Montana: Big Hole
In the southwest corner of Montana is the high-altitude Valley of 10,000 Haystackers known only as The Big Hole. At 6,000 feet, it was the highest point visited by Lewis and Clark, and the annual Memorial Day visit by the Link family when I was growing up. Winter holds on in Montana, especially at the higher elevations, and it’s taken a long time for those memories of cold, wet spring camping, fishing and hiking to grow fond.
We always stayed at the Jackson Hot Springs Lodge in Jackson, Montana (Population: Tiny) which has gone through more ownership changes that I care to remember.
The first day out, I dragged Tiff and my sister Ruth out of bed at 5:30 am to catch the sunrise over the Pioneer Mountains from among the haystackers and bails. The Big Hole is the inventive source of the Beaverslide Haystacker, which I grew up with and never realized how uniquely Western they were.
Anyway, it’s hit or miss, and as light goes, this one was a miss. Overcast and cold. But it was cool to be up and outside, and we still got some great shots.
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