Weekend Hike

 Yesterday's plan was to do a short hike and then get something done. Somehow, between breakfast and walking out the door, the plan changed to a longer trek somewhere in the vicinity of North Bennett Creek. Eight hours, fourteen miles and 2200 feet later, we returned home - tired, sore and hungry!

Elk are not the only hoofed mammals heading to higher elevations this time of year. This male pronghorn was up at about 6000', enjoying the new grass and the relative isolation.

Once we reached our turning point we had a great view across the valley and all the way to Heart Mountain. On the right side of the photo you can see the rocky ridge that runs up to the plateau at the top of Flatiron. It is a good view of the hike we took a couple weeks ago. What looks like a road at the bottom is really the remnants of the fire break they cut in four or five years ago when a forest fire went through the area.

Just as on Flatiron, we saw quite a bit of Kelseya on the upper part of this hike. These plants seem much older than the ones to the south. They are also further behind in their development as they receive less sun.

On the return portion of the hike I came across the first Prairie Smoke I have seen this year. This plant is in its flowering stage. The species does not get much attention until the fruit is visible - beautiful wispy strands that dance in the wind - looking like little puffs of smoke blowing across the prairie!