New Year, New Bear Canyon

The end of 2017 was very much like the start of 2018, and even included the same-named trail, though the two could not be more different than summer and winter. Bear Canyon Trail in Tucson leads to seven waterfalls that run for about 30-seconds in the Spring, whereas Bear Canyon Trail in Bozeman offers a steady stream of running water even in the dead of winter. Both trails will either kill you or do you great harm if you step off the trail; in Tucson you'll get your eyes gouged out and/or skinned alive by all of the plant life, and in Bozeman you'll get lost and exhausted in waist-deep snow. Nevertheless, we always manage to have a good time.

The drive from Billings to Bozeman is a doozy, and there is always a good chance the highway will be iced-over as you get closer to Bozeman, but we didn't seem detoured by this as we headed out for a day hike. This was one of the few times we smoothly got our shit together and out the door on time so as not to arrive back at our car in the dark. Finding accessible trails in the middle of winter is a challenge in and of itself, and though they aren't maintained like they are during other seasons, we were surprised at how much trails still get used. On this one in particular, a couple of people passed us on fat-tire bikes, because here in Montana we just ignore winter until it goes away.

Everyone puts on their sweaters in the winter. 

 There is more than one trail, we turned left along that fence then up a decent incline.

 While you're busy worrying about basic survival, one of the challenges of hiking you don't really think about is where to look. Obviously you need to watch where you're going, but you need to look around for wildlife both because it's way cool and for your safety. I was looking off to the right of the trail when I saw something that looked like an up-ended tree stump. I looked a second longer and the stump picked up its head and was actually a motherfucking moose! Most likely a female, she was laying in the snow next to the running water, and either didn't notice us, or didn't care. We had Louis with us who also didn't seem to notice the moose, or didn't care. It was pretty much the coolest experience of my life. Until I spot a bear.

I can't decide if the incredibly deep snow makes the drop-off better or worse. You definitely won't fall down the hill that quickly. 

If someone had told me that one day I'd be on the side of a mountain, in the middle of January, in the snow, by choice, I would have told them to go fuck themselves.

 The best part about winter hiking is how untouched everything is; not any more so than during other seasons, it's just obviously more noticeable when everything is covered in a comforter of snow. We took a different trail back down and came across fresh moose droppings, most likely from the female we spotted. Never has seeing poop been so neat!

We surpassed our goal of getting back to the car before dark, but we were still in Bozeman once the sun went down. And if there is one thing everyone is after hiking, it's hungry (sometimes even a little hangry). We ate dinner then drove the two and a half hours home.

Going Back (Back, Back) to Grotto

Montana is a big place with a lot to see, and while we saw a lot of new things this last summer, we did a few repeat-hikes as well. Some, like I mentioned in my last post, we fully intended on doing again, and others we repeated purely in the name of getting out there.

The last time we went to Grotto Falls was Jacob and I's first time hiking without the kids, which was ironic since this is quite possibly the easiest hike ever, besides the Trail of the Cedars in Glacier National Park.. Also ironic - or just because kids are complete and TOtal assholes - was that this was also the hike where the kids complained the most.

It was a hot, late July day, heavy with biting horseflies and light on the mountain breezes. We had gotten to Grotto Falls Trailhead late in the day because no matter how hard we try, we can never seem to get our shit together well or fast enough to do anything when normal people are doing them. It has become a standing joke in our family that we're always the last car at the trailhead. But it's a short, uncomplicated hike that, like me, is wide and smooth and wheelchair accessible. Once we got to the falls, the water was colder than actual swimming would allow, but go ahead and try to stop us from at least dipping one toe in whatever water we come across; I dare you.

 If there was ever a place to hunt for unicorns, this is it.

 Jacob always thinks we're going, then turns around and this is me.

We took our 14-year old child on a few hikes but this one was his last. No, he's not yet gone to hike in the Great Beyond, he's just too old and tired for this kind of stuff anymore - he often stumbled, and hacked like a pack-a-day smoker. We know he loves us, loves going where we go, and loves being in nature, but he's reached the point where he loves his cushy bed just a little bit more.

To get to and from the trailhead, you pass Hyalite Reservoir, so we made a dip-stop as the sun went down.

If you don't get naked in nature, did you even go? 

I've seen pictures of Mama Grizzlies doing this very thing. Moms: The Great Equalizer.

 On the drive back to Billings, double rainbows over Bozeman.

Nope, not a forest fire, just how sunsets look in the big sky.

The hike to Grotto Falls is short but sweet; simple but pretty, and a good glimpse into genuine Montana, especially if you're traveling through or don't have enough time to take up full-on mountaineering. Make sure you pack a beer or two as you'll inevitably come across a lot of fellow hikers with their own beers or two. And while we actively try *not* to be the last hikers on the trail, it often means experiencing the scenery without anyone else, which makes it all worth it.

As our hiking and camping season starts to wind down, we already have a working list of hikes to do come Spring 2019. And while we most likely won't find our way to Grotto Falls again, there are a lot of trails and other lakes in the area that I am already itching to find, much to my growing children's chagrin. No more easy hikes for us! :-D *insert evil laugh*

Gettin' to Grotto Falls

We sort of fell ass-backwards into hiking and discovered that, like everything else, there is an online community for it. As we dipped our toes into this new activity, we came across a lot of articles and blogs on the best way to camp and hike with kids, especially of the younger variety such as ours. But we never knew anything different; we weren't about to repel down cliff faces, and we certainly can't afford an all-day babysitter, so anywhere we went, the kids were free to follow. Then August approached and we were the last stop on my parent's now-annual RV trip through the United States. They wanted to take Zoey and Holden camping for a couple of nights, and where Jacob and I would go out to dinner, empty our bank account at the movie theatre, or do any other activity that is more enjoyable without children, this time we decided to take our date to the woods and see what hiking sans kids was like.

 For starters, there was more beer, more water because someone wasn't asking for a drink every 10-seconds, more hiking, less complaining, and less carrying.

 We're getting better at reading trial maps, Jacob more so than I; maps and me just don't mesh.

 "Wherever you go, there you are."

 We got to Grotto! Ironically, the hike we chose to do without kids is the exact hike that is made for kids. The trail is easy, wide, has a lot of cool things to see, and is - most importantly - short.

 There was so much moisture that parts of the forest were carpeted by moss, and it was raining inside every nook and canny.

 I swore a Unicorn was going to come galloping out of the woods at any moment.

 Date nights looks a bit different in Montana. (And thank God for camera timers.)

 This trail is pretty busy but we arrived at the end of the day so we lucked out and had the falls all to ourselves. Just leave me here, I'll be fine.

 But it's the endless possibilities that lie around the corner that keep us going.

 Hyalite Canyon/Reservoir 

The haze is due to forest fires, of which we had a hard time escaping.

Since gettin' to Grotto Falls, we haven't had another opportunity to hike without the kids since we spent Christmas in Arizona and was able to squirrel away for a couple of afternoons. But, in all honestly, Zoey and Holden have grown to enjoy hiking, and they get excited for the trips we take. So, Jacob and I are looking forward to when we can share Grotto Falls with the kids later this year.

While they were camping with Grandma and Grandpa, they didn't do a lot of hiking, but they did play in the KOA pool, at the playground, and kicked each other when they should have been sleeping. Jacob and I sort of did the same thing.

 We spent the extra day doing things the kids would have otherwise made more difficult: Jacob fixed things around the house without worrying about who was getting into his tools and how, and asking him endless questions about what he's doing and why he's doing that...

...And I did what I always do with a few spare moments: read a book. We also ate grilled chicken and raw vegetables and didn't have to listen to anyone scream at us that they weren't going to eat it.

 And the kids are always talking about how fun the pool is, so we decided to borrow it.

 They're right - it is pretty fun. :-) (Pointed toes for life.)

Shortly thereafter, Grandma and Grandpa did a slow-roll-by as they tossed the kids from their RV. They needed to get back to life in Arizona, and in the seemingly blink of an eye, we needed to get ready for school.

Surprisingly - and happily - though, we were able to head out into the wilderness several more times before the year was up, sometimes with kids and sometimes without. And while we might not be ready to write a How To, it was nice to finally have the experience of both.