermaid/Fulcrum were HUGE, but impossible to catch. The fish in Fossil were just right and easy to catch.

The scenery around there is awesome to say the least. Stay and enjoy it.”

“I would vote for a lay-over day and hike out on Friday. I haven't made flying plans yet. Should I plan to fly in on Saturday or Sunday? Where should I fly into? Does anyone else have flying plans yet? We might want to try to hit the airport close to the same time.”

“Man our drive is going to be nutz!

Leave Friday at 3pm get there Sunday 12 am.

Drive like crazy!!!!

8)”

“That's 3:00 pm Eastern, correct? That means it is only 1:00 pm Mountain. You got two hours to burn on the way.

Are you coming through North or South Dakota? Either way, it will be 'quicker' to go to Billings, but it would be prettier to go over the Bighorns into Cody. But at midnight, there probably won't be much to see.”

“If we have enough vehicles at the end (E. Rosebud), some folks could stay an extra day (Mon-Fri) and others could come out on Thurs. An extra day, as Chief suggested, up on top would be cool; there's a lot to see up there!

As time approaches we'll have to see what everyone's schedules are like. If, like Crazy Mike, you've got a long drive ahead of you to be at work the following Monday, getting out Friday might be tricky...

I could come out either day making it a 4 or 5 day trip. It dosen't matter since I can go back up any time! It takes a good hour to get from the ending trailhead, at E. Rosebud, to Red Lodge. Then, it's about an hour (or a little more) to Billings, Cody or Cooke City.”

“hey- If you're going to get in late Saturday night or early sunday a.m. anyway, you should just dead-head on I-90 and take hwy 212 straight to Red Lodge, MT. We'll meet you there for breakfast Sunday morning!”

“I am drivin out. So where and when should I plan to be?”

“I'd head right to Red Lodge. it's a great place to hang out. Lot's of lodging and camp sites and some cool bars. There's a couple gear shops there if you need to stock up. There's a great place for breakfast there (Hank's Place) we could all meet on Sunday morning. If you're coming out from Ohio? just take I-90 to US Hwy 212 at Laurel, MT (15 mi past Billings) and go about 45 miles til you hit Red Lodge!”

“Just be in Red Lodge by Sunday, July 14 at about 8:00am”

“You'd probably need to get into Billings, or Cody by Saturday July 13. I'll be going up to Red Lodge from Billings early Sunday morning so I can take whomever flys into Billings. It sounds like a couple others will be flying into Billings on Sat 7/13. We can accomdodate a few folks at our house on Sat. night. We live about a mile from the airport.”

“I sent two panoramic pics to Phil to see if he can rotate and post on his site.

One is a view from Sheep Mesa up the Blackwater Trail from the North Fork of the Shoshone River. See trail reviews for Wyoming. It is actually between the N fork and S Fork, looking towards the S Fork at the 'Natural Bridge' or other wise known as the 'Hawks Head', for obvious reasons.

The 2nd is a view from the ridge between Fossil Lake and Mermaid Lake looking towards Cooke City. I call it 'In Perspective'. The panorama covers a view of about 120 degrees. In the picture is our camp above Mermaid Lake. There are two tents in the lower left corner of the panorama. We are truly insignificant out in the wilderness. Just specks on the face of the world.

I also have the entire trip of photos here in my office and am trying to figure out how to get some out there for everyone to see. Kind of a teaser to keep you phsyched.”

“I'm looking at flying into Billings on Sat. the 13th. Arriving noonish. Or??? (Billings is $100 less then Cody)
Then flying out on Sat. evening the 20th.

How would this meet with everyones plans?”

“What airline are you flying? Did you do exhaustive research to find the cheapest flight (thereby saving me the trouble)?”

“I can pick people up on my way through Billings to Red Lodge. Let me know if you need a ride.

Chief, I'm so excited about Mermaid Lake. I always wanted to be a Mermaid. I might end up a frozen one, but I'm definitely going to have to get a pic. in there.”

“just need some HTML help to post it.”

“Pepper, I just went to Expedia.com. LAX to Cody is $461 to Billings $365 on Alaska. Orange Co. to Billings is $357 on Alaska, but Delta is $362 and is an hour shorter.
Hope this helps.”

“...check out Horizon. They have some good fares occasionally from Sacramento to Billings. Good luck!”

“Thats WAY cool I forgot about the time diffrence!!!!!


Me and the others are going to figure out the plan!

Well keep ya all in the loop.

I can't wait for this trip.

8)”

“OK Mike, here's the plan...get a big thermos of coffee and a bag of those little, powdered sugar donuts. Put your car on I-90 and get your a$$ out to Montana!
LOL!!”

“I AM ALL OVER IT DUDE JUST WAIT I AM GOING TO BE SO WIRED UP ON MNT DEW AMP!!!!!!

8)”

“=8>0”

“How many miles is it from where you are (where is that ?) to Billings?

Have I asked this before?”

“Looks like my best bet at this point is Horizon/Alaska Air for $352. Thanks for the pointers, navi & aero.”

“This will be a great!Trip.I would love a topo map of the area. HInt hint. I will send check first ifin necessary. I will swim in BEAR lake. I will be fishin. YO BEAR!”

“Someone said that Nymph Lake is also called Leo Lake. I am a Leo so I will swim in that!! (no promises - freezing doesn't appeal to me).”

“Right you are pD. It's Leo on some maps and Nymph on others. The swimming ought to be interesting. The ice will just be off by the time we go up, so it'll be "brisk". TXWoodswoman might come. She said she's getting her EMT training so I'll have her bring a defibrilator.”

“I plugged in South Bend, IN (because all I know is you're NW Indiana somewhere) to Billings, MT, into MapQuest and got driving directions and mileage. It says the trip to Billings is 1,342 miles and should (normally) take 22 hrs. 33 min. With a 12 pack of Mountain Dew you'll probably whack a couple hours off that!

The funny part is that you get about 12 steps of directions for the first 200 miles or so, then once you're on I-94 it's like 900 miles before they give you any more directions!”

“If they leave by 3:00 pm on Friday, they'll be here by noon on Saturday. Just in time to tap that keg!!!!!!

And, since there's no 'real' speed limit in Montana, they'll get here even earlier.

LMAO

I drove from Cloquet, MN to Cody (950 miles) in 13.5 hours. That calcs to just over 19 hours for them. See ya early Saturday.”

“YES!!!!!!!!!!

I can't wait!!!!!

8)”

“It seems like it took us 14 hrs. to get to Minneapolis from Billings once. I know it's 620 to Fargo and that was about 9-10 hrs.”

“Yeah, it's all interstate from Minneapolis to Billings too. It's boring, but great. Just put wait for the rabbit and stay behind them. Never fails, someone is usually doing about 80-85 mph. Talk about making some time.”

“Is me going about 90 with the detector and the jammer!!!!

8)”

“"And, since there's no 'real' speed limit in Montana, they'll get here even earlier..."

No speed limit, eh?”

“Well I guess I will push for 120!

8)”

“Reasonable and prudent was the limit. Once I was driving in MT and passed an HP going the other way doing 100 mph and he never even blinked an eye. Made it from the ND border to Billings (~300 mi) in under 3 hours.”

“Oh yeah, Mike, you can definitely get going when you hit the MT border, esp. w/ a radar detector. I usually do about 90 between my hometown and Billings when I drive to class ea. night. The interstate . . . 95 is no problem. So, remember that rule of thumb. 90 on highways, 95 on the interstate. You'll blow the last part of the trip away in no time.”

“I will also have my jammer too!

Then nothing can touch me!

I am going to push 120 mph!!!

8)”

“Oh ya I forgot to say I love speed!!!!

8)”

“There is alot of ground to cover in MT, reasonable and prudent, can mean very, very fast. However, don't try this in WY. The hi-po's have Camaros. You can't out run them.”

“Thats what the jammer is for!

8)”

“Remember, it USED to be "Reasonable and Prudent". It's not any more. But hey, they are pretty leniant anyways.

Remember the guy who kept getting pulled over doing over 120 mph in his big caddy when there was the R&P limit? They ticketed him a number of times and he plead innocent. Said because he was a good driver, and used to driving those speeds, he was driving R&P and should be found innocent. They found him guilty.

If you're coming to WY first, you might want to go a little slower over the Bighorns.”

“So, I will be coming through Billings on the morning of the 14th, very early. Aren't we supposed to meet in Red Lodge by 8 AM. I'll be in Billings at 6 in that case. Will there be anyone that flew in on the 13th and got a hotel rm. that needs a ride? Will there be the possibility of too many people at Aero's place to all fit in one vehicle, that may need a ride?”

“Good deal!

8)”

“They are pretty leniant w/ me Chief. I've gotten out of 2 tickets this year. HeHehe!”

“It's because you're a pretty girl!!!!

















Well, maybe.”

“The faster you go, the more gas you burn and that means more cash/time at the pump. Speeding doesn't really save you a whole lot of time in the long run, if you ask me. At a $1.40 a gallon or there abouts you're best off finding a nice cruising speed to optimize your MPG.

Check your tire pressure before you hit the road. And something many people really don't think about, is if their car/suv/pickup is really road worthy at those break neck speeds. 80 or 100 mph may not seem that fast on the open road until you leave it or hit a animal. Crazy Mike give yourself the time to get out there and arrive in one piece!!!”

“SPEED Kills! I just went out and looked,Hell, my speedometer only does 85. lol! I will not be in any hurry and most likly commin from yellowstone.”

“You'll be doing about 30 mph then.

And that may be too fast. Look out for old retired persons driving oversized motorhomes that they have no rights to drive.”