The Best Kept Secret

 One of the best kept summer secrets of this area is the Woody Creek Cabin owned and operated by Beartooth Powder Guides. The cabin sees quite a bit of use from back country skiers in the winter months but tends to be forgotten by the locals once summertime rolls around.

Located a short two and a half miles (admittedly all uphill) from Cooke City, the cabin is basically luxury "camping" in a beautiful, pristine part of the ecosystem. Although you end up sleeping in Montana, much of the best hiking out of the cabin is in Wyoming, just a mile south of the building site.

Ken and I hiked in on Thursday with the goal of trekking up to Submarine Rock on Friday. The weather was threatening as we drove across Chief Joseph highway and rain started to fall as we arrived in Cooke. The thunder and lightning were impressive but we decided to push forward and make our way up the 1000' in elevation to the cabin. Much of the heavy weather was to the southeast of the trail in the area of Pilot Peak and when we arrived at the falls on Woody Creek we saw the result, evident in the photo above. The Absaroka Mountains were formed by past volcanic activity and are much more prone to erosion than the granite heavy Beartooths to the north and east.

 One of the many joys of living in this area is the ability to find "spring" in any month from March to September, depending on the elevation. The wildflowers were spectacular everywhere we went and I had a chance to play a little with my macro lens.

Our garden was overflowing with columbines of every color this year but there is something about the wild variety that is so much more delicate and beautiful than the cultivated flower.

 On Friday we woke to relatively clear skies with a little mist in the lower areas by the river. We headed out about 7:30 am, expecting a long day getting to our destination.

 The fringed gentian were just beginning to bloom, still furled in their newness.

 This ground squirrel was totally unfazed by our presence and continued collecting and eating wildflowers as we watched. This is the first time I have ever seen a ground squirrel at this elevation - approximately 10,200'.

The paintbrush were glorious in shades of red and magenta, luminous against the bright green of the grasses.

Elephant heads were growing in the marshy areas. I never tire of the amazing details of each flower with ears and trunk so like the pachyderm for which it is named!

 Once we made our way up to Submarine we had a great view of Pilot and Index, although we were looking right into the sun. It is not often one gets the chance to take a shot of Pilot from just 1500' below its summit.

 This shot of Submarine shows just how verdant the area was. The snow had just recently melted from much of this area and the moss and flora are at their peak.

The view from the top to the north shows the Beartooths in all their glory. If you look closely, you can actually see a few of the buildings in Cooke City far below on the left.

The hike ended up taking less time than we expected and we were back at the cabin by early afternoon, just in time for the next round of afternoon thunderstorms!