| In a light drizzle that chilly Sunday morning the | | | | during the Moccasin Ridge workout the real |
| Moccasin Ridge trek was underway. June hikes in | | | | processing occurs in the recesses of my mind and |
| Montana frequently offer the rain option and this was | | | | the "here and now" world provides a backdrop. Daily |
| no exception. With hikes up that same route almost | | | | life struggles seize the initiative, venting and |
| every weekend year round, a surprise on that | | | | processing in the quiet solitude of these treks up the |
| familiar route would be..., well, surprising. | | | | ridge. |
| The trail up Moccasin Ridge is a perfect outdoor gym | | | | This mountainside trek was no different. Our oldest |
| with a range of cardiovascular workout levels . The | | | | son, Robert, had surprised us all, joined the Army, |
| workouts range from relatively level stretches to full | | | | and "shipped out" to Basic Training just days before. |
| bore hill climbs, especially in the upper switchbacks | | | | This son of avowed peace loving, pacifist parents |
| criss-crossing the higher faces of the ridge. It's not a | | | | had voluntarily enlisted his services in a war machine, |
| Montana mountain peak but rather a hill among many | | | | putting himself in dramatically dangerous |
| within the intriguing Sapphire Range, and a Forest | | | | circumstances. It was fitting that the hike up the |
| Service logging road, across the Clark Fork River | | | | mountain was a slog in the rain. |
| from Clinton, MT. | | | | The Deities, being playful forces, seized the |
| The 5 mile training trail begins upon taking a sharp | | | | opportunity, springing a delightful surprise on me in |
| right turn immediately after crossing the Clark Fork at | | | | the midst of all that grey and rain and grim |
| the Swartz Creek bridge. It serves as my private | | | | introspection. A hint of blue in the springtime green, |
| outdoor workout gym, a perfect training setting in | | | | upon refocusing the attention, revealed a mountain |
| every season and weather condition. The large and | | | | meadow of flowers. I marveled at the irony. |
| scenic Clark Fork River lies at the bottom. Moccasin | | | | Continuing the hike, my pace quickened, the slog |
| Ridge offers a mountain spring trickling down one of | | | | became an exploration of springtime wonders. |
| draws, steep inclines, mountain meadows, massive | | | | At the first half mile the trail takes a sharp and steep |
| ponderosa pines, deer flitting off into the woods, a | | | | turn to the east, the first of the switchbacks |
| small herd of elk lurking in the thicker stands of pines, | | | | working through tall timber. A deer startled, leaping |
| and an occasional black bear is glimpsed disappearing | | | | from the trail into the brush and disappearing. Above |
| into the brush. | | | | the trail among trees and bushes multiple little pink |
| Throwing on my training pack I set out in the gentle | | | | spots were visible. Upon refocusing dozens of little |
| rain and the swirling mountain mists on the upper 2.2 | | | | pink shooting stars were seen scattered among the |
| mile leg of the hill climb. The higher climb provides | | | | grasses. This grey, rainy June day took on a whole |
| steeper inclines, great views across the valley and | | | | other hue and mood - those rascally Cosmic Forces. |
| surrounding range, and approximates the major | | | | The trail switchbacks criss-cross the steeper face of |
| Montana mountain trails elsewhere. The upper leg | | | | Moccasin Ridge for the next mile and a half, with |
| starts at a great knoll about halfway up Moccasin | | | | more open meadows, steep inclines, and less timber |
| Ridge, expansive enough to set up a campsite under | | | | to shelter from the continuing spring rain. The steep |
| the enormous Ponderosas. | | | | meadows were laced with clusters of blues, pinks, |
| Getting out of the car, I was surprised at the lupines | | | | yellows and whites - the Dieties and spring had |
| already forming flower heads. Little yellow glacier lilies | | | | painted the hillside |
| were already in bloom when I had hiked the trail a | | | | As I finally topped the ridge at 2.2 miles, the rains |
| couple of weeks before, but I thought they were | | | | decreased to light sprinkles. The mists swirling about |
| usually way ahead of the curve for blooming plants | | | | the ridge lifted, and the clouds started to break up, |
| at my workout gym. Initially, the trail leads from the | | | | offering some sunshine. A wonderful panorama opens |
| knoll winding gently upward through pine groves. With | | | | upon topping the ridge, with the views back into |
| the continual spring rains all the underbrush and | | | | Swartz Creek, hundreds of square miles of the |
| grasses were flourishing in spingtime greens. | | | | Sapphire Range, and Elk Mountain standing tall right in |
| Wondering at my gradually fading vision, the startle | | | | the middle. The Deities graced me with meadows |
| effect was complete, as out of the corner of my | | | | now awash with the pinks and reds of Indian |
| eye, I glimpsed a hint of blue in the grass. Zeroing in | | | | Paintbrush along with the rest of the blue, white and |
| on that splash of blue, to my amazement a tiny | | | | yellow blooms. |
| cluster of Montana bluebells came into focus - right | | | | A burst of sunshine, mountain meadows and |
| there, right now this early part of June. I then | | | | blossoms of pinks, blues, yellows and whites while |
| realized that bluebells were all over that hillside | | | | not a solution, at least offered some silver linings as a |
| meadow above the trail. Scattered among them | | | | step in coping with the overall picture, providing a |
| were wonderful little yellow blossoms and white ones | | | | counterpoint. On the return down the mountain there |
| - the flowery beginnings of the springtime blossom | | | | was a little more of a spring in my step. At the end |
| parade! | | | | of that surprising hike I soaked my aching bones in |
| I laughed at the curious spin this startling realization | | | | the jaccuzi in our Missoula, Montana motel found at: . |
| provided my perspective as I had worked this same | | | | It provided a perfect ending to an unexpectedly |
| trail a dozen times over the past 4 months. Typically, | | | | transformational day. |