Missoula Trails

 One activity I've missed desperately since osteoarthritis set in was walking for miles. But now, with a new hip, I'm back out there hiking with hubby, little by little. Missoula has many trails around town, mostly fairly level, which I need for now. The Clark Fork Trail goes along the river on both sides of the city. Here we found a creek that is running into the river. It must be even prettier when the leaves are on the trees.

Okay, hang up the cane and pose!

At the KOA office I found a magazine featuring all the hiking, biking and horse back riding trails in the area. We tried the one by the old Fort and came upon this well kept military cemetery.

A portion of the 1 1/2 mile trail. The fields and trees are still very brown, soon to be green again in a few weeks.

My favorite trail so far is this one, the McClay Flats Trail, along the Bitterroot River west of town. The bench is so very inviting!

I love this strange Ponderosa tree along the route. It's difficult to tell if it's 4 separate trees or one tree that somehow got divided a short way up the trunk.

So peaceful!

Walking here is easy on the feet, as the trail is cushioned with pine needles.

We were intrigued with this creek, or canal. The ice shelf was actually several feet above the water. I'm not sure how that happens. We found the same thing in the photo below.

This trail, the Tower Street Trail, goes along the Clark Fork. The ice we found here is, again, several feet above the surface of the river and the bank. Beware to anyone who might step out on that shelf! They would find themselves in some very cold water! As the days go by I find myself feeling stronger, needing my cane much less, and more than ready to try other trails around the city, even ones that take us uphill and down! Are you ready, Mr. Keith?

Lost Lake Trails

Some special folks at Lost Lake have been working hard to restore the trails in the park. Mr. Keith and I, needing to get outside in the sunshine, decided to check them out. We got our canes (old coots) and set out. Both trails are quite steep and we thought our old legs would do better going down than going up!

Over the past couple of winters there had been branches and some small trees that had fallen across the paths. Must have been a job getting those cleared out! In this scene we are looking down on the one-way road leading up from the lake.

Mossy trees and ferns in abundance, along with decaying leaves, grace the trails. Very beautiful! Careful there — the soft dirt is a little slick.

Across the road and down a ways begins the longer trail leading to the lake. In this part of the forest there are some really big trees, not quite old growth, but maybe trees that have grown since the original logging. The biggest are the Douglas Fir and the cedars.

Here is a different view of our over 100 year old cabin, now used as a library. Strangely, there are a couple of big redwood trees right behind the cabin. They must have been brought in by the original settlers here, as they are not native. At this point on the steep trail Mr. Keith is leaning on one of those huge, old Douglas Firs, where he is enjoying the lake and its reflections.

I'm stumped! Wish I'd posed Mr. Keith here to show the size of this one! It's difficult to imagine that a strong wind could topple a tree like this. The rest of the fir is lying covered with moss just to the left.

I asked the manager of the resort if he knew which tree was the largest in the park, and he said this Douglas Fir has more board feet than any other. It's at the end of the trail near where it comes out at the lake, and is the centerpiece for this little picnic area beside the cabin. I would love to show how tall it is but that would have taken a few photos spread out! In my opinion there are other trees as big around, but this one is the tallest of all, hence more board feet. I wonder how they measure that!