Rattlesnake National Recreational Area

Steph had her freshman orientation at the University of Montana in Missoula last Thursday and Friday. I went with her but I went mountain biking while she signed up for classes, etc. I checked out some of the trails at the Rattlesnake National Recreational Area. Like Spokane with Riverside State Park nearby, Missoula has Rattlesnake within easy reach of the city.

Since I didn't know the place, I just went exploring. One of the trails I stumbled across on the first day, Wallman Trail, totally kicked my butt. It went up and up...and up some more...and then some more. I finally had to get off and walk for a while. Not knowing how much farther the trail went I decided to do the much more fun descent from there. Afterwards I found a long piece of single track closely bordered by tall grass and lots of bushes. Everything was wet from the rain and my shoes would hit the wet grass while I pedaled. They ended up soaked from the constant wet brushing. On the second day I just followed the main Rattlesnake Trail. It was a long gradual climb with lots of scenic creek crossings. There were deer and rabbits about. The rabbits were more skittish than the deer. After crossing Rattlesnake Creek, the trail took a steep climb. But it was very soggy and had water flowing down it so I followed the rules about not creating ruts on a trail in this condition. The ride back went quick since it was mostly downhill.

I look forward to visiting the trails again while Steph is attending school there for the next four years. Maybe I'll get strong enough to ride Wallman to the top--where ever that is.

Climbing Wallman Trail. 

Wet grass on both sides made my shoes soggy.

 Rattlesnake Creek.

 Crossing Fraser Creek.

 Pilcher Creek.

 Beeskove Creek.