Good day to carry a rain coat? (Keith Hammer photos)
Eight Swan Rangers hiked a loop in Johnson Creek on a still-unsettled-weather Saturday, August 17, 2019!
Their hike was cut short not by the weather but by subdivision of private lands once open to public recreation!
New residential mailboxes at the old private logging road gate was the first clue something is up!
A couple miles in, this sign confirmed not all the private lands once open to the public are still open!
But the Rangers still had a nice, shorter hike at the base of the Swan Mountains, seen here sandwiched between cloud layers!
And they did get to see a few trees dancing burlesque in their fishnet stockings! Or was this just a Moulin Ruse perpetrated by young trees still trying to outgrow the protection from deer browsing given them as human-planted seedlings?
A small stream flanked by red osier dogwood, cottonwood and other plants and trees that like the extra water!
Further signs of fall included ripe mountain ash berries . . .
. . . and mountain maple leaves changing colors!
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!