Lincoln, MT
Sunday, September 8, 2024
Our day began in Big Timber, MT on the banks of the Boulder River. As we were laying in bed this morning, Andi and I watched three deer come down to the water to take a drink. Then, we watched as the deer crossed the strong, shallow river to the other side. The little fawn struggled a bit, but made it across the current with the others. It was pretty neat to watch them so peacefully outside our window less than 100 yards away. This is just one of many wonderful moments that happen when we’re camping in the wilderness.
The four of us were up and ready for the day around 8:30am. Our plan today was to drive further west toward Bozeman, do a hike, and then continue driving toward the Seeley / Swan Valley area.
As we drove away from Big Rock Fishing Access point down the dusty dirt trail, Andi and I laughed about the grit that covered our grill, and the subsequent dirt that made its way into our dinner last night. What’s funny is that none of us said anything about the extra crunch in our teeth we were nearly finished eating.
Andi produced photoshoots in Big TImber for many years, so he’s familiar with the scenery and mountains in this area of Montana. “I can’t believe how hazy it is from the wildfire smoke,” he remarked as we drove west along I-90. The Crazies are right there, and you barely see them.” The mountains were completely hidden by the smoke.
Friends of ours who lived near Bozeman, MT recommended a hike called Bangtail Divide trail, so we stopped there about 15 miles outside of Bozeman. The entire trail is 11 miles out-and-back, but we only had time today for four miles today. The trail began with a series of switchbacks. We saw several mountain bikers on the trail as we walked, and even some dirt bikes which we didn’t particularly love, but the trail offered some great views of the Bridger Mountain Range.
It was a beautiful, sunny morning for a walk in the woods. Our body temperatures heated up quickly as we trekked up the side of the mountain. It was forecasted to reach 90 degrees in Bozeman today, and we felt the heat increase as we climbed.
Andi and Tory hiked at a decent speed, soon pulling ahead of Aden and I. Aden’s hiking endurance was a little on the rusty side, and he complained a fair amount during the first 1.5 miles. I told him I’d stop as much as he needed, but I didn’t want to hear any complaining or I’d leave him for the bears.
“I’m in immeasurable pain,” Aden said. “ I can’t go any further.”
He’s on the tail-end of a cough/cold, so I understood that he might need a little extra time to catch his breath, but Aden also complained that his back hurt. No recent injuries to report. It seemed like a case of “I’ve been laying in an RV watching my iPad for the past two days” to me.
“Is this a good time to discuss fueling our bodies with healthy foods, or no?” I quipped. Healthy 10-year-old boys should be able to move their bodies.
Tory did awesome, Andi said. Those two enjoyed a nice conversation with each other as they hiked to our pre-determined half-way mark. Tory was in particular good spirits today, and talked all about summer camp, skin-care tips, Taylor Swift, and anything else that popped into her mind.
The views were gorgeous along the trail, but the mountains were somewhat hidden by wildfire smoke in the distance. I didn’t notice the air quality affecting our breathing at all, but you could definitely see the wildfire smoke in the distance.
The second half of our hike was much easier because it was all downhill. Aden was much more chipper on this leg of the walk. In fact, he was the leader of the pack, often running ahead of the rest of us and jumping off of the sides of the trail. We made it back to the RV parked at the trailhead in no time.
The boy who “was in immeasurable pain” at the start of the hike finished by dancing “the gritty” in the final stretch. “We made it!” he shouted at the end of the trail. It sure felt good to stretch our legs after two long driving days across Minnesota, North Dakota, and eastern Montana.
We voted on Mexican food for lunch in Bozeman. Andi picked a place called Los Jarochos which had a line out the door when we arrived — a great sign that the food must be good! We’d all worked up an appetite during our hike, and devoured our meals. The quality of our food at this restaurant was excellent. Mental note to come back to this place!
Tonight, we planned to camp in the Seeley Lake / Swan Valley area. Our 2 1/2 drive from Bozeman led us northwest through the capital city of Helena. As we drove, the wildfire smoke in the air got thicker. The sky had an eerie orange look to it with smog hanging in the air. I checked my weather app to see if a storm was rolling in tonight. There wasn’t, but it felt like it outside.
Andi picked to camp at Moose Creek Campground close to the Blackfoot River, so that he and Aden could try their hand at fishing. There was only about 45 minutes of daylight left by the time we parked & settled in for the night — just enough time to throw out a line or two. Aden was so excited.
The boys returned to camp about an hour later with stories of freezing cold water and one rainbow trout caught. Aden said he’d never felt water so cold, and that’s saying something from him! They had to walk across the shallow river to get to their fishing spot.
Aden was in 7th heaven fishing with Andi.
Nobody was hungry for dinner after the big lunch we’d had, so we finished our evening by playing bowling on Nintendo Switch together in the RV. Aden has been begging us to play Switch with him, and we finally obliged. It really was a lot of fun!
Around 11:00pm, I woke up to the noise of all four of us coughing. Aden has a tendency to gag and throw up when he coughs, so I immediately jumped out of bed and grabbed a cooking pot from the kitchen drawer. Sure enough, he threw up because he was coughing so hard. Tory was gagging and coughing, too, which is not like her at all.
It was the wildfire smoke! We could feel it in our eyes and taste it in our mouths. For a minute, I felt paralyzed with what to do — should we pack up and leave right now in the middle of the night? Or, ride this out until morning? We were already planning to move on from this area tomorrow, but so many people and animals who live in this area of Montana are breathing in this smoke. I couldn’t imagine what it’s like living with this smog everyday.
Luckily, I had my inhaler so I gave Aden and Tory each a puff. I gave the kids glasses of ice water to calm their throats, and shut all the RV’s windows. We made it through the rest of the night without incident.
Tomorrow, we’re heading towards Whitefish, Montana where the air quality seems to be better.
