MT HELENA RIDGE TRAIL

I always do these backwards, so this is the end of the hike at the Mt Helena base

Prickly Pear Cactus

Bitterroot, state flower of Montana

Blanketflower (Brown-Eyed Susan)-notice the green insect on the flower on the right of the frame

The cell phone went off at the beginning of the hike, an important phone call from a friend

We hiked the Helena Ridge Trail this week. We left one of our cars at the base of Mount Helena and traveled with the other car to the trailhead, which is located off of Grizzly Gulch. The 7.4 mile hike climbed from a little over 5,000 feet to just under 6,000 feet, finally decending to just below 4,000 feet at the base of Mount Helena. We hiked through heavy forest interspersed by open grasslands and enjoyed the many beautiful wildflowers, a sampling of which you can see above. You could say we saw paradise and heaven from up there.JIR