The heat wave ends at last!

Cousin Mary McCartney on Piegan Pass trail

Posing with cousins Martin Suarez and Mary McCartney at Grinnell Lake

Mary McCartney just beyond Ptarmigan Tunnell on Lake Elizabeth Trail

Mary McCartney with Ptarmigan Tunnel behind her

The change-of-season storm finally arrived this week, dropping the temperature, clearing the air, and for the time-being holding the fires in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Rocky Mountain Front at bay.
The record-setting hot weather, which birthed the fires and scorched northcentral Montana abated, making outdoor recreation once-again enjoyable and certainly healthier.
I took yet another run to Glacier Park, where the fires haven’t been, and took a couple of classic park hikes with my cousins from Minnesota.
We walked the Siyeh Bend to Many Glacier trail via Piegan Pass on Tuesday, and did Ptarmigan Tunnel on Wednesday.
I welcomed the downpour of rain we got Tuesday, which set us up for the kind of clear air and bright skies I expect in Montana.