Well, we went all the way to Montana to float the Smith River, but it was an awfully long drive to not see a sight or two on the way home. So with that in mind, after we pulled off the Smith we stayed a night in Missoula and then it was on to a day trip on the Bitterroot river just outside of town.
Every once in a while plans change. This time around we’ll blame it on the weather. We were all set to head to the lake and then the weather forecast came along saying snow. Well, yeah, it’s possible to fish in the snow, but I know when to cut my losses. And just like that we were off to the southeast corner of Oregon.
A trip to begin exploring the Trout Creek Mountains has been on the list for quite a while, but it takes a while to get there, and time is the typical limiting factor. But we had a tree day weekend on our side, so off we went. The first night we made it as far as Steens Mountain and enjoyed a good camp surrounded by yipping coyotes. Then we were off to the Trout Creeks.
It’s tough to find a lot of information on the Trout Creek mountains. It’s actually a bit of a challenge to even find an accurate map showing which roads are open and passable. But we managed to improvise and get around. This was after all and exploratory mission.
I guess time runs short when you are having fun. Our last (non-travel) day in Southeast Alaska had already rolled around. It was another beauty of a day. Bluebird skies, calm as can be and perfect temperatures. Given all that we decided to head out into the ocean again to see some sights. We made the run out Icy Strait and Cross Sound and it was pretty much glass with a few swirling currents.
