While we didn’t have the far-ranging adventures we expected in 2020, we had great fun on trips closer to home. We are very happy that we bought our new camper (named Ursula) when we did in late 2019, as we spent 30+ nights in it this year. Glacier National Park was only partially open this year and quite crowded, but the silver lining is that we explored lots of other great places in Montana that we otherwise might not have discovered. And while the campgrounds were busy, we saw very few people on all the hikes we did.

For our shake-out trip, we found a secluded primitive campsite next to a beautiful stream near Tally Lake. It was great to learn how everything worked and deal with the few minor issues that came up while totally off the grid, but knowing that we were less that 25 miles from home. Our next trip was to Pete Creek Campground in the Yaak, where we did a great hike to the Garver Mountain Lookout and saw lots of evidence (scat) of the wolf pack that inhabits the area. Our next adventure took us to Swan Lake Campground, where we kayaked the southern shore of the lake and did a fun hike up to Hall Lake.

For the Fourth of July weekend, we ventured over to the Cabinet Mountains, spending five nights at the Bad Medicine Campground on Bull Lake.  The first two days were gray, rainy and cold, so we were mostly indoors or under cover, except for a quick excursion to see the Ross Creek Cedars.  But then we were rewarded with three beautiful days and took full advantage by kayaking on the lake and hiking up the Middle Fork of the Bull River.  Later in July, we stayed at Big Therriault Lake Campground in the Ten Lakes region.  Sue spent her time stalking the wily cutthroat trout in Wolverine Lake and Little Therriault Lake, while Cato and I went hiking and climbed three peaks: Poorman, Green and Ksanka.  And in early August, we scored a campsite with a view of the lake at Red Meadow Lake Campground in the Whitefish Range.  While Sue frustrated herself trying to catch the small fish in Red Meadow Lake, Cato and I climbed Lake and Nasukoin Mountains. 

The final installment of Ursula’s most excellent adventures took us to the Rocky Mountain Front, where we discovered our favorite campground so far—Cave Mountain, to the west of Choteau.  We snagged a secluded spot (shown on our holiday card) with a view of the Teton River and settled in for a great week of hiking, biking, fishing, and loafing.  My first adventure was to climb Mount Wright with Cato in a howling wind, while Sue tried some fishing but quickly decided it was futile with the wind.  Sue’s sister Carol joined us for three nights and one day we all went on a nice hike to Our Lake.  Unfortunately, it was windy when we got to the lake, so we didn’t spend much time enjoying it.  The next day, Sue and Carol hiked the Route Pass Trail, while I pedaled up it instead and saw a bear on the way down.  I also hiked into Headquarters Creek Pass and climbed Rocky Mountain Peak, while Sue succeeded in catching a cutthroat trout.  We woke up to snow on our final morning (Labor Day), but fortunately we knew it was coming, so had mostly packed up the day before.  

While we mostly avoided Glacier this summer due to the crowds, Paula did manage to climb a few peaks in the park: Stanton (while trying to get up Vaught too, but turning back due to poor weather), Siyeh, Cannon, and Bearhat (false summit and true summit).  In Paula’s opinion, the true summit of Bearhat has one of the best 360-degree views in the park.  And in September, we got to spend two nights at the newly rebuilt Sperry Chalet with a few friends.  They did an amazing job on the reconstruction.  From the outside, you’d never know it had burned down and been rebuilt, and the changes inside have made the rooms more soundproof, which is a welcome improvement.