Squaw (Ch-paa-qn) Peak Hike

As fire season has not yet begun, half-way through the catch-up week at home between weeks of camp nursing, Judy & I spent a day climbing 7,996 foot Ch-paa-qn Peak. The 3.5 mile ridge trail that borders the Flathead Indian Reservation, starts in meadows of blooming Beargrass. Trail 98 climbs 1,836 feet through sub-alpine fir & lodgepole pine forest & through meadows with slate talus slides until it meets trail 707 & trail 746 at this tree marker 0.6 miles below where the talus-covered peak begins. Along the trail, we saw Huckleberries, Lupines, Indian paintbrush, Spring Beauties, Missoula Phlox & several new varieties of blooming plants that I need to identify. Deer, chipmunks, rabbits, 3 hummingbirds & zillions of mosquitos & flies also shared our hike.

After three hours of steady hiking, we reached the summit of Squaw Peak...now called Ch-paa-qn Peak to be politically correct. Judy & I always pray-hike, so she pulled out her cell phone & called to check on the relative who was having an adrenal tumor removed surgically that morning as we rested at the summit. The view is a 360-degree delight. To the NW is the Cabinet Range, N is Flathead Lake & the Bison Range, NE are the Mission Mountains, E is the Rattlesnake Wilderness, S & SW is the Bitterroot Range & SE are the Sapphire Range, Flint Creek & Anaconda-Pintlers.

Two alpine lakes lie at the foot of the talus-covered peak on the north side. A few snowbanks were hidden well on the north side. We saw no snow on the south side trails. What a blessing our good health & this gorgeous scenery continues to be.

Drama/Fear episode at 7th Grade Camp continued...

A pair of yellow-green eyes stared at us from the other side of the campfire area as the low hiss & high scream sounds continued. My flashlight beam didn't go far enough to see more. J was trembling as we brought her into the nurses' station, gave her some Motrin to swallow & bedded her down. When it appeared she was napping within 5-10 minutes, I left to wake up the director & inform him of what was happening in half of the camp. He walked to the girls' tabins area with me. Unbelievably, everyone in tabins 1, 4, 6 & 7 were still asleep. Tabins 2, 3 & 5 were more frightened than ever, having heard the same sounds as they were trying to drift back to sleep. They were discussing that some of the boys had seen yellow eyes in the dark the night before. Two of the boys' counselors from tabin 5 arrived. One came to tell us the sounds had been caused by the old sprinkler system that he had just turned off. The other, the young man with the guitar on the previous post, had brought his guitar to aid in softly singing some praise songs to calm the campers & overcome their fear. This music particularly helped T, who had become rigid, gasping & "blind" again upon hearing the "mountain lion" sounds. By 3 a.m. the campers were all nodding off & I had returned to the nursing area. J was sound asleep & I was too, as soon as I climbed into my sleeping bag & my head hit the pillow. The next day, at the morning chapel pictured above, half of camp was very sleepy but happy to hear that the eyes that had been seen during the past two nights belonged to the camp director's big cat. T's parents were called about her behavior & given the choice of taking her home or letting her stay with the nurse at night the rest of camp. They decided to take their "drama queen" home. T evidently had a history of creating situations that put her in the center of attention. J was over her migraine & fully enjoyed the remainder of the week.

7th Grade Camp @ Camp Utmost

Temperatures around 80 degrees made the 7th Grade Camp comfortable, especially at the swimming hole. While I was Camp Nurse for the 69 7th grade campers, Ron was creating a brick fireplace at the Camp Director's house. I would see & speak to him at mealtimes. The second photo was taken one of those times. Next week when I return to nurse for the 4-5th grade boys, I'll take a photo of Ron's work. He says this may be his last fireplace to build.

Behind the Songleaders at chapel time, you can see the huge rock fireplace Ron created for the main lodge at Camp Utmost. The nursing area is on the other side of Ron's gorgeous rock fireplace.

I will remember this camp week for the fear & drama that reigned Wednesday night. Around midnight a couple of the girl campers knocked on the nursing area door, saying I was needed at one of the four girl tabins. (A tabin is a cabin with roll-up canvas sides.) One of the campers awoke from a nightmare & started screaming because she couldn't see anything. She was now in hysterics & the other girls in the tabin were getting hysterical as well. I threw my coat on over the surgical scrubs I sleep in while at camp, grabbed my flashlight & hurried out of the lodge, past the girls' bathrooms & to tabin number 3. The counselor, Stevie - the long-haired blonde on the singing team above - was praying with the camper as I entered. The camper, I will call her "T", was gasping for breath & making dramatic statements about not being able to see. Many of the other girls were wide-eyed or quietly sobbing. The assistant counselor was talking with them. We decided to carry T to the lodge so the rest of the tabin could return to sleep. After our transport, T slowly returned to normal in her breathing & posture as we continued to pray for her out loud. She resisted staying in the nursing area, so we compromised by letting the other girls move into tabin 2, whose girls had all awakened when T was screaming. T's best friend & the main counselor stayed with her in tabin 3. We had a general conversational prayer-time with the campers all crowded into tabin 2. "J", another camper from tabin 3 who gets migraines when stressed, was found dry-heaving in the girls' bathroom. Her assistant counselor, the lifeguard in the first swimming photo, & I walked J over to the lodge so I could give her something for her migraine & let her sleep with me in the nursing area. J is the red-head with the braid - the second camper from the right in the third picture. As we left the tabin & circled around the bathrooms, we started to hear a hissing sound accompanied by a high-pitched scream. If you have ever heard a mountain lion, that is exactly what we heard from the outskirts of camp. We hurried our walk & the assistant counselor started to quote II Timothy 1:7 out loud & to rebuke Satan. (More to follow on the next post.)

Return to Como Lake - Last hike 'til Fall?

Summer has arrived with its heat & our last hike for awhile. The 8+ mile trail around Como Lake was one of our favorite hikes from last year, so we returned. We started at 7:00 a.m. on the south shore trail, catching glimpses of the snowcapped mountains mirrored in the lake whenever the forest opened up.


Wild Roses were numerous along the south shore trail, Queen's Cup appeared near the falls & fragrant Buckbrush was everywhere on the north shore trail.

We saw squirrels & ducks. This mother Maganzer & her ducklings swam close enough for us to watch. Mom even carried one of her ducklings on her back. Kind of how God carries us when we desperately need a respite.

Although the rainbow does not show as well in this picture, it highlighted the falls. It shows a little about a third down the left side of the photo.

Our lunch break was along the north shore, where we watched several butterflies flitting from one wild flower to another. Did you know that butterflies were first named "flutterbies"?

By the time we reached & crossed the earthen dam, which tripled the size of Como Lake back in the early 1900's, a breeze was creating small waves. The mirror effect was gone, but the breeze felt wonderful as the temp. had climbed to the 80s. We may hike once in the Flathead Lake area in August, but other summer activities will pre-empt our hiking now. I head for a couple of weeks of nursing at Camp Utmost after July 4th.

Be careful what you pray.

Do you remember my telling you about my prayers regarding the cost of keeping horses, yet Louis not wanting to sell any of our three? I took this quandry to the Lord. In January, Celeb died with laminitis. This week-end, Princess developed a twisted bowel & became septic. When we took her to the vet, the ultrasound & exam gave us the diagnosis. The vet ended up putting her to sleep. We are now down to one horse - Beauty. He giveth & He taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

More Early Summer photos from the Larry Creek Hike

Here are a few more pictures from our summery hike. This frog jumped in the creek as we ambled down the trail & swam beside us awhile!

Since six of us were on this hike, we tended to pair off to chat & then pair with someone else after we stopped to view scenery. At some time in the hike, we walked with every other hiker in this paired fashion, as it sort of happened naturally.

We could smell the Lupine & Wild Hyacinth since they were so plentiful.

If one couple of hikers got too far ahead of the others, we just stopped & waited for the others to catch-up.

Prairie Smoke or "Old Man's Whisker's" grew in these pastures in some of the drier spots. Because of it's fragrance, I liked the Wild Hyacinth the best.

Arrival of Summer in Western Montana

One of my best friends, Janie, lives in the Bass/Larry Creek area. The Hallelujah Hikers visited Larry Creek last Wednesday, starting our trek just behind Janie's ranch. Looking East, the Sapphire Mountain Range was blue in the distance & pasture land with small creeks & overflowing irrigation canals were all around us. Looking West, snowcapped tops of the Bitterroot Range peaked above the treeline at uneven intervals. The meadows held a different type of beauty than the canyons we often visit. We did climb some hillside slopes, but the trail led through flower-laden pastures most of the day. We could label this our Lupine Hike, as the Lupine was everywhere in full bloom.

Brodiaea or Wild Hyacinth was common in some spots as well. These flowers signal that Spring is leaving & Summer has arrived with warmer temperatures, mosquitos, flies & the smell of fresh-mown hay. We praised the Lord for His creative variety.

VBS during March-April weather

This was the perfect week to participate in "The Power Lab" VBS. Outside rain & snow kept our attendance stable & in the 80 range all week. As one of three crew chiefs for the 19 5th & 6th graders, I was responsible for 6-8 of them each day. Praise the Lord! Two of these - Trevor & Mickeala - accepted Christ into their lives for the first time on Thursday. Mickeala comes from a broken home. She lives with her Mom in Arizona most of the year, but is currently visiting her Dad in Lolo, MT. Her previous friend & neighbor...Dakota, standing near the power lab. sign with one of the other leaders in the middle photo... invited her to attend VBS with her. Trevor is the grandson of Judy, who has attended my Women's Neighborhood Precept Bible Study the past two years.

One of the children's favorite crafts this week was making "slime"! It's a slime-feeling silly putty.

Here's the recipe:

1. Measure & add 1/3 cup Elmer's Glue All, (not school glue), & 1/3 cup water into a large canning jar. Screw on jar lid & shake.

2. In a separate bowl, measure & add 1/3 cup water & 2 heaping tablespoons of Borax. Mix in bowl.

3. Unscrew the lid on the jar & add Borax mixture & up to 6 drops of food coloring. Screw lid back on the jar & shake well!!!!! The mixture will turn to slime. This can be divided & placed in baggies.

Fairy Slipper Hike

Wednesday, the Hallelujah Hikers returned to Sweathouse Creek Falls. We saw more Fairy Slippers on this one hike than we have in all of our other hikes put together.

Sweathouse Creek was full with the Spring run-off of melting snow from the mountain tops.

We hiked between rocky cliffs on either side of the trail...sometimes walking in "the burn" from almost 2 years ago which now yields an abundance of mushrooms... sometimes ambling through lush meadows of Arnica, Lupine & Indian Paintbrush just starting to bloom.

The vegetation was mixed at the Falls itself... some sepia tones from the burn & some normal forest coloration. We admired the scenery & ate our packed lunches on a rocky ledge at the top of the falls.

This view of the canyon at the foot of snow-covered peaks was shot from Sweathouse Creek Road as we drove to the trailhead. It captured the serene feeling of this hike. As soon as we returned home, the sky clouded up & it began to rain. Thank you, Lord!

Hissy Fits

Misha, Esther's boyfriend for the past year, gave her a 6-week-old tiger kitten for her 20th birthday. They named her "Shadik", (BellaRussian for "Marble"). Esther's 11-12 year old cat, Rachel, has not welcomed the kitty into her territory. She usually sits in some high position above Shadik & alternates between growling & hissing whenever Shadik ventures too close. We have allowed some of this interchange, hoping it would change. After awhile, though, we usually separate the two. Rachel gets to roam the upstairs & Shadik is confined to the basement.

At times, when Esther has pushed the limits to "get her own way", I realize I am capable of hissy fits. I am ashamed to admit it. Yet, it's true. When I realize what is happening, sometimes I separate myself for awhile so we can both cool down & develop some perspective. This past week, I spontaneously decided to drive to the Missoula theater showing "Narnia II" to escape such an episode. I enjoyed the movie & did cool down. Because Hollywood never quite comes up to my imagination, I always leave movies, based on books I have enjoyed, a little disappointed. "Narnia II" is still worth seeing, since Aslan/the Messiah is uplifted. Now, if I can only learn to uplift my Messiah through my responses to my daughter's occasional badgering.

2008 Spring Hikes

The Hallelujah Hikers have taken 5 Spring hikes so far... Our mountains received 150% of the normal snowpack this past winter, so we have had to cross snow drifts across the trail on most of our hikes. The snowmelt at times creates rivulets of our trail but has brought out an abundance of wildflowers.

Bright Arnica was everywhere on our last hike up Canyon Creek.

Glacier lilies have been on at least 3 of the hikes.

This vista is from the summit of Mount Jumbo, looking over East Missoula & beyond. We followed an old fenceline up a ravine the last twenty minutes to the summit. Mount Jumbo is now owned by Missoula & placed in conservancy.

Shooting Stars are some of the earliest wildflowers to bloom in our area. They were around on most of the hikes. Below was a view looking from the Grant Creek area towards the Rattlesnake area north of Missoula. Our hikes continue to turn into praise & prayer sessions! We have so much for which to thank our Creator!

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