Monday, October 26, 2009

Hiking Blodgett Canyon


I drove down to Hamilton for the weekend, and on Friday, Mari and I hiked up Blodgett Canyon.  Blodgett is considered one of the best hikes in the Bitterroot Valley, so this was a good time to go--on a weekday well after the end of tourist season.  The locals told us Blodgett Canyon is usually a spectacular Autumn hike, but this year's early hard freeze robbed the aspens of their golden colors.  It was still gorgeous.

Granite cliffs mark the mouth of Blodgett Canyon.


After a short stint through heavy forest, the trail begins to open up.


Blodgett Creek is to the right.


These trees have fallen into a glassy pool adjacent to the creek.


A tiny sapling (at left) emerges from the protection of a fallen log.


As the trail climbs, the creek narrows.


 A small waterfall cascades 3.5 miles from the trailhead.


A storm was descending from the ridgeline, so we turned around at the first waterfall.


It was a beautiful hike with only a few hundred feet of elevation gain, but in a few places where the route crossed a talus slope, the trail was a bit rocky (Janet! Dr. Scott! Janet! Brad! Rocky! [extra credit for the first one to give the source of this Halloween reference]).

4 comments:

  1. Have you been watching Rocky Horror... again? Let's do the time warp again!

    Pitaw

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  2. Winner, winner, somewhat bland chicken dinner. I had my money on Melinda. She loves that show.

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  3. MK took the day off today....she's too busy sloshing around in the rain (yes, MORE rain) today. She'll be back at work tomorrow and will have time to read it then. (But, I'd put my money on MK getting the Rocky Horror clues too!)

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  4. Surprised y'all have not turned into mushrooms yet. Let me know when you get the Arc finished.

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