As an answer to two Grizzly bear cubs being euthanized last fall, Polebridge is hosting a Bear Fair next Saturday, August 24th, from noon-3pm behind the Northern Lights Saloon. If persuasion of proximity to a delicious watering hole (and bakery) isn’t enough, there will be opportunities to practice your shot with inert bear spray cans, meet Karelian Bear Dogs, sample products for living with bears, enjoy presentations by a few local bear experts and games and prizes for the entire family! Join us in Polebridge, Saturday, August 24th from noon-3pm.
Monthly Archives: August 2019
Trail condition reports for August 13 posted
Inuya Creek Trail No. 79, Flathead NF, July 23, 2018 – W. K. Walker
The August 13, 2019 Forest Service Trail Condition Reports for the Glacier View and Hungry Horse Ranger Districts have been posted to the website Trail Conditions page.
The lack of major wind events and below average snowfall last winter left trails in remarkably decent condition this year. So, trail crews are making really good progress.
These reports contain a fair amount of useful information. Besides trail conditions, they include trail numbers, their official names and end-to-end mileages. The reports may also list information on trail and area closures, especially during fire season.
Please note that the fire danger is now “Very High”!
Cutting the switchbacks: Bitterroot Forest trail crew’s work undermined by errant hikers
Coal Ridge, July 21, 2018 – W. K. Walker
Hikers and bikers cutting switchbacks is a problem just about anywhere trails climb steep terrain. Here’s a timely reminder, originally posted to the Ravalli Republic, of why it is a bad idea . . .
A hiker’s decision to save a few steps by cutting between switchbacks may be endangering the future of some of the Bitterroot National Forest’s most scenic trails.
Last summer, the Bitterroot Forest’s five-person trail crew spent a day and a half building a rock wall and hauling in forest debris to cover the user-created trails between switchbacks on the popular Blodgett Overlook Trail west of Hamilton.
Nearly all of that work has been undone by new trails created this summer by hikers who opt to head straight down the mountain rather than staying on the trail designed to keep erosion in check with a walkway that’s safe for public travel.