Flesher Pass quick day trip

On the North horizon Red Mountain in the Scapegoat Wilderness dominates

My wife and I took a quick trip to Flesher Pass last Saturday to stretch the legs, check the snow and enjoy a crystal clear bluebird day.
I love the Continental Divide Trail any time of year, but especially in the winter's quiet when the forest is blanketed with snow.
We found the snow a tad crusty and windblown in spots, a result of last week's violent windstorms.
In the trees there was consistent powder.
Ours was an in and out venture covering just under 5 miles.

Katie on the Flesher-Stemple trail

The parking lot, usually abandoned, was full of cars because there was a guided snowshoe hike led by Helena's Samsara Chapman, who during the summer is the fire ranger at the Patrol Mountain Lookout in the Scapegoat Wilderness Area west of Augusta.  It was great to see her.
We lumbered along on snowshoes because my shoulder was feeling a bit touch after last Thursday's telemark ski session on Deadman Creek in the Little Belts.
On our CDT walk, we veered off onto the divide itself to get great looks at Red Mountain, at over 9,400 feet the tallest in the Bob Marshall wilderness complex.
I was also out testing some new digital toys ---- a Garmin e-Trex GPS, and a Magellan Switchup watch --- both which are GPS.