HikeClimbScramble: Kootenai Creek To Middle Fork Lake

Kootenai Creek is another one of those popular hikes that has lots and lots of people at the first two miles. I, in fact, was one of those people for the past 20 plus years, going only maybe up to three miles in, several of those times with one kid or another in my backpack, while making another one or two learn to "enjoy" the fun of hiking. It wasn't till this year, as my hikes have become longer, that I even thought about going all the way to the lakes beyond.

There are four lakes to be reached, and I had an open mind at the start of it, knowing it would be about nine miles to the first one. I started the familiar three miles with my dog on a leash, so as not to annoy hikers with her exuberant personality. She is so sure everyone wants to play with her, she forgets that not all humans are dog people. Once I was sure we were beyond the usual traffic, Xena was free to roam, which makes us both happy. I no longer have to be pulled on, and she can jump in the creek or chase chipmunks to her heart's content.

The hike is a straight forward creek hike, not too much elevation gain, which makes it fairly easy. Here was my problem with this one; I'm not sure it is always like this, or if the high amounts of rain we got this spring made it this way, but the underbrush, regularly concealing the trail, was hellacious. For the last six miles, I was regularly walking through brush, which was sometimes thorny, but mostly it felt like my legs were getting 50 lashes for doing something naughty. I would definitely recommend wearing a light pair of pants, instead of the short shorts I was sporting, just to spare your skin the agony. The scrapes weren't bad enough to scar, but it took a week to even consider wearing a skirt to work again.

Around mile 8, I started switch backing up, still trying to keep an eye on where the trail was going. By mile 9, I was wondering why I didn't have any glimpse or hint of a lake around. I kept going, but was becoming a bit unenchanted with this whole day. I came upon a sign that directed me to either South Kootenai Lake, or North Kootenai Lake. Neither of which, at this point, I was aiming for. It had become a long day, and I wanted to hit the first lake...one of the Middle Forks Lakes. Hmm, which trail to take? I wasn't quite sure, and the trail was a bit different than what my navigation app was telling me. But using intuition, and an educated guess, I went towards South Kootenai Lake.

After another creek crossing (which I was loving, by the way. I knew this wasn't a steep hike, and when there's water, Chacos are a must. I never even considered jumping on a log to cross, or hop-scotching over rocks....just waded right in. My dirty little digits were refreshed every time!) I started up a hill to a large, flat rock area. Looking around, I thought, "This is silly. Why am I hell bent on getting to a lake, anyway?" I checked my navigation app, and wondered why I couldn't see a lake by now. After a moment of contemplation, I decided to push forward for a little longer, knowing I would be disappointed with myself if I didn't meet my original goal. It only took maybe ten yards before I saw it.....a LAKE! I was THRILLED! Off we went, down to the little lake, and after a bit of playing and taking pictures, back up we went.

Now, I regularly just follow my dog, especially on the way back. She has a nose that has directed me in the right direction when I've gotten a bit off course every time. Little did I know, she was off to South Kootenai Lake. It took a moment, and some questioning on my part, to realize we were suddenly on the wrong large, flat rock area. I was thinking, "I really don't need any extra exercise today!" So I called Xena back to me, back tracked for a bit, and found the proper trail. I was not looking forward to banging through all that brush on the way back, but knew it had to be done, and just about started back at a run. If I could have seen where my feet were, I would have.

Now, even on a less favorite hike like this one, I still love being out in the woods and seeing the beauty of a new place in Montana. I apologize if there was complaining in this write up, I'd much rather have been getting scraped and bruised out in the wilderness, than have to be at home any day of the week! So, enjoy some pictures, and adventure on!