August mini-vacations - Jewel Basin Hike

Our second day in the Flathead was spent hiking in the Jewel Basin Hiking Area Northeast of Big Fork & the lake. The whole area was gorgeous with blooming plants, some of which I had never seen in the Bitterroot.

The slopes were steep so the trail zipzagged up the mountain-side.

As we neared the top of the ridge, we saw this strange looking building that appeared so out-of-place. We walked up to & around it, learning from a couple of signs that it is a Bresnan microwave tower that had been covered with a yellow foam & painted a light grey.

Looking over the ridge, you could see five different lakes. These two were the easiest to spot. Beyond the lakes were rows of mountain ridges, some located in Glacier National Park.

We followed the ridgeline trail to the peak of Mt. Aeneus.

All types of alpine flowering plants grew near the remaining snow. We have seen this lavender Milkvetch plant on several of the mountain peaks.

You can see the ridgeline trail all along the mountains to the side & in back of me in this photo.

Two small peaks from the actual summit ...

...we sited a nanny mountain goat & her kid. She had been nursing her kid right on the trail, but nimbly walked along the rocky face of the peak a ways until she felt safe again & lay down. I used my telephoto lens to get the close-up.

Elderberries were ripe, as were the Huckleberries we picked & ate as we climbed. Fireweed in full bloom is in back of the elderberries in this picture.

This was a new plant & flower to me. Do you know it? After looking over my Montana wildflower books, I think this is Elephanthead (Pedicularis groenlandica) with some similarities to the Lousewort or Alpine fernleaf we saw at Como Lake.

Here's another unknown, but oh so pretty. After researching this wildflower, I'm fairly certain it is Orange Hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum), which originally was a native of Europe.