Early Heart

Choppers

After arriving home yesterday to a sky seemingly clear of all signs of fire, we awoke this morning enclosed in smoke yet again. Last night's incredibly strong winds not only created power surges that fried my main computer - a mini disaster, to be sure - but also gave new life to the dying embers of the Hole in the Wall fire.

 Today's post shows some of the helicopter photos I have taken over the last week plus a few shots from above the fire. Ken and I hiked up to the top of the Beartooth Plateau on Sunday and made our way to Line Lake so we could look down on the blaze. When we arrived it seemed to be well under control. By the time we left, after the winds picked up, the fire had found new life - much like last night. This thing seems to have more lives than a cat!

The obligatory photo of Heart Mountain with a chopper above!

This shot is from atop the Plateau, looking out at the action. 

Here you can just see plumes of smoke rising from below.

In this photo you can see the smoke increasing as the winds pick up.

Leftovers

 Here is the last batch of photos from the Beartooth camping trip.

 Looking down on the Cloverleaf Lakes from above. There is still lots of snow in the area.

I loved the look of this sole Wyoming paintbrush on the edge of the lake.

There were several beautiful waterfalls viewed along our day hikes.

Just as Heart Mountain is the defining feature from our property, so are Pilot and Index Peaks the identifying landmarks in the northwest corner of the state. Pilot, on the left, is often called the "American Matterhorn". It looks like the classic kid's drawing of a mountain!

Meanwhile...

Meanwhile, back in the Beartooths on our camping trip last week, I took photos of our day hikes, including the one to Trail Lake - pictured here.
Trail Lake is often ignored by anglers; maybe because it just seems too easy. After all, as the name suggests, it is right off the main trail. Of course you still have to hike 11 miles from the trailhead to get there so that rules out those people looking for a day excursion.

I have always had good luck there and love catching the big cutthroat trout. I only ever fish until I have dinner and with these big guys, one is enough to feed two people easily.

 Dinner! Cutthroat are really good eating fish - not oily at all and the meat is firm and tasty.

 A view of the campsite from above with the falls in the background. Rusty, Pancho and Hobbit can be seen relaxing around the tent.

This shot shows a view of Kidney Lake from above. Nearby are Heart Lake and Liver Lake.

Ken with Rusty and Capola.


Here at home the helicopters continue to fly overhead hauling buckets of water to the fire. It has moved quite a bit further north and the wind is carrying the smoke away from us. It is almost easy to forget there is a mountainside burning just a few miles away! With additional resources pouring in over the last two days I really think they will have the blaze completely under control in the next few days.

End of the World

What a week this has been! It may not be the end of the world but there are times when it has looked like it! For one thing, we have had one search and rescue call after another - it seems like people are now making up for the slow start to the season. Add that to the Hole in the Wall forest fire that refuses to behave and it makes for an unsettled atmosphere to say the least.

I took some photos of the fire as we made our way home from a SAR call near Cody yesterday afternoon. The top photo is from about 25 miles away. We could see that the fire - which had looked like it was under control when we left yesterday morning - had found new life and was moving north.

As we turned toward Clark from the highway we were able to get a shot of the firefighter camps set up in the valley with the fire in the background. To the left in the photo is the Clark Firehall. To the right is the community center with yurts and tents set up in the fields. There are now almost 200 firefighters battling this blaze.

As we got closer to home we were able to get a clearer idea of the size and direction of the fire.

Just after dinner Ken suddenly called me to come quickly and look out the windows. The wind had picked up and shifted and we had a wall of smoke and ash aimed right at our house. I took the photo above while standing on the back porch.

 This shot was taken through the dining room window. Right after this it went dark as we were engulfed by the smoke and ash. We shut the house up as tightly as we could and packed our bags in case we would need to evacuate quickly.

After a couple hours the wind shifted again and the smoke headed north. It is still hard to breathe outside but we are no longer worried about falling embers - at least for the moment.

The fire has grown to almost 4000 acres and they are now concerned it will follow the plateau all the way to the town of Red Lodge, Montana.

The last three photos were taken this morning and show the smoke hanging in the air. The whole sky looks like it is on fire!

Hole in the Wall Wildfire

 We interrupt the regularly scheduled series to bring you breaking news of the Hole in the Wall Wildfire. Ignited by a lightening strike on Sunday evening, the fire has now reached a size of approximately 600 acres. Today's good news is that the winds have calmed somewhat and so there may be a chance to get the beast under control before it does any damage to man made structures. The calm also means that the smoke has settled in the area and so it is hard to see outside, let alone breathe! That is not a comfortable situation when it is almost 100 degrees and we have no air conditioning!

 Yesterday we watched from a ridge on our back pasture as the wind stirred the flames and pushed them northward.

If you click on this photo you will see the Forest Service helicopter surveying the extent of the fire yesterday morning. The area is very rugged and dangerous to fire fighters. Chances are they will let it burn as long as it is not threatening homes in the area.  There is a public meeting tonight where we will learn more about the Forest Service plans.

 This shot shows the fire blowing up yesterday morning behind our bunkhouse. It is not as close as it looks in the picture.

Here you see our home and the bunkhouse in front of the fire. There are at least three miles of sage brush flats between us and the flames.

Last night we had a search and rescue call and didn't get home until midnight. It was amazing to see the entire mountainside glowing in the dark. Each tree seemed like a separate collection of red embers and it looked like a cheerful village shining in the black night instead of the destructive force we know it to be!

Spogen Lake

Ken and I decided to take advantage of a week without obligations and  head for the hills. Our destination was Spogen Lake, a favorite camping spot about ten tough miles in from the Clay Butte Trailhead. The funny thing is that the Lake sits at about the same elevation as the starting point - but in between is 4000' of vertical in peaks and valleys!

Our plan was for a five day trip but we got chased out a day early by the mosquitoes. Never have I seen the bugs this bad this late in the summer. Ken and I were okay with our bug nets but the poor llamas were pretty miserable during the warmer daylight hours. We spray them down but can't do their faces (they don't understand they need to close their eyes!) and that is where the mosquitoes attack.

I will post a few photos of the trip over the next few days. The first shot, above, was taken on the way in.

This is the view from the highest point of the hike - 10, 400' - just before you drop down to Spogen. I did not want to carry my heavy Canon 7-D camera into the back country so these were taken with an older Rebel. I am amazed at the difference in picture quality from the newer camera.. 

Most people camp at one of the two lakes above Spogen or right at the falls. We prefer the southern end because it has a pretty good pasture and it provides the best view of the falls.

Our campsite was at the end of the lake where it drops into a tight stream and heads down about a quarter mile to Whitcomb Lake. In the photo to the left I was able to place myself below the level of Spogen Lake, creating a mirror pond from my vantage point.  

We were surprised by the hordes of mosquitoes - especially since we had frost each night. This last photo was taken the first morning. Hobbit seemed fascinated by the falls. You can see the frost on his back. 

Jumpin' Horny Toads!

The title is a quote from Yosemite Sam. The funny thing is they don't jump and they aren't toads! They are, of course, lizards, and they are one of two types of lizard common to this area.

The first type- left - is a Sagebrush Lizard. In the second photo you can see how they got their name as they ran to hide in the sagebrush every time I got close with the camera.

 They are really pretty reptiles with blue bellies. The underside is not obvious in these shots but I see it quite often as the lizards seem to be the one prey Frank the cat loves to hunt. He is very gentle in picking them up and bringing them to show me so they usually recover once I take them away from him and release them out of sight.

 The second type of lizard we have is the aforementioned horned toad. These are fascinatingly prehistoric looking creatures. They blend in incredibly well to their surroundings, making them tough to see unless you are looking for them.

They come in a wide range of sizes. The animal in the top photo is almost as big as the palm of my hand while the photo below, taken on this morning's run, is of a creature about the size of my thumbnail!

Harvest Time

 It is not hard to tell when the pine nuts are ready to be harvested! All of a sudden we are "blessed" with the screeching voices of numerous Pinyon Jays and Clark's Nutcracker's as they return from higher elevations. I am not sure how they choose the date but when they arrive, they arrive by the busload, it seems!

 Look at the bill on this Pinyon Jay, above. Doesn't that look like it is the perfect tool for digging seeds from pine cones?

 In pine cone heaven!

 Upside down is a classic position for the Pinyons during harvest.

The Clark's Nutcrackers tend to be more solitary most of the year but they are willing to be social not only with other Nutcrackers during harvest time, but also with the Pinyons.

 This Clark's Nutcracker - above - has a pine nut in his bill. He will probably stash the seed for later consumption. If he can't remember where he buried the seed it may well turn into a new pine tree instead of a meal.

Working hard!

This guy almost looks like he is eating in bed!

There are lots of nuts to go around. At least for the next week or two!