NorthForkDupuyerCreekMay2015

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Not sure how many of us started the hike, but it was a challenge just to get there. Definitely want to access this route with a high clearance 4WD. And yes, everyone is putting on rain gear.

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The trail starts as a road, and yes, it would be possible to drive further, but I think it is faster to walk the road.

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Some lupine blooming in late May. Likely pretty darn early at this latitude and elevation.

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Everyone likes to hike at different speeds, and take a different number of photos. That always puts me in the rear of nearly every hike. The massive mountain to our west southwest is the Old Man of the Hills.

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The nice thing about this hike, given that it is in grizzly country, is that even if you had forgotten your bear spray, the line of sight is pretty good.

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Eventually, the skies started clearing up and it turned into a pretty nice day. Here, the photo is looking straight up the cleft thru which the North Fork of Dupuyer Creek flows.

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Neat waterfall coming down thru the rock north of the trail.

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To avoid crossing the Creek, the trail climbs across a long talus slope.

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After passing the wilderness boundary sign, there are nice views to the east, with some old snags.

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Because of meeting schedules, we had to be back at a specified time. I decided to stop when I caught up to several of our crew, and enjoy a lunch break. It turns out that the lunch spot was less than 5 miles from where I had hiked in 1980 on this backpack https://twohikers.smugmug.com/Western-Mountains-Outside-the-/Bob-Marshall-Wilderness-1980/

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Some pretty asters blooming.

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I turned around, and started to mosey back, so I would have time to photograph. This was a lovely park-like area perhaps a couple of miles from the trailhead.

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While entering the grassy area in the previous photo, I hear some screeching that sounded like ground squirrel. I finally saw him - or her - and took the photo.

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Back at the Education Center, we are back into our meeting posture.

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But there are always hazards lurking. In this case, one of the horses decided that Faith Doty's pants looked pretty tasty. She had hung them over the railing to dry out after our wet hike.

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Faith runs after her pants and shoos the horse away. (BTW, this same horse was likely the one that ate part of some one else's tent during the previous evening.)

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Faith checking for damage.

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A great way to end the day: a lovely Rocky Mountain Front sunset.