Back on River's Edge North Trail

Shelf rock along the trail

Like a frog overlooking the river

The new power poles

It has been a couple of years since the River's Edge North Trail was closed to accommodate work related to the Rainbow Dam powerplant upgrade.
It opened several weeks ago and Sunday I finally got out to reacquaint myself with this lovely stretch of the Big 'Mo.
Between the Ryan Dam and Morony Dam trailheads it is 3.6 miles.  I started at Morony and walked to Ryan on the low trail and back to Morony on the high trail.
The groundcover is starting to turn the yellows and reds that announce that fall is here.  The v-ed up geese overhead emphasize that.
I noticed that new, much larger power poles have gone up.  Some earth has been moved to accommodate the machinery to put that into place.
The trail has been moved in spots, softening some of elevation gains and losses that will make this more palatable for fearful mountain-bikers, like myself.
A "For Sale" sign on 360 acres above the trail to the north has gone up, a harbinger of impending development on the trail's fringe.
I had never walked the lower-upper North Trail loop before and enjoyed the circuit immensely, particularly the waving amber grasses of the upper trail that reveals gorgeous views of the Highwood and Little Belt mountain ranges.
A harsh, consistent wind blew throughout my hike, bringing in cooler, wetter weather that replaces six weeks of  dry, hot summer.
The North Trail, that threads its way through gullies and dry waterfalls and hugs the river, is a gorgeous Great Falls outdoors asset.