Beartooth Glory

 Yesterday we decided to load up the packs and fishing gear and drive up the Beartooth Highway to do a little trout fishing. Our plan was to head back a legal two-track a few miles and hike from there to a couple lakes where we have had good luck in the past.

Our temperatures at 5000' have been consistently in the 90's and higher for the last few weeks so we might be forgiven for forgetting that it is still early spring atop the Beartooth Mountains! All the dirt roads are closed until at least mid-July due to snow and wet conditions. So we changed our plans and parked just off the highway, heading in on foot toward Duck Lake, not far from the larger Chain Lakes.

In the first photo you get a sense of the snow that is still scattered around the landscape. In case you think this is an insignificant amount, I took a shot of Ken in front of one of the 12' or so banks.There is still a lot of water to be mined from the melting snow bergs.

 The day was glorious and the views magnificent. The smoky skies of lower altitudes were not obvious and a slight breeze kept the mosquitoes away.

We each caught a few small brook trout that we then released before packing away our fishing gear and just enjoying the day.

The last photo shows the Bear's Tooth in the distance. This is the small peak that gives this range its name.