(Hiking) Rites of Spring: Kelsea, Sun Canyon bighorns, Falls Creek, and turning 75 in Portland

Mark Hertenstein at the upper Falls Creek falls

The Pasque flower was the most abundant alpine flower we saw on Falls Creek

This will have to do for my 75th birthday (April 28) photo

Some of the more than 25 bighorn rams we saw in the Wagner Basin

 My left-foot plantar fasciitis has begun to recede, allowing me to do short hikes as spectacular Spring weather has made mountain trails accessible.  Spring is here in all its glory after a long, brutal winter.

It was even nice in Portland where we traveled to visit my daughter and celebrate my 75th birthday.  No rain, and clear skies. 

The fasciitis has been a miserable affliction.  When in Portland it largely confined us to our hotel, although we got out for short visits to the Rhododendron garden, the arboretum and Washington Park to enjoy the amazing flower varieties Portland has to offer in the Spring.  We ate at our favorite Portland Mediterranean restaurant downtown and were shocked to see its main windows covered in plywood, the result of the civil unrest there.  The owner said he had even been stabbed.

Portland is a sad place with its trashed downtown, its homeless encampments and now news that its REI store in the Pearl District will be leaving because of unrest and lease problems.   We passed on attending evening concerts at downtown venues because it is not safe after dark.  I would have loved to have gone to Dvorak's Ruslka or heard the Mahler 4th Symphony, which were playing while we were there.

When we returned to Montana there was a flurry of activity to enjoy above average temperatures.  Everything is so green!  The trees have begun to leaf out.

Our first trip was to the Trout Creek Canyon in the Big Belt Mountains, to view the Kelsea bloom, that limestone loving miniature rose that hangs from steep cliffs.  It was a tad early, but we were able to see some blooming plants.

The Kelsea spill over the limestone like red syrup

A close up of the Kelsea blooms

The next day it was Wagner Basin in the Sun River Canyon on the Rocky Mountain Front, where I tested my foot on steeper grades.  We were rewarded with views of a band of bighorn rams grazing as we hiked nearby.  I counted 20 rams in one group, unfazed by our presence.

Then, I capped the week with a hike up Falls Creek in the Front outside Augusta.  We were treated with a vast Pasque flower bloom.  We also saw our first Douglasia bloom of the year, Kittentails, Buttercups, Shooting Stars, Biscuit root, and even a wild strawberry blooming among the alpine flowers.

There was plenty of snow up high on the Continental Divide, but along the creek everything was greening up.

After that tough winter, I thought I might celebrate my birthday as in most years --- in the snow, usually on backcountry skis.

It was good to be with my daughter on my 75th.  Despite my foot, I felt pretty good for that age.  The foot seems to be my big health issue.  In addition to the plantar fasciitis, I had that hammertoe, and a bunion that has pushed my big toe out of alignment.  I can't complain though.  I feel very healthy for this age, otherwise.

In Portland Rhody garden