Kootenai Creek Trail among best Montana has to offer
By BILL SPELTZ of the Missoulian
STEVENSVILLE - Excitement and fear came over me like a high-schooler skirting curfew at a freshman dance.
The temperature steadily dropped. Rocks in the road grew to the size of softballs - only with jagged edges capable of piercing a tire.
Or so I feared.
My 15-year-old son turned to me, his face showing genuine concern, and implored, “Dad, whatever you do, don’t swerve to miss the rocks.”
We were somewhere above Sweeney Creek on the east side of the Bitterroot Mountains. A sign back on Highway 93 pointed to the Sweeney Ridge trailhead, but the sign was sorely lacking in information.
KEN BARNEDT/Missoulian
This was no place for a father-son tandem from the farmlands of Iowa to get acquainted with northern Rocky Mountain hiking. Doubts filled our heads as we drove for what seemed like a half hour on a narrow one-lane path.
What if we encountered a driver headed down the mountain? What if we got a flat tire? What if we stalled and had to walk back in the cold?
After four miles on the edge of a mountain and the edge of our seats, we found a place to turn around. We decided we were lost, unaware the trailhead was still two miles up the slope.
My son and I have vowed to someday return to Sweeney Ridge, our tenderfoot experience comfortably in the rearview mirror. But as Bitterroot hiking greenhorns, we decided we needed to try a few of west-central Montana’s tamer trails first.
That day we learned the hard way the No. 1 rule for Bitterroot rookies: Talk to the locals first.
Road signs point you in the right direction. Books and brochures give helpful hints on area trails. But even if you do have enough patience to sort through them, it helps to talk to those who have been there first.
A lot has happened since that sunny afternoon on the Sweeney Ridge slope.
Farther down Highway 93 - roughly three miles past Florence - my daughter and I discovered the Bass Creek Trail. For a couple of first-timers, it’s like something out of a movie, complete with a fast-running stream on the left and bountiful scenery that lures the casual explorer deeper and deeper. You’ll walk for miles before even considering how much time it’s going to take to get back.
I filed our Bass Creek experience under my Top 10 list of reasons I’ll never leave Montana.
The peaks, slopes, wildlife and peaceful serenity make you feel as though you’ve made a major discovery. You feel compelled to hurry home and tell someone else about the trail, then to take them out the next day.
Someday, I’ll bring my fishing pole on the Bass Creek Trail and make the nine-mile hike to the crystal-clear lake I have read about. I may need to carry my daughter piggyback for the last three miles, but we’ll do it together.
A week after discovering the Bass Creek Trail, a local buddy let me in on the secret that is Kootenai Creek Trail. I loaded my black Lab in the back seat, pulled out my “Dances With Wolves” soundtrack cassette for mood music and headed down the Bitterroot Range once again on a crisp afternoon.
This was even better than the Bass Creek Trail. This was the most breathtaking trail I had ever encountered. I no longer needed mood music. It was provided in stereo by the birds and the clear, swift-moving stream.
Two-hundred yards down the trail, sitting there basking in the sun with coffee in hand, I encountered three artists. They were busy making plans for the day, but were only too happy to stop and discuss their strategy with a stranger from Iowa.
Just listening to their ideas and their appreciation of the outdoors, I began to understand why so many artists and novelists are inspired in western Montana. It made me ashamed to admit I have yet to start my book project.
Perhaps someday.
I had enough to worry about anyway, careful to stay on the path and not trip while admiring the impressive rock formations. Then there was my dog, Jake, who wandered too close to a ledge and needed to use his sharp claws at full extension to prevent a scary fall.
The farther I walked, the more alone I felt. A serene feeling came over me that’s without compare.
No matter how much time you spend at Kootenai Creek, you wish you could stay longer. Nothing else matters except the moment. Not your problems. Not your plans for next week. Nothing.
I’ve only been in western Montana a few months, but already I’ve grown to appreciate the efforts of those who push for the preservation of pristine places along the Bitterroot Mountains. My son’s son deserves to experience the same things I have without being disturbed by man’s unquenchable thirst for progress.
To think, I’ve ventured no more than 15 miles from my front door in Lolo and have already discovered boundless treasures. Like Lewis and Clark, I can only imagine what lies beyond in all directions.
One of the best things about the Bass Creek and Kootenai Creek trails is they can be enjoyed most of the year. Unless the snow becomes especially deep - which rarely seems to happen anymore with the effects of global warming - a hiker can savor an excursion almost as easily in January as July.
I recommend going on a weekday. It might require taking a day off, but it’s worth it for the solitude.
There is nothing quite like enjoying a scenic trail without the interruptions of the outside world.
For me, it is more than a new hobby. It is confirmation that the best things in life are still free.
Bill Speltz is a Missoulian sportswriter and columnist. He can be reached at (406) 523-5255 or by e-mail at bill.speltz@lee.net.
