Upper Wolf Creek Canyon in southern Jewel Basin. (Keith Hammer photos)

Eleven Swan Rangers hiked and sawed their way to Elk Springs on Saturday, November 2, clearing lots of deadfall from last Sunday's storm!

They spent hours clearing the old Bear Creek road, then Echo - Broken Leg Trail #544 from Wolf Creek to Elk Springs - and there's still plenty to be done!

The good news is sawing deadfall keeps you warm when it is sleeting - and Saturday's effort brought the Rangers' total hours of volunteer trail maintenance to 427 hours!

Click here for a free Forest Service PDF map of Broken Leg Trail #544 While it does not detail the area and other trails near Elk Spring, the SW portion of the Jewel Basin Map does.

Click here for Flathead National Forest District maps (free as PDFs).

The Rangers were met right out of the chute by a thicket of downed trees on the old Bear Creek road!

The Echo - Broken Leg Trail had considerable blowdown as well!

Neither rain, nor  sleet, nor hail, nor waist-deep downfall can stop the Swan Rangers . . . 

. . . provided there are a few fine stretches of autumn trail to hike!

Elk Springs flows from the base of a big scree slope along the Echo - Broken Leg Trail.

The Swan Rangers meet every Saturday at the Echo Lake Cafe for breakfast at 8:30, leaving at 9:30 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.

General big game rifle season runs Oct 26 - Dec 1, so it's a good time to wear bright orange while hiking!

Everyone is welcome!