Fall colors, ducks, Swan River, Swan Range, Swan Rain! (Keith Hammer photos)
Eight Swan Rangers sauntered down the Swan River Nature Trail on what started as a rainy Saturday, September 30, 2017!
It was a wonderful exploration of fall colors!
It started out pretty rainy but cleared up pretty well!
Swan Ranger Nature Trail sign and selfie!
Birch branches.
A stump that's become an island of life!
Duck on colored water.
Rock work from when this was the original road into Bigfork!
Care to sublet this nest for the winter?
A chipmunk practices blending in!
Hiking - "I don't like either the word or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not hike! Do you know the origin of that word 'saunter?' It's a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, 'A la sainte terre,' 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not 'hike' through them."
- John Muir (photo and text via Historical Snapshots)
The Swan Rangers meet every Saturday at the Echo Lake Cafe for breakfast at 7:30, leaving at 8:30 for a partial day outing in the northern Swan Mountains and foothills.
They carpool from the Swan River School parking lot next to the Cafe.
When hiking in bear country, remember to carry bear spray and avoid the 3-D's: dawn, dusk, and darkness.
Everyone is welcome!