4th of July Hike

After toying with the idea of going to the Ennis rodeo for the 4th, we decided to avoid the masses and go for a hike together in the Elkhorns. According to the map, we could drive to within a mile of Leslie Lake where we might find some of the cutthroat trout that are still native to the Elkhorns' streams and lakes. As I'm continually re-learning in Montana, the word "road" has many different interpretations on the maps. In this case, ATV track would be more accurate. We ended up stopping about 2 1/2 miles from the lake after a minor injury to the Subaru's bumper which Nate had to fix using his shoelace. Claire is "helping" in the photo below.

Not wanting to call it quits, we decide to see if Claire could last in the backpack the 3 miles or so that remained to the lake. She actually was quite content to ride in the backpack, and we made it to the lake just in time for a downpour to start. We weren't quite prepared gear-wise to hang out in the rain, so we ate a quick snack and started to hike back in the rain. Of course, the sun came out just as we arrived at the car. Still, we got out, saw some new country, got some exercise, and had a beautiful drive home on a back road that cuts from our house through the Elkhorns.