Putting up the skis, Priest Butte, Mount Sentinel and Wagner Basin loop

Two curious bighorn rams didn't seem fazed by us in Wagner Basin

Gordon Whirry on Wagner Basin ridge line

The incomparable Castle Reef scenery

Bighorn ewes pose for us

My official 73rd birthday photo on Priest Butte

Exploring Priest Butte gullies

 It was a busy Spring week with my last ski of the season in the Little Belts to a Priest Butte hike above Freezout Lake on my 73rd birthday, followed by a drive to Missoula for my annual climb of Mount Sentinel, to a spectacular Wagner Basin loop hike in the Sun River Canyon where we saw some 30 bighorn sheep and alpine wildflower displays.

There was new snow in the Little Belts up high on April 26, but it was wet and heavy, making tele turns tough.  I called it quits after climbing up the Golden Goose run.

My last ski of the season on heavy, wet snow on Showdown

It was the second time I've done Priest Butte this Spring, this time led by my wife, Katie, for Wayne's Wednesday Walks.  Our small group of five enjoyed the 360 degree views under sunny skies and a breeze. It was Wayne Phillips' first time up this landmark and he loved the hoodoos, the fossilized dinosaur tracks, the rocks left by the Indigenous people pointing toward the distant Sweetgrass Hills to the north and east, and the snowcapped mountains of the Rocky Mountain Front.   

After this short hike, Katie took three of the group for a scramble up McCarty Hill near the old Scoutana Girl Scout camp, and I had to return for a doctor's visit.  I've been struggling with tired and heavy legs that the doctor diagnosed as vein disease and then fitted me with high compression socks as a stop-gap.

This is a worrisome development.  I have no problem when I stay act and walk, hike, ski or climb, but the legs ache and my ankles feel like there are weights tied to them when I'm not active.

We drove to Missoula on April 29 where I tried out those new compression socks and climbed Mount Sentinel, something I do every year.  We had a beautiful spring day, saw a few alpine flowers and the traffic on the mountain was light.

The highlight of the week had to be the 4.5 miles, 1,450 elevation gain Wagner Basin loop in the Sun River Canyon.  The weather was perfect, with blue skies, temperatures in the 50s and a breeze.

This canyon offers some of the best scenery in the Rocky Mountain Front outside Augusta, where the translucent, emerald Sun River comes of the mountains onto the Great Plains between two of the iconic Front peaks ---- Sawtooth and Castle Reef.

A series of parallel gulches come into the Sun at 90 degree angles.  The Sun is blocked by the Gibson Dam, that creates a giant reservoir.  The Bob Marshall Wilderness lies beyond.

It is an area rich in wildlife.  We were privileged to see some 30 bighorn sheep or so on our hike --- 14 rams, some in full curl in one group, and two separate groups of ewes and youngsters.  They seemed very tolerant of our presence and we were able to spend considerable time shooting photos.

The alpine flowers made quite a show, particularly the purple Douglasia and Yellowstone draba.  There were shooting stars, and Pasque flowers. 

Warning:  the ticks are out.  I picked up four.