2014

Trail commentary and photos by Brenda Kessler. Photos by Dan Marsh.

Spanish Creek 6/5/14 Lay out a plan for the 401 trail. Waterbars and check dams then saw out to Pioneer Falls. Larry Thomas, Billie Thomas, Rich Inman, and FS Jeremiah Kunzman. 7 hours 3 horses 13 trail miles.

Shield River #258 #265 6/10/14 Steve Thienes 8 hours 1 riding 1 pack stock 8 trail miles

South Cottonwood 6/11/14 Log out and water control. Larry Thomas, Rich Inman, Walter Becker, Bonnie Hammer, Jim Boorman, Jim Albright, Brenda Kessler, Dan Marsh. 7 hours 7 riding horses one pack stock 8 trail miles. One of the first rides of the summer was South Cottonwood trail, a brief drive from Bozeman. We showed up early (8:30) and the weather was crisp and cool. Not much work was needed. However, the “new” trail up Wheeler Gulch was noted and several stories were told about when the Gallatin Backcountry Horsemen worked on that trail several years ago: And it was noted that it is now being worked on by a conservation crew. It was mentioned that there was an article in the paper about this group working on this trail. Further up the Cottonwood trail going towards the Blackmore trail, we came upon a large snow drift and decided to turn around. Lunch was eaten about noon and by then the temperature had warmed, so it turned out to be a very pleasant ride. Of course, we encounter bicycles and hikers with dogs as this is a heavily used trail. One time, when being at this trailhead in the middle of the summer, more than 17 cars were counted, parked at the trailhead, thus it appears to be very popular.

Spanish Creek #401 6/17/14 Work with FS on trail rehab project. Rich Inman, Jim Boorman, Larry Thomas. 6 hours, 3 riding horses 1 pack stock. 4 trail miles.

Spanish Creek to the Mirror Y 6/18/14 Saw out and water bar maintenance. Larry Thomas, Rich Inman, Walter Becker, Bonnie Hammer, Rory Bayer, Dan Marsh, Jim Boorman, Jim Albright, Brenda Kessler. 5.5 hours 7 riding 1 pack stock 10 trail miles. June 18, was work from Spanish Creek to the Mirror “Y”. This day’s record indicated that the crew was there to saw out and complete water bar maintenance.

Spanish Creek Cabin new roof project 6/16-21/14 Removed old asphalt shingles and replaced them with new underlayment and cedar shingles. John Mutter, Dan Marsh, Henry Glenn, David Frank. 112 hours no stock used.

Spanish Creek #401 6/20/14 Cut and place water bars and rehab work. Rich Inman, Walter Becker, Jim Boorman, Larry Thomas. 7 hours 4 riding and 1 pack stock.

Spanish Creek #401 6/21/14 Trail rehab in cooperation with bicycle club on 3 miles of 401 trail. 11 Bicycle club members and 8 BCH members. 7.5 hours. 6 riding and 4 pack stock.

Cottonwood #197 Trespass #268 #271 6/25/14 Steve Thienes 9 hours 1 riding 1 pack stock 10.4 trail miles

Shield River #258 #260 6/30/14 Steve Thienes 9 hours 1 riding 1 pack stock 11 trail miles

Rock Creek #270 Smeller #220 7/1/14 Steve Thienes 8 hours 1 riding 1 pack stock 8.1 trail miles

Mirror Lake Trail 7/2/14 Log out and water control. Larry Thomas, Rich Inman, Walter Becker, Bonnie Hammer, Dan Marsh, Chris Nygren, Jim Albright, Brenda Kessler. 6 hours 7 riding 2 pack stock 7.5 trail miles. On July 2, it was Spanish Creek again and this time to finish what was started previously. Because we had numerous people the crew split, one group going toward the Spanish Lakes and the other taking the Mirror Lake trail. The Spanish lakes crew went in and ate lunch at Dubois Lake (small lake not named on the map) and then continued towards the Spanish Lakes only to encounter large snow drifts. Thus, it was decided to turn around. The other crew made it to Mirror Lake and Bonnie announced they had cut as many as 13 downfalls.

Bridger Bowl 7/7/14 Clear & Map Poker Ride trail. Henry Glenn, Molly Glenn, Dan Marsh, Steve Thienes 7 hours 4 riding 1 pack stock 10 trail miles

Elkhorn Creek 7/9/14 Log out. Larry Thomas, Rich Inman, Rory Bauer, Dan Marsh, Jim Albright, Brenda Kessler. 6 hours 6 riding and 2 stock 15 trail miles. This trailhead starts behind the Red Cliff campground on the Gallatin River. There always seems to be work on this trail and today was not an exception. Every turn seemed to have need for maintenance. And it is a long ride (but always beautiful) as it goes to the ridge and we make a circle coming down and out behind the Rainbow ranch. Larry and Rich had left an outfit at the trailhead behind the Rainbow Ranch to transport riders back to the other outfits left at the Elkhorn trailhead. We finished late, tired, and sore but satisfied in high spirits, looking forward to a hot shower and a good night’s sleep.

Elk Creek #195 7/14/14 Steve Thienes, Rosann Thienes 8 hours 2 riding 1 pack stock 6 trail miles

Langhor to South Cottonwood 7/16/14 Rich Inman, Jim Albright, Brenda Kessler, Walter Becker, Ron Rohletter, May. 8 hours 6 riding 2 pack stock 5 trail miles. July 16, was a ride from behind the Langohr campground (Hyalite Canyon) over the ridge to Cottonwood Canyon. The trailers met at the bridge behind the campground and drove up the ridge on an old logging road to a split in the road where parking space was found. There can be uncertain moments when driving these roads so probably we parked early, unloaded horses and continued up this road riding the horses to the trail head. The trailhead is hard to distinguish as it is not ridden or walked enough to create noticeable use. The trail then is hard to follow as it winds over the ridge, through trees and meadows [although the trees are blazed and the open meadows have stakes and cairns ( “ a pile of stones set on a hill or mountain to mark a spot for walkers”) ]. While in the trees, the crew did cut several downed trees and made numerous adjustments so as to make the trail more obvious to the average hiker. The crew was distressed to note the meadows have an abundance of Houndstongue (the seeds are bur-like adhesive nutlets about 1/3 inch commonly called “beggar’s lice”). This would mean checking the horse’s mane and tail and equipment so as not to bring home tons of seeds from this obnoxious weed. We ate lunch at Cottonwood creek and watched several bicycles and hikers with dogs go by on the other side of the creek. Interestingly as they did not seem to notice us even though we were sitting around and horses were grazing. We returned back up the trail to the parked trailers on the Hyalite side in time to be home early.

Lodge Pole #266 Big Elk Creek #654 7/18/14 Steve Thienes 11 hours 1 riding 1 pack stock 6 trail miles

Bridger Bowl Poker Ride Trail 7/23/14 Work on mud hole at creek crossing. Larry Thomas, Rich Inman, Ron Rohletter, Walter Becker, Jim Albright, Brenda Kesler. 4 hours 6 riding 1 pack stock. 10 trail miles. Then on July 23 was a trip to Bridger to fix some bogs or a mud hole at a creek crossing that had been reported from riders at the Poker ride. However, these had dried some and that work was light. However, the guys found some work that could be done on a bridge along a trail. It seems that one can always find some work when it comes to riding a trail. Again some beautiful country and a fun ride.

Buffalo Fork to Slough Creek trail #84 & #104 7/24-27/14 Clark Kinney, Larry Thomas, John Mutter, Rich Inman, S. Shuley, Kim 47 hours 5 riding 7 pack stock.

Porcupine to First Creek 7/30/14 log out trail Larry Thomas, Rich Inman, Walter Becker, Jim Wing, Dan Marsh, Ron Rohletter, Jim Albright, Brenda Kessler. 7.5 hours 8 riding 2 stock. 10 trail miles. July 30th found the Wednesday backcountry crew on the Porcupine trail up toward First Creek. Again downed trees were found and removed. The crew’s use of chainsaws makes this work go quickly and almost fun after the tedious and energy consuming crosscut saws. Again the morning was crisp and the afternoon warmer: Another beautiful day and a great ride.

Buffalo Horn 8/6/14 Work on bridges and culvert and water control. Larry Thomas, Rich Inman, Bonnie Hammer, Ron Rohletter, Walter Becker, Dan Marsh, Jim Albright, Brenda Kessler. 7 hours 8 riding 2 pack stock 15 trail miles. Buffalo Horn trail which is behind the 320 ranch was the next trail, the crew was riding on Aug 6th. This time the main goal was to fix a culvert which had injured a horse the previous week. Of course, there is always other work, i.e., trees across the trail and water bars but when coming upon the culvert : It was a appalling. It was almost completely washed out with gaping holes on both sides. Jutting askew and slanted upward, it looked incredibly dangerous. It could be seen that the trail had been rerouted but that rerouted trail was through heavy brush and up a very steep and narrow side of the ravine. The culvert had to be fixed. The first thing that the crew did was actually to move and adjust (straightened and leveled the culvert in the ravine so as to now catch the water flowing in the ravine—no small task!). Then since there was an abundance of rocks in the water flowing through the ravine, these were collected to be placed under and around the culvert to secure it once it was placed back in position to catch the water flowing through the ravine. Wally then took the pack boxes off the pack mules and took them up the hill where he had found easily digging dirt and busily filled them. This dirt was brought down and was used to fill in the gaps around the rocks and placed over the metal culvert. Then logs were cut and placed (staked) on each side. When the work was done, the culvert could not be seen and had become a nice trail across the ravine. It would have been nice if a before and after picture could have been taken, but a camera was not to be had. All in all, the crew, felt rewarded and satisfied with a good days work when returning to the trailhead: And also, knowing that they had made a situation safer.

Buffalo Horn #161 trail maintenance. Rich Inman, Clark Kinney, Larry Thomas. 9 hours 3 riding 1 pack stock 12 trail miles.

Cinnamon to Buck Creek 8/13/14 log out and water control. Larry Thomas, Rich Inman, Walter Becker, Ron Rohletter, Jim Wing, Dan Marsh Jim Albright, Brenda Kessler, Bonnie Hammer, Jim Boorman. 6 hours 10 riding 2 pack stock 13 trail miles. August 13th and the trail designated was Cinnamon Creek and to Buck Creek. This is on the West side of the Highway almost to Taylors Fork. There is a short drive off the highway to the trail head. The Trail is a nice trail with neat bridges to cross small stream on the way up. This is a circle ride and at the far end of the circle is a square of private land with buildings and corrals. Again, the crew found trees to be cleared and work on the trail needed.

New World Gulch to Bear Canyon 8/20/14 saw downfall Larry Thomas, Walter Becker, Jim Boorman, Dan Marsh 6.5 hours 4 riding 1 pack stock 14 trail miles

Yellow Mules 8/26/14 saw downfall. Larry Thomas, Rich Inman, Ron Rohletter, Jim Boorman, Jim Albright, Brenda Kessler. 7.5 hours 6 riding 1 pack stock 18 trail miles. Yellow Mule trail was scheduled for Tuesday, August 26th and 9:00 found the crew at the Ousel Falls parking lot. What a beautiful trailhead and trail going down to the bottom of the falls. So well groomed, landscaped and tidy that when Brenda’s horse left remains she wanted to get off and clean that portion of the trail. However, the crew had more important objectives in mind. The trail split before reaching the falls and across the bridge to the trail along the West Fork of the river. From the vantage points on this trail, one can look down on the falls and the river pools as it winds along before the falls. From there after crossing under a bridge and also crossing the road we soon found the trails belonging to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Yellow mule trails, which then crosses the Yellowstone club properties. (It is interesting to observe that upon entering the Yellowstone club property, there is a big yellow sign warning riders to stay on the trail as there is a gun range in that area. Essentially the sign declares that a rider must stay on the trail or they could get shot?). From this trail is a connecting trail across Bucks ridge and the snowmobile trails which crisscross from Buck Creek and the highway 191. It is a beautiful panorama view from this ridge taking in the mountains around. Going back down First Yellow Mule trail, we saw an interesting stir of trees. In fact, it looked like quite a maelstrom of wind had passed through that area. Fortunately, it had not occurred on the trail. However, the crew did find numerous trees over the trail and clearing them took some time to accomplished. And as usual, Rich managed to do his indefatigable work on water bars. This was a long ride and after reaching the trail head, it was nice to head home after another great ride.

North Fork Hellroaring 9/3/14 log out and water control Larry Thomas, Rich Inman, Jim Albright, Brenda Kessler, Jim Boorman, Ron Rohletter. 9.5 hours 6 riding 1 pack stock 11.5 trail miles. Sept 3rd and North Fork Hellroaring creek was the destination. Nine o’clock found the crew climbing on their horses and scrambling up the trail. Work was found but it was noted that someone had been cutting away downfall previously as sawdust was noted. About 2 miles from Thompson Lake, the culprits doing the sawing appeared. Coming down the trail were the crew from the Flying D ranch. Yes! They had a crosscut and had cut out logs as they went in. In fact, one individual remarked they had cut at least 11 downed trees out. However, they expressed extra gratitude for our further efforts. They admired our pack mules (Mandy and Molly) and we admired their fully loaded three big black matched mules. They happily shared they had been in above the lakes hunting mountain goat. Went on to say they had got their goat and had three beautiful days with fantastic weather and special times shared. We finished up our work, turned around and soon caught the flying D riders near the trail head. We all made it to the trail head about the same time but as we drove off, the Flying D crew was still unpacking the big black mules.

Spanish Creek #401 9/5/14 cleaned drainage structures. Rich Inman 10 hours 1 riding 1 pack stock 5 trail miles

Garnet Mountain #85 9/6/14 cleared trail Rich Inman 7 hours 1 riding 1 pack stock 5 trail miles

Garnet Mountain #85 9/17/14 Jim Albright, Brenda Kessler, Ron Rohletter, Rich Inman 9 hours 4 riding 2 pack stock 5 trail miles. Garnet mountain trail was reported to need some maintenance. To get to this trail, you cross the river at Storm Castle, past the helicopter airstrip and up the road and turning at the church camp sign and there on the left is a road that leads toward the trailhead with spaces for horse trailers. We unloaded and packed up the mules, Molly and Mandy with shovels, pulaski’s, chain saws etc. Up the trail, again, clearing and sawing off logs across the trail which impeded travel. Since Jim had never been to Garnet Mountain, Brenda and Jim rode on up to see the old lookout station. What a beautiful spot. Of course, you can see for miles as it was once the fire lookout station. Now, it has been fixed up for overnight stays with a new stairs and has been recently painted. Upon looking inside, windows all around, it also looked very clean and had new features inside. On the way back to where Ron and Rich were working, several bicyclers were passed. They having passed Rich and Ron working expressed their appreciation for all the work the Back Country horsemen were doing on the trails. Jim remarked guiltily, that he really had not done much that day, a couple of saws and maybe 8 water bars. Going out the trail several other bikers were met and we made an effort to educate them about moving down below us on the trail (supposedly horses’ instincts tell them that predators come from above) and also to ask them talk to us as horses recognize upon hearing the hikers or bikers that there is no danger. Despite that, Molly “lil” mule, took an exception several times and a resolve was made to ride bikes around her in the pasture. Hopefully, next time she will be much more accepting.

Fox Creek FS Pack-In 10/1/14 Rich Inman, Ron Rohletter, Larry Thomas, Jim Albright, Brenda Kessler 10 unskilled 40 skilled hours 8 stock animals 6 trail miles. Oct. 1st was cold, almost bitterly and rain or snow appeared on the horizon. But the crew had been asked to pack out the equipment and junk from the Fox Creek cabin up the South Cottonwood trail. This time, 3 pack animals were in tow: Molly, Jim’s mule, Mandy, Rich’s Mule and Larry’s big black (Percheron) workhorse. Everyone had rain pants or chaps but alas, Brenda and Jim had left theirs sitting on the couch at home. While they were deliberating whether to go home to obtain them or just hang in there and brave the storms, Rich came forth with two sets of extra chaps. They proved to be most welcome as beautiful as the day was with Fall colors and mist rising off the creek, and hanging next to the mountains, it did snow and it was cold. Fortunately, it was not long before the Fox Creek cabin was reached and Rich started a nice fire in the pot belly stove. The broken spring bed was quickly cut to size to fit in and on the packs; shovels and the other miscellaneous supplies and junk were loaded. Lunch was ate in the cabin which was now warm from the fire. The crew started back and it did look like it was going to continue to snow so all donned slickers. Then the sun appeared, of course. However, that moment was short lived but regardless, the ride out was pleasant and fast. It did not take long to unload the packs and head for home