Alice Earns a Cold Smoke in Butte

Well, she's 30 pounds, but she's still got it! She earned herself a much deserved Cold Smoke - and a few shekels in Butte yesterday. More on the 8 Hours of Labor shortly.

The Hanger

Got in a quickie after the LR's Little Griz football practice tonight. Went to the Rattlesnake with Max, Raphael, John and Johnny for a loop which we finished in the dark. There was a party in the parking lot and guys were grilling steak. Man, I almost raided the party! Beer and steak after a ride in the Snake! Yep, it's good to be home.

Little Rogue's Working Hard

Fall's Coming Fast! Then Ski Racing!

8 Hours of Labor - Butte

I've said it a thousand times, but I'll say it again - "There's nothing like the feeling of landing at Missoula International Airport." Home sweet home! Fat after meetings in DC all week, but I may as well do a ride to burn it off! Max is going too. Should be fun! Taking Alice. How do you do an 8 hour race anyway? Just keep riding in circles I guess? I've never done one.

You can still sign up today at Sportsbaseonline.com. See you Saturday Bob!

8 hours of Labor Permit Number: 2008-2166 08/30/2008Butte, MT Event Flyerhttp://www.tripleringprod.com/

TripleRing ProductionsBob Waggoner 2601 BAYAND BUTTE, MT 59701 (486) 490-5641 bwtripleringProd@hotmail.com

Edo Art

The above is part of the Freer Collection in the Smithsonian.

President Jefferson

A meeting in Washington results in a few posts for the LR's in Missou! Sheephead's favorite Virginian above.

Munoz

At the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden.

Magna Carta and the U.S. Constitution

National Archives

Magna Carta

Alice Rides Again

Last night Alice was put back into commission and it was decided the Gary Fisher Sugar should return to her happy stomping grounds atop the Hill. This is her journey in photos. She left the Rattlesnake trail head at 6.45 this morning. It was just daylight. She went up the Woods Gulch single track. The above shot is looking back at Missoula and Lolo Peak. The Bitterroots. Alice went through a favorite section below. Perfect for camping. Behind Alice is the Stuart Peak area to the left and Mineral Peak area. Alice then took it to the top and the Sheep Peak area (above). We did not see any Bighorn Sheep this trip. Coming over this ridge is where they usually are. Sheep Mountain below shot (Sheepheads banner). We looked back towards Mineral Peak with the Missions in the distance (below).
Looked over Wisherd Ridge (below). Looking at Stuart Peak below with Point 6 just below (behind) Stuart on the left. There were a ton of Huckleberries about. Typical of late August. There were also fresh bear piles full of them on trail 513!We had to look up the below berries, though the rider has always snacked on them! Thimbleberry fruit. Alice probably knew.She cleared all of the switchbacks except one on the descent. Not her fault! Her soft tail through the jungle of the East Fork of the Rattlesnake was most welcome!She handled the water with ease. She also was most welcome on the corridor's rocky final exit. She had us back at 11:00. It was such a beautiful morning!

Reviving Alice

Going to miss my favorite race on the Montana circuit tomorrow - Lone Peak. It is a great race at Big Sky with lots of climbing and this year is the state championship. I do get to do a quick ride over the Hill tomorrow morning at 6.30. It also seems my Big Sur needs some cable work following the recent Butte 100. The good news is Alice will be the replacement. Alice, the Sugar, has a new chainstay, chain and rear cassette. She also still wears some of Max's flower stickers. But, Alice has not been ridden since 2007. May swap the SID from the Sur to her and ride her in the 8 Hours of Labor in Butte. She weighs 30 pounds, but is pretty snappy. Should be good to go!

University of Montana Ergometers

My cure for rotator cuff blues. Also, great for upper body and lower back strength. 327,000 meters ytd. It's all fun.

Elk Tortillas

Toboggan Ridge Prescribed Burn

The Toboggan Ridge, Idaho, prescribed burn (which was ignited last Saturday) has quickly made its way to Missoula in the form of smoke. Some Missoulians are not happy.

Cayuse Creek, Idaho

The Lolo Trail. We were finally on our way. I bailed out of the office early, grabbed two Little Rogues and two birds dogs, some camp coffee and headed fast for the Lochsa. It was beautiful in Idaho. No rain. No fires. No worries! Well, we turned off of 12 at Wendover Ridge to head up to the Lolo Trail rather than at Powell, where I normally do. That was an additional 10 miles of a loop back to Highway 12 and really was my only mistake of the trip. Tip, avoid Squaw Creek. We blasted up Papoose (an area I know well) to the saddle and then over to Lewis and Clark's Snowbank Camp (map on below Kelly Creek post) on the Lolo Trail and then over to Cayuse Junction. The last time I was at Cayuse Junction and turned off the Lolo Trail to head north west on the Toboggan Ridge trail, I chickened out. It is a narrow and long jeep trail and I was certain then that the jagged and sharp rocks would slice through my tires. This time, we eagerly charged forward.There were many burns along the Lolo Trail and the Toboggan Ridge trail. The above shot is looking back to the Bitterroots. It was crystal clear. This is a perfect mountain bike area. I don't think I would trust a cross bike up there though. Would be too many flats. As soon as we passed Cayuse Junction, the first thing we noticed was a forest service sign indicating Saturday (it was Friday) that the Toboggan Ridge would be closed seven miles from the Cayuse Lake area we were hanging out at. It seems they needed to have a prescribed burn. Gotta keep the crews busy after all! Seems odd to me really. We did not stick around to visit as he may not have let us through. There was an empty camper there with no one around that I noticed. We headed for Cayuse Creek. The Toboggan Ridge trail was in pretty decent shape. I was glad I had high clearance though and thick tires. I wanted to head up to Toboggan Hill, but time dictated otherwise. There is a trail near here that goes to Hanson Meadows and may be able to be ridden. We dropped down into Cayuse and it was just as beautiful as ever. It is a tributary of Idaho's Kelly Creek and the same rules apply. Barbless hooks only. Catch and release for cuts. We found a camp site down stream from the Cayuse Landing Field (emergency only). This is a remote area and I like that. Big time remote! All of these drainages eventually make their way into the North Fork of the Clearwater and then into the Snake and Columbia. It is too bad they have dammed the lower North Fork. Might be a few salmon and steelhead swimming around up here.A few folks were camped out on the edge of the air field. They never came down stream though. From Route 12 to Cayuse Creek we never saw a soul. It was my kind of 45 mile jeep trail. Ending at Never Again Flats and the air strip.We love Idaho. I had picked up a beautiful used Sage SP 3 piece 4 weight on E-Bay and knew it would be perfect for this section of water. Let me tell you, that is a sweet rod! We crashed hard that night. Burned the popcorn over the campfire. The night air was crisp and cool and the sky was filled with stars. Well, a few satellites interfered as well. It was a full moon. We opted for no fly on the tent. The fish would feed under this moon all night and through the wee hours of the morning no doubt. Has that ever been verified by someone who actually knows? Well, no one wanted to get up. Allie and Win, however, reminded us that it was time for breakfast and coffee! Camp coffee! Is there anything better? It was time to fish. We looked over the water carefully (after the dogs had pounced in a few sections) and tried to figure out what was rising. There were a ton of empty golden stone and salmon fly shucks around. Boy, I would have liked to have caught that hatch in June! This water was crystal clear. It reminded me of the Elk in Fernie in terms of clarity (not size). So did the fish (well, not quite that big). This was better though. No problems with other people. There were a few, so I don't mind writing this. There are two flies I swear by out here. One is the Adams. Particularly the parachute Adams - I can still see that one. I know everybody loves this fly. Fine. I find an Adams works when all else fails. Like my poor casting skills for example, which typically result in numerous fish quickly shutting down and hiding on the bottom of the stream! The second favorite of mine is the Stimulator. Make no mistake, a Stimi is deadly. Particularly if there is a small bead head hair's ear or olive prince nymph tagging along below. The Stimulator worked (as usual). I would say these fish were typical of cuts that did not get a lot of pressure. Yet, they did seem to be pretty educated and cautious. We managed to get the job done, catching quite a few. We happened upon quite a few things actually. Including this guy. Peacher jumped about ten feet initially as she thought it was a snake swimming in the drainage. Then, dad grabbed it and put it on this rock. We liked her and left her alone.Of course, the Little Rogue decided she might make a good breakfast and cooked her up. Not exactly frog legs, but it did hit the spot. We ran out of time. I wanted to head up this Lunde Ridge Trail to explore the mountain bike options. Looked pretty steep. Looked pretty good. We listened to Gierach's Trout Bum driving out. The road out was going to be over to Kelly Creek, then along Moose Creek (Idaho has hundreds of Moose Creeks we've determined) and then over Deception Saddle. There were plenty of opportunities for disaster up there. This does not quite do justice to the cliff below this shot. It was straight down on a very narrow section. Heading over Hoodoo Pass and through Hoodoo Meadows looked interesting for mountain biking as well. There is a great trail that goes east to Heart Lake and the Lightening Peak area. Beautiful country. It's good to be alive.

Kelly Creek, Idaho

Time to go be with the wolves north of the Lochsa. Powell Junction, Cayuse Junction, Toboggan Ridge - cutthroats. May have to take jake for this. Man, the olympics are awesome. Gotta love Phelps. Is that guy human?

"Mark!"

"Do you smell that?" "There's nothing else in the world that smells like that son." "It's that smell. That gasoline smell. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. Smells like... smells like - victory."

Seriously, the days are getting shorter already. The nights are coming sooner. For those of us who frequent the woods and ridgelines in late August and September for birds, there is a distinct smell, no a taste in the air in the early mornings. We feel it in our bones. We get birdy. I'm feeling it big time. Time to get these bird dogs tuned! They know what's on the way. Grouse and then the ducks.