Wildhorse Island (in Flathead Lake) Hike

I stepped into the Millennial Kingdom during my latest hike! The Hallelujah Hikers were invited to Laura's lodge on Flathead Lake for the 22nd & 23rd of August. On the drive up to the lake, we stopped at "the Cove" in Polson for the scrumptious & creamy Wilcoxson's ice cream that I recall from my childhood. I had 1/2 of my favorite "Huckleberry" flavor & 1/2 of "Black Licorice" - a new flavor to me & quite delicious. (A flyer arrived in our mailbox today announcing that "The Pioneer Stop" now opening in Florence will carry Wilcoxson's ice cream - the best ice cream in Montana.) Upon arrival at Laura's "Moose Lodge" we changed into our swimsuits & jumped into the lake from her dock. Another delicious experience on a mid-90 degree day...only to the skin rather than tongue this time. I swam with a pink "noodle" in the lake. Have you watched children play with these? Well I had, but had never tried one for myself. They are great for floating or sitting on. We had wonderful appetites for the Balsamic Chicken Breasts for dinner. Would anyone like the recipie for this dish? It was sooo good! Laying on the warm lodge deck as the waves lapped nearby took us past sunset. We started picking out the various star constellations in the cloudless, dark sky... Cassiopia's Chair, the Big & Little Dippers, Orion, etc....Laura had a book that showed where constellations were in the sky on any month in our area. We double checked ourselves with it. God hugged me when I climbed into bed & started reading the One Year Bible selection for the 23rd. (I often start my devotions at the start of the Jewish day...after sunset. Then my mind can ponder Scripture during the night.) The Old Testament reading for that day included Job 9:8-10.

"He alone stretches out the heavens & treads on the waves of the sea.
He is the Maker of the Bear & Orion, the Pleides & the constellations of the south.
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted."

God knew we had just been praising Him for all those stars & let me know that He knew! We had also quoted Psalm 147:4-5

"He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
His understanding has no limit."

A hot flash & potty break at 5:00 a.m. awakened me enough that I decided to watch the sun rise over Flathead Lake from a couch in the gorgeous high vaulted family room with floor to ceiling windows. All of this was just a prelude to the main event - the hike on Wildhorse Island that began at 8:00 a.m. with the 30 minute boatride to the island.

We walked through a small forest of pine trees, stepping over countless fallen logs, the first third of the hike. After about 20 minutes, we sited the three remaining wild horses on the island. They allowed us to slowly advance toward them until we were about 50 yards away. One was a beautiful paint. We stepped out of the forest shortly after the horses trotted away & began to hike up the steep foothills towards the ridge that ran the length of the island. Dry balsamroot plants crunched under our feet & at times the slopes were of loose shale. There we carefully picked each step & tested it. This was a real challenge because we were so awestruck by the numerous groupings of Bighorn rams with huge curls all around us that we kept looking out instead of down. The sheep let us get within feet of them as they made eye-contact. I almost expected one to say, " Welcome to the island. We are enjoying this fine morning too!" In awhile we came to small flocks of ewes with their 5-6 month old lambs. They also let us get quite close before slowly ambling away. When we looked up at the ridgeline, we could see one curled-horned head after another silhouetted against the sky. Large bucks & their does were also here & there on the slopes. We knew this wasn't the Millenium though when we saw a coyote stalking a lone doe. After enjoying the view of the lake from the ridge, we stepped down into a narrow canyon & a flock of partridges. Later at the boat dock, we ate our lunch & watched families of ducks swim by. What a great experience!