After I dropped stuff in storage and picked up the two things I needed to bring back for now (towel in the truck for the dogs an a camping chair), I took a little detour and drove up to the top of Blacktail Rd. (follows along the appropriately-named Stoner Creek for part of the way) to the Blacktail Mountain Ski Area up above Lakeside, Montana, USA. You can see the ski area quite a ways away so I thought there must be some good views up there. It is also in Flathead National Forest so I figured I would look for some camping spots while enjoying a drive through the mountain forest.

I drove all the way up without stopping – a leisurely trip just looking around, enjoying my drive and the beautiful scenery. I have not done that in a while and I have really missed being in the woods like that. My head needed it and it was very relaxing. I had not been up this road and I figured that with a ski area up top the road is probably decent – and it was very well-maintained all the way to the top with a little of the typical washboarding. The road was really wide but I imagine that leaves room for snow removal in winter. Part of the 12 mile drive is paved and there are some houses along the lower parts of the road. These were more good points to doing a recon run since I now know that I can easily get my trailer all the way to the top with no trouble.

At the ski area I turned around – it was a closed area for vehicles unless you wanted to walk in from the gate. I am sure others drove in since the gate was opened but had a big red sign; I don’t do that – closed means closed. Do the right thing. It was also pretty much the end of the road anyhoo so I headed back down and was going to stop a few times and maybe find a road to explore. Off-roading alone is not a good idea, and I pretty much stuck to the main road. I know from some of the obstacles we dealt with four-wheeling all those years in Colorado trouble can be just around a corner. I did go on one short stretch just to test out my truck and it felt solid. I also am not quite ready to scratch it up yet either!

I was hoping to stop on the way back down to have a little picnic on a rock overhang I saw but the clouds came in and there was a little breeze. Feel that crisp mountain air with a hint of late-autumn at altitude. The temp down low was 64° F and up top it was about 10° F cooler – very noticeable difference. I popped on my hoody but if I sit on those cold rocks I will be cold all night. But, I did get some pretty nice pictures from that vantage point then I went to an off-highway vehicle area for a video:

Before moving on I took one more photo using an app called Peak Finder. It is a pretty cool app and very useful if you are interested in the mountains around you. You can click on a mountain and it will take you to standing on top looking around at what you would see from the top. It will give you outlines and names of what mountains you are seeing along with the height. I use it with the camera viewfinder, then you can line up the disappearing silhouette lines with the peaks and they are usually very accurate. Here is what that looks like after aligning:

As you can see on the bottom of the picture it also has the GPS coordinates and altitude of where I am standing taking the picture. It is a really cool app that I bought long ago. I am glad to be able to put it to use again.

Of course, when I get out of the truck I always have to take a few minutes to just take in my surroundings – to just stop and enjoy the soothing peace that a place like this gives me in all five senses. I can just stay in one spot and look around for hours at everything. Some of the ground plants and bushy plants had started to get a little color in them signaling things drawing to a close for winter. It took me back to all the times I saw these same types of plants turning in Colorado, and we always knew our off-roading fun was going to wind down for the year. We did go in winter a few times but had problems nearly every time.

Traveling in this area alone today I also had to worry about getting eaten by bears so I made sure to stop in a wide-open area for safety; gotta be able to see your surroundings clearly to keep yourself out of bear danger. There have been a few bear attacks up around the Kalispell/Glacier National Park area so you really cannot be too careful. Plus the big cats are a concern in the mountains, as well as the moose. I did have my bear spray with me; it helps, but it is never a sure thing. The best thing is to not get in a situation where you are at risk. Not going alone in the forest is a better option, but being out like this alone is safe as long as you know your escape route and stay aware of your surroundings. I was within 30 feet of my truck the entire time.

Living in Colorado there was not much worry about bears early on, but they did start to show up in the yard in the early 2000s where I lived before moving away. We had black bears there – dangerous, but not quite as bad as a grizzly. I have done a lot of hiking in Colorado since the late 1970s and never saw any bears at all; I only saw them after I moved there. Being in bear country is a pain in the ass and it is why I prefer to go elsewhere for camping, but that is mainly left-over thinking from my tent-camping days. Having a hard-sided trailer is definitely safer, and in Yellowstone (and other parks) some campgrounds do not allow tents. Always good to check these things before you plan a trip.

I am glad I got out today since the forecast called for rain tonight and all day tomorrow. It was short but sweet in the forest today but I also really needed to scope out the area for camping; really did not see much for my rig. There are definitely more tent spots for sure but be aware that there might be people target shooting in some areas. Some of the roads were just too tight for my trailer, others were either closed (could be seasonal, logging or animal breeding season) or there was nowhere flat or big enough to set up. Still it was a nice area and would be fun with a Jeep, but I really don’t want to beat my trailer up too much on the side roads. Even moderate off-roading is really hard on a trailer and when it twists things come loose and/or apart. It takes a specific off-road trailer because they are reinforced.

So there you have it. A short, but fulfilling adventure was had today. Truck did fine; plenty of power and comfortable but it has a stiff suspension so it rides a bit rough on the washboard roads. I did not see much availability for camping but there were a few possibilities off of some side roads pending further investigation. I did get to explore the area so I am happy with just that. I think that for me it looks like it will probably be a few nights in a State Park for now so I will go check out West Shore again. It is where we hiked a few months back. Like I said previously there is just not much available in the National Forest for camping without a bit of a drive, but I will try to check out a few Forest Service campgrounds on the other side of the lake and check out dispersed sites this coming week to see how far away they would be. I do know the bears are a bigger issue on the east side of Flathead Lake so I have to keep that in mind.

Until next time…

Shawn