Cyclone Lookout (Trail 40) Accessible

Cyclone Lookout, June 1, 2022 – W. K. Walker

Delayed by the slow melt-out due to record cool temperatures in May, we decided to see if we could get to Cyclone Lookout on June 1. We actually got all the way to the top! The first mile is now cut out, including five or six trees blocking the road that forms the first half-mile of Trail 40 on its way to the summit. ~~There are another 13 chainsaw-worthy blow-downs across the trail further up that we’ll go back for soon, although we did at least turn them into step-overs for now~~. UPDATE on June 8: All blow-downs have been cut out. The trail is completely clear.

As we were getting ready to leave the lookout, a Customs and Border Patrol helicopter circled in and dropped off a couple of folks to perform maintenance on their repeater up there.

Perils of trail maintenance

Too busy to get my own, but here is someone else’s photo of a striped skunk…

We worked in a little trail maintenance on April 20th. Me and a friend and his dog finished clearing abut a mile of trail along the foot of Glacier View Mountain, but not without difficulty. We were nearly finished when the dog came running back to us with an angry, territorial skunk on his heels. After several extremely malodorous minutes, involving a number of bluff charges and other displays of aggression, the skunk backed off and let us continue down the trail. The dog avoided a direct hit, but did get a little stinky. I have named the skunk “Putin,” which seemed poetically appropriate.

Trail maintenance season starts with some Glacier View Mountain work

Randy and Numa doing early season cleanup on Tr 381A, March 27, 2022 – W. K. Walker

The first trail maintenance of the year started on March 27 with some work on Glacier View Mountain Spur #381A. It’s not ready for prime time yet but, when renovations are complete, it will be a short spur trail connecting the main Glacier View Mountain Trail to an alternate trailhead on the North Fork Road, as well as to Trail #383 along the North Fork Flathead River.

We removed a bunch of slash from the trail and cut back some encroaching snowbrush. Speaking of snowbrush, it is a favorite hiding place for ticks in that area. No ticks were in evidence this time, but that will change pretty soon.