Weren’t we there with Lanis way back on my first ever Dingo Vacation in 2012?
That’s right, we were! Won’t take long to have another look. The loop trail is only about a mile, if memory serves, and almost perfectly flat.
Why not, then? Let’s do it, SPHP!
Turning W off Hwy 56 at a signed junction, a paved road wound 4 miles through an increasingly impressive forest. Only 7:39 AM. Not a soul was around when Lupe leapt out of the RAV4 at an end of road parking lot.
Arriving at the Ross Creek Scenic Area Giant Cedars parking lot. One of two.
Awesome! We’ve got the whole place to ourselves, SPHP!
Perfect! Let’s have a look around while we can enjoy the tranquility of the ancient cedars, Looper.
Ross Creek Nature Trail No. 405 left the parking lot as a short boardwalk that immediately led to wide dirt path. Already in a cedar forest, Lupe checked for squirrels, but didn’t see any right away. The trees were big, and very tall, but still seemed to be about normal size. The path went by some rocks along the lower bound of the broad Ross Creek valley.
Setting out along Ross Creek Nature Trail No. 405.
Various placards were posted along the trail, some showing their age. SPHP glanced at a few, but mostly just followed Lupe through the forest. The trail soon veered away from the edge of the valley, crossing a couple of boardwalk bridges over small creeks, as it led deeper into the forest.
The creeks were bone dry.
On the boardwalk bridges.
Severe drought every summer out W, SPHP! Can’t be good for the giant cedars, can it?
I wouldn’t think so, Looper, but who knows? Maybe their root systems go super deep, and the giant cedars are actually better adapted to drought than one might think?
They seem like rain forest trees to me, SPHP. Don’t huge trees need huge quantities of water? After all, they’re growing by what’s supposed to be a stream! That’s no accident, is it?
You’re probably right, Loop. I just don’t know. I suppose I ought to read more of these placards. Maybe they say something about that, but while we’ve got the giant cedars to ourselves, seems more fun to simply enjoy wandering among them. Maybe there’s more water underground here than we realize?
Continuing on, the American Dingo came to the first of the giant cedars. Sadly, it was dead. Just an enormous rotting stump.
By the enormous rotting stump.
The giant cedars weren’t all dead, though. Lupe soon started coming to live ones. The base of their trunks looked like tentacles burrowing into the earth.
The tentacled trunk of a live giant cedar.Gotta be a giant squirrel somewhere up there!
Reaching a grove of giants, Trail No. 405 divided. This was the start of the loop part. The Carolina Dog went R, going counter-clockwise around the loop. Although most of the cedars were relatively young, there were many giants among them. The trail went past some that had died and fallen. Loopster scrambled up on a couple of them.
On a fallen giant.Thank heavens we don’t face deadfall like this back at home in the Black Hills!
How old do you suppose these giant cedars are, SPHP?
Oh, not entirely sure, Loop, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if some of them weren’t at least 500 years old. The oldest ones might be close to 1,000! Saplings back in the Dark Ages, if you can imagine that!
Wow! Incredible! Just think how wild it would have been here back then, SPHP! The days of saber-toothed Dingoes!
Saber-toothed Dingoes? Sounds kind of far-fetched, Loopster.
Not at all, SPHP! We Dingoes ruled the earth, you know! Still do!
That, I can believe. Feel sort of ruled by one myself much of the time.
Hey, look, SPHP! There’s a Siamese cedar!
Oh, c’mon. A feline cedar?
It was true!
By the Siamese giant cedar.
Oh, OK! Joined at the trunk. I suppose they are Siamese giant cedars. Must not have started out that way, though.
They’ve been this way for a long time, SPHP.
Nothing makes a forest feel as ancient as giant trees and ferns! Plenty of ferns added to the giant cedars’ prehistoric ambiance. Maybe keeping an eye out for saber-toothed Dingoes wasn’t such a bad idea?
Ferns – lots of ’em, for that primeval, prehistoric look.
At the far end of the Nature Trail No. 405 loop, Ross Creek Trail No. 142 took off continuing up the valley. No telling how far it went, or where, or how much farther the giant cedars themselves extended.
Want to explore it, SPHP?
So many trails, and so little time, Looper! Yeah, I would love to, but we’ve got a mountain to climb yet today, so I guess we’ll have to pass. Can’t do everything.
Aww! We haven’t seen even a single giant squirrel yet!
That may be for the best, Loop. Might still be a saber-toothed squirrel or two lurking around here somewhere. We’d be in for it then!
Near the end of the loop, Lupe came to a dry riverbed. Ross Creek, or perhaps just a former channel? The riverbed was full of cairns.
At the Ross Creek cairns.
Oh, I remember this! We saw these cairns 9 years ago when we were here with Lanis, remember, SPHP?
Yeah, that’s right! We did! Always assumed they would get washed away in the spring, though. Surprised to see them again. Maybe rebuilding them is some sort of a tradition for the locals?
No one to ask about that. The forest was still quiet. Moving on, Lupe completed the loop, and headed back. Less an hour had gone by when she reached the RAV4 again. Still no one else around.
Returning to the start.Back at the parking lot, contending with the summer morning throng.
A stream near the parking lot had the only water the Carolina Dog had seen at the giant cedars. Naturally, Loop had to sample some for herself.
Don’t get carried away, Looper! Leave some for the giant cedars!
The Ross Creek Giant Cedars had been a fun way to start the day, but Lupe still had big plans for this afternoon. Returning to Hwy 56, SPHP drove N to Hwy 2, then E to Libby. Taking Hwy 37 N out of Libby toward Rexford, another highlight worth a stop was soon reached, the Libby Dam on the Kootenai River that forms Lake Koocanusa.
Arriving at the Libby Dam.The dam itself.A downstream view.
After a look at the dam, Loopster checked out Lake Koocanusa. Near the dam, the lake was less than a mile wide, but to the N it stretched away until completely lost from sight.
Lake Koocanusa.
How far does Lake Koocanusa go, SPHP?
90 miles, Looper! All the way into Canada, like the name implies.
Canada! Are we that close to Canada, SPHP?
Yup.
Oh, I wish we could go up into Canada and Alaska!
Me, too, Looper! Actually, the Canadian border opens today for tourism. If they’d opened it a little earlier in the season, we might already be way up into Canada. Too bad they didn’t open a month earlier, or at the very least announce it before the last minute.
You mean we could go to Canada today, SPHP? Why don’t we?
Technically, yes, but we’re not ready for it, because they gave no clue that they were going to open the border until very recently. There are rules we haven’t complied with yet. Besides, they change everything so often, I don’t trust them not to change the rules again without warning. No sense in getting ourselves stranded up there with no way to get back.
Be that as it may, that’s the way the cookie crumbles these days, Loop. We aren’t going to get to go into Canada on this Dingo Vacation, but you’ll at least get to see it.
I will? When?
Today! Somewhere up ahead there’s a bridge to adventure over this lake, and we’re gonna take it!
It might have been 30 miles, but before the RAV4 reached Rexford, a bridge over Lake Koocanusa did appear ahead. SPHP parked twice at different spots, so the American Dingo could have a look.
Approaching the bridge to adventure!
Where does the bridge go, SPHP?
Over to far NW Montana, Looper. On your next adventure we’ll be setting out so close to the Canadian border we could walk across!
Will we do that?
Uh, no. You’d just want to go clear to the Yukon, and it’s a heck of a trek.
Well, wherever we’re going, SPHP, let’s get started!
Piling back into the RAV4 again, SPHP turned the key. Moments later, Lupe was cruising in comfort across the bridge to adventure on her way to the next big thing.
Lake Koocanusa and the bridge to adventure, Montana 8-9-21
Days 1-3 of Lupe’s 3rd Summer of 2021 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast!
8-6-21, 7:51 PM, 52ºF – Like being in the movie Groundhog Day! 4 weeks after her Dingo Vacation to Wyoming suffered it’s final coup-de-grace at this very spot, Loopster stood again up on the dolomite at High Park Lookout(9,477 ft.). Cloudier this evening than it had been back then, but otherwise virtually no change. Still sort of smoky up along the spine of the Bighorns. Not too bad, but as before, much worse to the SW.
Back at High Park Lookout in the Bighorns at the start of a brand new Dingo Vacation! Photo looks N.
What do you think, SPHP?
Iffy, Loop, real iffy. We’ll take another look in the morning.
8-7-21, 6:28 AM, 48ºF – Groundhog Day would have been better. Didn’t Lupe take long to get back up to High Park Lookout, but the effort served more as a morning romp than an attempt to glean any new information. A red sun already seen rising through the smoky haze from the trailhead had told the tale.
The sun was yellow now, but that made no difference. Details visible yesterday evening were no longer detectable. Definitely worse!
Back at High Park Lookout early on 8-7-21. Photo looks NE.
Our goose is cooked, SPHP!
Seems that way, Loop. Guess we can cross the Bighorns off our list. Not hanging around for this!
Where are we going then, SPHP?
Good question. Although back home the Black Hills weren’t on fire, it had been somewhat smoky there, too, for weeks. Big forest fires were raging all over the American West. The hoped for monsoon to put an end to it all hadn’t materialized. Far from it! 2021 was a summer of smoke and fire, with scarcely a drop of rain anywhere out W.
W and N, Loopster! As far as we can, until the sky turns blue!
Canada! Alaska! Oh, joy!
No, not that far N, Loop. Canada’s still closed. Covid-19. Supposed to open up pretty soon, but there are a lot of rules with draconian penalties, and they keep changing with little or no warning. Would love to, but Canada is out, and that means Alaska is out, too.
They’ve raised prices, cut service, and they’ve got plenty of new rules, too. What happens if we get to Alaska and they shut the whole thing down? We’re really stuck then. Not going to chance it.
Where are we going to find blue skies then, SPHP?
I don’t know. Might have to go all the way to the West Coast! Anyway, c’mon. Puppy, ho! We’re done here!
Well, at least Lupe enjoyed some excitement in the Bighorns. Back at the trailhead, a herd of brown cows had moved in. The American Dingo was thrilled to see them! The cows were far less certain about the encounter.
Cows! Beautiful cows! Hesse Mountain(10,385 ft.) (Center). Photo looks E.
Lupe spent the day looking out the window of the RAV4. Mile after mile rolled by. Smoke everywhere, but it wasn’t terrible. Most places, if one looked straight up, the sky was blue. Toward all horizons, though, the sky was a hazy white. Air quality was poor, always bad enough to mar the views.
Maybe Lupe really was going to have to go all the way to the West Coast to find any true blue skies? Seemed that way. Loop hadn’t been to the West Coast since her very first Dingo Vacation back in August, 2012, when she’d been with Lanis in his Honda Element. She’d had a blast!
As the RAV4 sped onward, peak after peak got crossed off Lupe’s list of possibilities. After passing Anaconda, a glimmer of hope appeared. W of Deer Lodge, Mount Powell soared against a clear, blue sky! Might be just a pocket of good air, though. Smoke was still visible ahead to the N.
Perhaps not! Well before the RAV4 reached Missoula, puffy white clouds were plying a sky that was a beautiful blue in all directions.
Hey, hey, Loopster! Look at this! Nirvana! Maybe we’ve arrived?
Fabulous, SPHP! What’s the next peak on my list?
Illinois Peak(7,690 ft.)! Right on the Montana/Idaho border. Looks like we’ll have to leave I-90 at Superior. That’s well past Missoula.
Oh, we’ve never climbed a mountain in Idaho before, have we, SPHP?
Nope. You’ve been to Idaho, but we haven’t climbed any mountains there yet. Illinois Peak will be the first, although we’ll be in Montana the whole way to it.
8-7-21, 6:30 PM, Superior – After leaving I-90, 2 L turns got the RAV4 to an underpass. Beyond it, whatever street this was came to a “T”. A L here onto Hwy 257, and Lupe was heading SE. 1.5 miles from the “T”, SPHP pulled over to let the American Dingo out. A big sign with an arrow pointing R said Cedar Creek Road 320.
Superior, Montana. At the turn onto Cedar Creek Road No. 320. Photo looks SE.
No. 320! That’s what we want, Looper!
No. 320 headed SW up the Cedar Creek valley. The first 1.5 miles were paved, but it was a good smooth road even after that. At about 6 miles there was a fork. Staying to the L, another fork was reached roughly 14 miles from the start. Here SPHP turned L onto No. 388, which crossed a bridge over Cedar Creek.
Roughly 14 miles from the start of No. 320 at the L turn onto No. 388. Photo looks SW.
No. 388 was a much narrower road, but still decent. 4 miles on it, the last part of which was quite a steep climb after passing a mine on the L, got Lupe to Freezeout Pass.
8-7-21, 7:37 PM, 67ºF – Roads left Freezeout Pass in 4 directions. SPHP stashed the RAV4 at the first one on the R, which was an abandoned spur. Way too late to start for Illinois Peak, but Lupe explored the spur for 0.4 mile, which was quite level as it wound W along the N side of HP6466. For the most part, forest hid the views. A glimpse to the NW wasn’t encouraging.
Uh-oh, SPHP! Look at how smoky it is out there!
Yeah. No telling what tomorrow is going to bring, Looper. Too late now to do anything other than hope we aren’t smoked out in the morning.
Confidence wasn’t all that high that wouldn’t be the case.
8-8-21, Dawn – A strange sound as SPHP came to. Hadn’t heard that in eons! Could it be? Flipping on a light, it was! Rain! Not heavy, but steady. Well, back to sleep. Lupe wasn’t going anywhere for a while. The Blue Cookie Monster rain poncho had finally met its match back in June at Bruce Mountain in the Bighorns. No rain gear along on this Dingo Vacation at all. SPHP hadn’t seen any need to replace it, since rain was extinct.
8-8-21, 10:59 AM, 51ºF, Freezeout Pass – Not entirely! Rained most of the morning. Puddles and everything, just like the real deal! The Carolina Dog had been bored, but she’d survived. The more widespread this rain was, the better! Maybe it had put a few fires out? Wouldn’t that be nice?
Definitely cleared any smoke away here! The rain seemed to be about over, although a lingering problem with clouds and fog remained.
Never happy, are we, Loop?
Oh, yes we are, SPHP! Practically all the time, as long as we get our daily minor miracle! Are you ready to go yet?
Yup! Onward! Puppy, ho!
Looper left Freezeout Pass heading SW over a mound of dirt, then on up a broad dirt path. The rain had stopped so recently that the forest was still dripping. Surprisingly, the path was still firm underpaw, not muddy at all. Soon the path was covered with a carpet of short pine needles.
About to leave Freezeout Pass. Photo looks SW.
Roughly 0.25 mile and 250 feet up to HP6466 went quickly. Got a little steep shortly before the trail leveled out up top. Evidently this path had been some sort of a road at one time. Sort of nice, since it was wide enough to easily avoid contact with all the wet vegetation.
No views at all. Seemed a bit foggy, so there wouldn’t have been any even if there hadn’t been any trees. Lupe trotted happily along the damp lane through the rich green forest like Toto on the way to the Emerald City.
On the way to HP6466. Photo looks SW.
HP6466 was quite flat on top. No obvious high point. Eventually the path began to slope down. Heading SSW at first, it soon curved W. So far, there hadn’t been any obstacles, but Lupe now began coming to some deadfall. Not all that much of it, but what there was, was big!
Encountering some deadfall beyond HP6466. Fortunately, there wasn’t much of it! Photo looks W.
The wide path bottomed out at a saddle along the broad ridge Lupe was following. At this point, the former road ended, with only a single track trail continuing on from here. Staying along the S side of the ridge, the single track immediately started gaining elevation. Loop and SPHP were both soon soaking wet due to the vegetation pressing in from both sides.
Although the trail climbed much more rapidly than wide path had lost elevation on the way down from HP6466, it wasn’t climbing rapidly enough to stay up on the ridgeline. Big rock formations could sometimes be seen 40 to 80 feet above the steep slope the trail was traversing.
On the single track on the S side of the ridge. Photo looks W.
Despite the rock formations above and steepness of the slope, the trail really wasn’t very rocky at all. Lupe came to only one minor knob of rock. There was a clearing here, with views of the North Fork of Trout Creek valley to the S. Clouds hid the mountaintops. Unsurprisingly, looking ahead, Illinois Peak was shrouded in fog, too.
By the only little knob of rock along the trail. HP6466 (L). North Fork of Trout Creek valley (R). Photo looks ESE.Fog (L) where Illinois Peak ought to be. Photo looks WNW.
The trail kept climbing at a good clip, and finally reached the ridgeline again. Apparently, Lupe was already past the big knobs. According to the topo map, the trail should have gone right over HP6760 along in here, but in reality, remained 20 feet lower, bypassing it to the S.
It’s so close, we really ought to visit HP6760, SPHP!
Alrighty, let’s do it!
Took only a few minutes backtracking to the E up on the ridgeline to get there. Trees hid the views to the S, but Lupe did get a cloudy view of a series of forested ridges to the N.
At HP6760. Photo looks NNW.
W of HP6760, the trail gradually dipped again. Progress was rapid. Soon, however, the American Dingo was climbing fairly aggressively again. Once again, the trail stayed S of the ridgeline. Fog was always just ahead, but Loop never quite seemed to reach it. The cloud cover was rising just as fast.
With a little luck, maybe we’ll actually get to see something from Illinois Peak, SPHP!
Wouldn’t that be nice? Hope you’re right Looper!
Loop was at least as high as HP6760 again, when suddenly there were ripe blueberries right along the trail. The Carolina Dog had passed a few earlier on, too, but these blueberries were bigger, sweeter, and more scrumpdiddlyicous. Wasn’t long before progress came to a screeching halt, as SPHP became willingly ensnared in the blueberry trap.
While SPHP was thus engaged, the American Dingo raced away down the slope. She charged back up a few minutes later, panting hard.
Saved you, SPHP!
Oh, really? Thank you very much, Looper! Saved me from what?
A flock of bears! They wanted to take over this same blueberry patch. Said it was theirs to begin with.
Dingo feathers! No such thing as a flock of bears! At least, there better not be!
Are you done with the blueberries yet, SPHP? Even I can only hold a flock of bears off for so long, you know.
Umm, pretty soon, Loopster. No real rush is there? Need to give Illinois Peak a little longer to emerge from the clouds, anyway, don’t we? Why don’t you try a few blueberries yourself? You’ll love ’em! Very healthy, too! All organic, and super fresh.
Carolina Dogs don’t eat blueberries, SPHP.
Why not? Some dogs do! Remember that incredible video Dave Metz made about traversing the Brooks Range in Alaska? What an adventure! His dogs ate blueberries to stay alive.
Jimmy got sick and died, SPHP. Probably blueberry poisoning!
Blueberry poisoning! Jimmy got cancer, not blueberry poisoning! Dave Metz said so.
You can live dangerously, if you want to, SPHP, but I’m not taking any chances. Hurry it up with the blueberries, though. We’ve got a mountain to climb, you know!
W of HP6760, starting up again. Photo looks WSW.Part of the blueberry trap.Guarding against any incoming flocks of bears while SPHP gorges. HP6760 (Center). North Fork of Trout Creek valley (R). Photo looks E.
SPHP finally got going again. The clouds were lifting, but even with the blueberry delay, fog was still ahead. The trail climbed steadily, steepest pace so far, but it still wasn’t all that bad. More and more open terrain appeared as the forest thinned out.
Beyond the blueberries, still climbing toward the fog. Photo looks W.
Lupe never did reach the fog, which kept retreating up the mountain. The rate of ascent began to diminish. After going over a little lip, a broad grassy region rose gradually toward the NW, where a cairn was visible not too far away.
Getting close to the top! Photo looks SW.Approaching the cairn (L of Center). Photo looks NW.
When Lupe got there, she found two concrete steps to nowhere a few feet SE of the cairn. The obvious true summit of Illinois Peak(7,690 ft.), a 3 foot high rock outcropping, was 10 feet N of it. Two American flags protruded from the cairn, and 2 gnomes holding watering cans huddled together at its base, facing W.
The cairn was hollow, and a white plastic bottle with an orange cap could be seen inside. Conditions were blustery here, with gray clouds scudding along only a little overhead, driven by a chilly SW breeze. A brief moment of triumph was endured by the Carolina Dog atop the true summit, after which SPHP retrieved the white bottle from the cairn, plus an intact Nature Valley granola bar from off the top concrete step, before retreating to the E side of the little summit ridge.
Sitting down a bit below the summit’s crest, at least somewhat protected from the wind, Lupe clearly approved this maneuver. The granola bar, however, once opened proved to be a little stale. Evidently not up to high-falutin’ Dingo standards. Using her nose, Lupe started to bury her share of the prize. SPHP wasn’t so picky.
Arriving at the summit cairn in somewhat blustery conditions. Photo looks E.Success! At the true summit of Illinois Peak. Photo looks SSE.The registry bottle.
Open the bottle, SPHP, so you can sign the registry for me, and we can see what else might be inside.
In addition to the registry, there were quite a few other items – a plastic snake, fake gold and silver coins, a 9-11 fraudulent event note left by someone who wasn’t overly impressed with former President Bush, and business cards left by Tom & Gail Randall, who had started this registry less than a year ago on 8-28-20 in memory of their friend Randy Oliver.
The registry was an orange spiral notebook that barely fit into the white bottle. Lupe’s was only the 3rd entry after Tom & Gail’s.
Conditions gradually improved. After a nice 40 minute long break spent sheltering by the little summit ridge, moments of sunshine and blue sky were becoming more frequent. Time to get up and have a look around! Still plenty of clouds, but they were higher now, making it possible to see the views.
On the top concrete step to nowhere. Photo looks S.Back on the now sunny true summit. Photo looks NW.Exploring the grassy summit region, which was a good 2 acres in size. Photo looks SE.Looking SSE with a little help from the telephoto lens.
Gold Crown Peak(7,374 ft.) was visible only a mile to the W. If Lupe had gotten an earlier start, she would have visited it, too. With a name like that, it had to be a peak worthy of an American Dingo’s presence!
Gold Crown Peak (Center). Photo looks W with help from the telephoto lens.
Returning to the true summit and venturing N, a second cairn was found only 25 feet away. Some of the best views were in this direction.
At the true summit again. Photo looks NE.True summit of Illinois Peak. Still breezy. Photo looks ENE.Looking NNW from the gnome cairn and true summit.Same view, but from the N cairn. Photo looks NNW.
80 feet ESE of the gnome cairn was another rocky ridge not far from where Lupe had come up the mountain. This E outcropping was bigger than the one at the true summit. SPHP was surprised when Lupe found the Illinois Peak survey benchmark there.
Loop at the E rock outcropping. Quartz Benchmark(7,770 ft.)(R). Photo looks ESE.Illinois Peak survey benchmark.Another angle. Photo looks ENE.Looking SSW across much of the summit region.
A brief return to the true summit, and it was time to go. An hour and 20 minutes after arriving, Lupe headed back down the trail. Dark clouds still swept past now and then, but didn’t dampen the mood for long.
Final moments atop Illinois Peak. Photo looks WNW.Heading down amid the pom-pom plants. HP6760 (Center) in the foreground beyond Lupe. Photo looks E.Pom-Pom plants, or more scientifically, Pomus-Pomus planti.
The coast was clear! No flying flocks of bears! SPHP managed to tank up on blueberries again, despite Lupe’s disinterest. The American Dingo revisited HP6760, and got to see considerably more this time. The best part of the return, though, was a final satisfying look back at Illinois Peak(7,690 ft.), no longer shrouded in fog and mist.
Blueberry trap, round 2. Delicious!Back at HP6760. Photo looks NW.A fond farewell to Illinois Peak (Center). Photo looks W.
8-8-21, 4:14 PM, 55ºF, Freezeout Pass –
That was fun, SPHP! Turned out OK, didn’t it? Just think, my first ascent of a peak in Idaho! Plus credit for a Montana ascent, as well!
Yeah! Illinois Peak, didn’t disappoint, although it was looking iffy there early on. Glad the cloud cover lifted enough to get to see the views.
Loopster was back from Illinois Peak early enough to enjoy an evening drive. Took a while to get back down to I-90 again at Superior. From there, it wasn’t far to St. Regis where SPHP left I-90 again, taking Hwy 135 down to Hwy 200 and Paradise. This was all new territory, and very beautiful. NW of Thompson Falls, Lupe took a sunset stroll featuring a look at the Noxon Reservoir on the Clark Fork river.
Noxon Reservoir from close to the Hwy 200 bridge over the Clark Fork river. Photo looks NW.
Dusk was deepening by the time SPHP parked the RAV4 at the Pillick Ridge trailhead a mile off Hwy 56. Illinois Peak had gotten Lupe’s Summer of 2021 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast off to a great start! Dinner, then time to recharge for the next adventure tomorrow.
