Middle Cottonwood Trail in the Bridger Mountains And Big Timber Creek in The Crazy Mountains

Hello folks,
my latest post will include images of two different hikes I recently took. The first is the Middle Cottonwood Trailhead in the Bridger Mountains outside of Bozeman Montana.
The second is my latest hike into the snow laden Crazy Mountains and my vain attempt to catch a fish.
Enjoy!

The trail is sort of a bush whack at the start.

It was pretty thick for sometime but I kept up the hike anyway.

These rock formations were my destination.

There was all kinds of neat rock sticking out.

At the top.

Back down the hill I went.

And at the bottom again.

Looking back at where I just was.

 My second hike was up in my favorite hangout the Crazy mountains. There was absolutely nobody up there as the snow was still blocking the road and I had to hike an extra 1.5 miles just to begin my hike along the Big Timber Creek seeking those trout.

The Crazy Mountains looking west.

You drive right into these peaks.

This spot is usually a raging river but you can see winter is still hanging on up here.

It was tough fishing to say the least with the deep snow.

Looking east down the Big Timber Creek.

Taking pictures in a semi dark canyon with snow on the ground is as tough as it gets with the high contrast making any exposures very difficult to say the least.

Looking up the Big Timber Creek westward.

I love the color and texture on this fence.

Leaving the Crazies and I like the colors of the late day.

The Rocky Mountains: Views From Yankee Jim Canyon, Sheep Mountain Road and Livingston Montana

Yellowstone River heads north into the Yankee Jim Canyon just below Carbella, Montana

Hi folks, I have been busy taking pictures this week. Although we have been having sunny and cloudy days, it has still been pretty darn cold with the high topping out yesterday at a balmy 24 degrees. It was a tough day along the Yellowstone River trying to catch fish with these cold days, especially when the wind kicks up. As they say in Spanish, que horror!

Did not catch any fish and not even a nibble but did have a good day regardless as it is always good to get outside and away from my electronic devices i.e. the computer and television. Today's blog, will feature three different locations with Yankee Jim Canyon the first up. This canyon is famous as the original pioneers came through here on the way to Yellowstone National Park; there is no other easy way into the Northwest portion of Yellowstone. 

As you can see on this map on the left side right below Carbella is where we took this hike.

The view looking east.

My Buddy Red enjoys the view of the Yellowstone River.

A closer view of the Rockies.

Buffalo pens in the left side middle. 

My second locale is Sheep Mountain which sits north of the Yellowstone River about ten miles out

of Livingston, Montana. After three years of wondering how to get up in them hills, I sat out last week and found that the plateau is truly sheep mountain with a lousy fence running the entire southern entrance up into it. I have heard there is a road called Convict road that might get me up there. Stay tuned!

This is Sheep Mountain about ten miles or so out of Livingston, Montana

Looking southwards into the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains.

A peak in the Absaroka-Beartooth of the Rocky Mountains.

Some cool rock formations on Sheep Mountain I intend on visiting soon.

The third place I visited was right down the street and up on a hill where I was searching

and freezing my arse off looking for the Pan-Starrs comet to come out. I took some pictures of the local views instead including this one of the moon.

Storm brewing up over the hills heading north.

The locals call this mountain the Jesus Face.

Lonely house on the Prairie.


And the final picture show will be my favorite fishing spot where I went blanko for the freezing day.

My fishing spot on the Yellowstone.

I kept my eye on this storm heading my way north over the river.

The geese are making whoopie these days and fighting over the
females.

Storms And River Front Ice

This week I attempted to go hiking yet ran into the snow pack again so I retreated down to the Yellowstone River for some easy photographic work and captured these shots. 

There is something about a lonely tree that I like.

The snow is still formidable along the Yellowstone River with the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountain Range
in the background.

Looking across the river eastward.

And looking north along the Yellowstone River.

These photos are from two weeks ago when I went for a drive into the Paradise Valley and could not get into the hiking trail where I was headed on account of the snow still way to deep for my truck to traverse. 

I was lucky I did not as a vicious storm moved in from the west. The thermometer dropped 20 degrees in just ten minutes and in came the howling wind with hail and snow. I sat on a overlook and captured the front of the storm.

The storm was like a monster movie.

Rocky Mountains: Absaroka-Beartooth mountains in the Gallatin National Forest. Just about forty miles from Yellowstone NP Northwest boarder.

Two shots I photoshoped together to give a better impression of the storm front.