A Truncated Big Sky Weekend

I spent Saturday trying to find a good dispersed campsite near Spire Rock Campground, north of Big Sky in the Gallatin National Forest. After setting up my hammock, I spent the hot part of the day reading and hanging out.  Between the smoke and the unusual heat, I didn't feel like exercising.   In the evening, I drove to Big Sky and thought about doing a short hike. But when zi discovered a Classical Music Festival was in progress, I grabbed some supper, set up my chair and enjoyed the concert by Time for Three. This is a group of three guys playing a mashup of classical music with modern genres. They use two violins and a double bass, along with singing. Click on the link to hear their Tiny Desk Concert. 

In the evening I went into Big Sky and thought about doing a short hike. But I discovered s a classical music festival, so I ate supper and stayed for the concert by Time for Three.  They are a group of two violinists and a bass player who play mashups of classical music with various modern genres. Click on the link to he

Next morningafter daylight,  I had packed up my bedding and hammock and was driving out  to get to the Bee Basin Trail when I decided to stop and read a sign at a kiosk . I discovered I had a completely flat tire. I got my donut on the car and slowly started off toward Bozeman which was in the opposite direction from Big Sky. I drove until I got a phone signal, then checked for tire stores. None were open on Sunday. My next plan was to go back to Big Sky and do my planned hike, then give up Monday to get my tire fixed or replaced, and get my oil changed.

I planned to start my hike by 7:00 A. M., but it was after 10:00 before I got started and the smoke from fires all the way to California was rising hiding most of the surrounding peaks. 

Beehive Basin Trail has a 4.8 rating, so I expected great beauty. The beautiful long views are a major reason for that rating, but by the time I struggled a few miles up the trail to where those views were available, the smoke had left almost whiteout conditions. And by the time I finally arrived at the lake at the end of the trail, a storm was threatening and the light was gloomy.  But most of the trail was through a flower filled meadow that held early spring through early fall flowers that were being visited by huge numbers of several species of bees, along with many other species of wasps and flies. 

I took me over four hours to hike the three and a half miles with about 1500 feet of  elevation,  mostly going straight up. But it took only about one and a half hours to come back down  with a lot of help from gravity.  In my defense, I got engrossed in the bees several times.  I also had to take lots of pictures of a female moose that was feeding about sixty feet from the trail for an hour or more, ignoring dogs and people.

View of the Gallatin River from a bridge built by the CCC. 

I  was appalled to find lots of spotted knapweeds, one of the invasive weeds, I look for on the refuge,
where I parked my car to take the first picture

My campsite was up this road

Highway 191, which leads to Big Sky, near is along the Gallatin River.

This guy was right on the highway in Big Sky

I was amazed and disgusted  at the huge summer homes in the hills around Big Sky

Busy bee

Bees really loved this coneflower

Sometimes different species shared a bloom

The mountain has fallen - this was just before the climb got serious

The trail led to just before the mountains in the background and.....

....this moose was calmly grazing just to the left of the man in the picture above, down near a tiny stream

Another species of bee

Getting higher and rockier

A piece of the lake at the end of the trail

A lake view from the middle of it

I beautiful stand of buckwheat

The sun in smoke,  near the end of the day, after I had stopped for a light supper in Big Sky

I actually spent money on a campsite in a county campground so I would not have to travel on a rocky road with my little donut.  On Monday, I  eventually hunted down a new Hancook tire just like the ones on my car and also got my oil changed. After a quick pass through the grocery store, I started home, getting back in time to put up my groceries, take a little rest, then shower and dress for my last bee talk at the college next door.

I'm sure this trail is MUCH prettier in June.  I probably has even more wildflowers, while the air is clear and there are still patches of snow on the mountains.

I'll probably be off line for several days.  I'm going to be camping in Yellowstone National Park with a friend.  I'm going to get a site and set up camp on Thursday and then pick her up in Bozman on Saturday.  But I'll have a few experiences to share. Stay tuned.