This past Wednesday, the Hallelujah Hikers chose to hike up the West Fork of the Bitterroot at Boulder Creek Trail. Over 4 1/2 miles along the trail & into the Selway Wilderness is an upper & lower falls that make the hike well worth the effort. The elevation starts out a bit higher than previous hikes, so I nearly stepped on this 2 foot long rubber boa. These snakes reside in Montana at only certain elevations & are not a threat to man. I accidentally hit this one with the side of my foot & stunned it enough to have time to snap a picture before he slid off into the bushes.
The canyon is rimmed with craggy peaks & filled with every Spring wildflower we had already noted on our other hikes this year. If you double click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see some of the white blooms of the buck brush & bluish wild hyacinth blossums. We saw more Clematis, like that below, than on any of the other hikes we've taken.
Nearer the falls, the rocky rim becomes more dramatic, even as the trail becomes steeper.
We are in the midst of the snowmelt from last winter, so at times the trail turned into a streamlet, at other times we crossed mini-falls of the melt-off.
This view is what is seen looking west as you approach Boulder Creek Falls. Quite spectacular. This photo doesn't really do justice to the grandeur of the area.
This is the upper falls, which I hiked to first. The remainder of the hike - another 4 1/2+ miles -was downhill from there!
This is a good portion of the lower falls that winds through a rocky chasm, making a thunderous noise on the way. I couldn't get a shot of the entire falls because of the nature of this winding & terrain, which made it too treacherous for me to venture any closer to the edge.
We have one more hike planned before we take a summer break. I hope to share that with you in a few days. Praise the Lord with me for the beauty of his creation even in its fallen state.
This past Wednesday, the Hallelujah Hikers chose to hike up the West Fork of the Bitterroot at Boulder Creek Trail. Over 4 1/2 miles along the trail & into the Selway Wilderness is an upper & lower falls that make the hike well worth the effort. The elevation starts out a bit higher than previous hikes, so I nearly stepped on this 2 foot long rubber boa. These snakes reside in Montana at only certain elevations & are not a threat to man. I accidentally hit this one with the side of my foot & stunned it enough to have time to snap a picture before he slid off into the bushes.
The canyon is rimmed with craggy peaks & filled with every Spring wildflower we had already noted on our other hikes this year. If you double click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see some of the white blooms of the buck brush & bluish wild hyacinth blossums. We saw more Clematis, like that below, than on any of the other hikes we've taken.
Nearer the falls, the rocky rim becomes more dramatic, even as the trail becomes steeper.
We are in the midst of the snowmelt from last winter, so at times the trail turned into a streamlet, at other times we crossed mini-falls of the melt-off.
This view is what is seen looking west as you approach Boulder Creek Falls. Quite spectacular. This photo doesn't really do justice to the grandeur of the area.
This is the upper falls, which I hiked to first. The remainder of the hike - another 4 1/2+ miles -was downhill from there!
This is a good portion of the lower falls that winds through a rocky chasm, making a thunderous noise on the way. I couldn't get a shot of the entire falls because of the nature of this winding & terrain, which made it too treacherous for me to venture any closer to the edge.
We have one more hike planned before we take a summer break. I hope to share that with you in a few days. Praise the Lord with me for the beauty of his creation even in its fallen state.
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