O'Brien Creek on a bluebird winter day

A stop in some perfect snow

The O'Brien Creek bottom

A photo and lunch break in the sun

Neihart Baldy at the end of the trip

 When we skied the 747 loop Monday we noticed that someone had broken the O'Brien Creek Trail that runs from Kings Hill Pass to the town of Neihart, some seven miles away.

We knew the forecast was for continued sunny weather and that it would warm up.

It was a perfect combination to do O'Brien.

We weren't disappointed.

This is the premier Little Belts backcountry trail.  I've been doing it for some 45 years, not long after it was established in a new clearcut.  It has been interesting to watch the trees grow back.  There was a time when we could look over the top of the new growth.  Now those trees tower over us.

We're benefiting from La Nina and there's beautiful snow.

The snow in the O'Brien Creek bottom looked like giant, fluffy pillows of white.  It is so welcome considering how little we've had in recent years. 

While wind was moving in ahead of a cold front elsewhere, we had little to deal with on this run.  We could leisurely stop, bask in sun and enjoy snack and water breaks.

About the only negative was the trail damage done by snowmobiles in the last mile or so of the trip.  The machines dug deep divots in the trail's tight spots, some going down to the dirt, making skiing nearly impossible. 

The final section of the trail is shared between back country skiers and snowmobilers, so I was appalled by the rudeness of the snowmobilers who hogged and trashed the trail, even doing environmental damage to the stream bed.

There was no courtesy shown to other users.

The way the machines tear things up seems so senseless and damaging.

I'm just glad that we had the trail to ourselves for six miles before encountering this brainlessness. 

Senseless snowmobile trashing the trail

Snow machines dug right to the dirt on the creek bottom