Three Lakes and a Little Bear

Kersey Lake

How can it be August already? Our summer is slipping away! Must. Play. OUTSIDE!! But how? We had to spend all day Friday in town, so we didn't have time to take the camper out. Dan's 4-wheeler is in Powell for a little TLC, so we couldn't ride either. Guess it's down to foot-power.

Lillis Lake with Pilot and Index Peaks

We took the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway down to Cooke City and the Clarks Fork Trailhead. Our destination was Lake Vernon, but in reality, this was a "lake hike" from start to finish. From the trailhead, the river just sort of "spread out." The three actual lakes - Kersey, Lillis, and Vernon - were separated by small sections of forest and a lot of marshy stretches. Unfortunately, that much standing water makes for happy, productive mosquitoes. We were swarmed!

When we reached Lake Vernon and sat down on the rocks to eat lunch, the skeeters magically disappeared. Whether it was the sunshine, the breeze, or divine intervention, it was a welcome relief! (Maybe the dragonflies flitting among the water lilies had eaten all the larvae.) Eventually, we returned to the trail and the mosquitoes. 

Lake Vernon

As we came out of the woods into one of the marshy little meadows, Dan stopped abruptly. BEAR! I was thinking "Camera," and while he was, too, he was also wondering, "Where's Mama Bear?" We spent several minutes standing back-to-back carefully scanning the edges of the meadow and the surrounding tree line for the slightest movement. Seeing nothing, we very cautiously crossed the bridge and entered the woods on the other side. Now we were not only looking back and all around, but also up. Black bears do climb trees, and the last thing we needed to do was to "tree" a cub and have him bawl for Mama! But there was no sign of him, so Dan decided that perhaps he was a juvenile, newly independent, who decided just to vacate. Though we stayed on "high alert" for the next quarter-mile, we finished the hike without incident. 

Seven and a half miles of hiking made us hungry, so we went on down into Cooke City, had dinner, and came home over the famous Beartooth Highway. We even got home before dark, for once.