In the midst of the heat of the midwest summer and the "monsoon season" in Southwest Colorado, the Erickson/Thrasher/Sinak/Uelhof clan headed north to Big Sky, Montana a couple weeks back. We stayed in a huge house that had been featured on HGTV as a mountain get-a-way. The experience itself was amazing, but the hike that we took to Beehive Basin was the peak (literally and figuratively) of the whole trip.
Although we went to the trail-head later than anticipated (the perils of having a group of 14!), the experience was nonetheless breathtaking! The trail-head was situated within view of Big Sky Ski Resort and provided views that were indescribable. During the drive up to the trail-head, Tim Sinak shouted "Gooooo! Goooo Bear!" and our cars came to a screeching halt. There is a neighborhood situated just beneath the beginning of the trail, and a mama grizzly and her two cubs were rummaging around the backyard of a home. We sat in our cars at a safe distance and took WAAAAY too many pictures, along with a few videos, of the bear trio frolicking in the backyard of an unsuspecting local.
After gawking at the creatures we had previously only seen in captivity for what seemed like an eternity, we finally finished the drive to start our hike. There was a sign at the trail-head warning of the dangers of back country hiking and camping, but we came prepared with plenty of water, snacks, and even more importantly...BEAR SPRAY! Although we knew better from previous high county hiking, we hit the trail later morning and we were treated to a heart pounding hike, a bit of snow, and spectacular views. The trail itself is a 3 mile hike in, but definitely felt like much more due to the elevation gain of around 1,000 ft. This made for a slightly difficult hike up, and a fast, but treacherous ramble back down. There were several times along the hike up the mountain that we had to stop off to the side and catch our breaths, but we all persevered and continued on the path to our destination, which always seemed to be "right around the bend."
When we finally reached the pinnacle, the ten hikers enjoyed the views with a quick bite to eat. Our lunchtime enjoyment was shortened by the intimidating clouds that approached from the west. Being a town above 8,000 feet, Big Sky is accustomed to receiving afternoon showers on a regular basis, and this day was no exception. The beauty of digital camera is that you can delete pictures if they don't turn out the way that you want them to, at no cost to you. However, I have yet to delete a picture taken the day of this hike because every picture has a piece of the hike that I just don't want to forget!
The trip back to the trail-head was much faster as the trail slopes in that direction almost the entire trip. If memory serves me, it took our crew roughly two and a half hours to reach our dining spot just above the basin, but a mere hour and a half to rumble back down the trail and get back to our cars. During most of the trip down, all of the trekkers resembled a duck waddling down the hills as it was near impossible to remain completely upright as you journeyed back to the beginning of the trail.
If you are ever fortunate enough to find yourself in Big Sky, do yourself a favor and check out Beehive Basin...It is DEFINITELY worth the time and effort to trek to the cliffs above the basin and take it all in!
No comments:
Post a Comment