Where the first three stages of the Montana Backcountry Discovery Route (MTBDR) were more than 125 miles in length, Stage 4 was a mere 72 miles and contained no expert alternate routes that would - at least in concept - suck up more trail time.
What it did contain, however, were a couple of BDR-suggested attractions that were high on our list to see. The first of those was just outside of Lincoln, so before even really getting underway, we were out of the truck and traipsing into the Sculpture in the Wild.
Once so ubiquitous in Montana and the Northwest, the TeePee Burners were testaments of a once thriving timber industry. This iconic piece of industrial heritage has all but disappeared from the landscape and with it the cultural heritage of generations of community members. Re-Imagining the Delaney Sawmill TeePee Burner preserves one of the remaining Lincoln area landmarks and uses contemporary art practice to invoke community memories and transfer knowledge to future generations.
The Delaney & Sons sawmill located at Landers Fork was the largest and most modern sawmill in the Upper Blackfoot Valley. In 1965 the sawmill employed over 100 men during the peak summer period. Sadly the sawmill closed in 1971 and its machinery was removed. The TeePee Burner, which was used to burn wood refuse, was left on the landscape.
Kevin O’Dwyer, funded by Tippet Rise
14 meters from the Gateway of Change, facing the opening I placed a high chair with steps spiraling up to it. All made from the tree trunks. Opposite the gateway, and visible from the chair is now a small village with golden roofs, also carved out of the tree trunks.
"Gateway of Change" aka "I'll buy (Monopoly) hotels!"
Jorn Ronnau
The site for this work is peppered evenly with tall Ponderosa pines, and needed a distinctive presence. I chose a circular design to create a recognizable focal point against this backdrop. Inside, a courtyard allows a more intimate view of the sculpture while also giving a new perspective on the exterior and the towering trees viewed through the many doors and windows. The work also features a double wall with a series of ten chambers, five open to the sky, and five consolidated as towers that mimic the shape of the tops of the surrounding Ponderosa pines. Visitors can walk inside this double wall, but not feel confined because lots of doors and windows give visual relief.
Tree Circus. Made of willows and alders.
Patrick Dougherty
A huge picture frame allows you to assimilate the endeavor of mankind comparing it to nature.
Picture Frame.
Jaakko Pernu
The whirlpool or vortex exists in nature - from blood flowing in our bodies through rivers and weather systems to the formation of galaxies. As such it is the manifestation of energy in the universe.
The tree, which draws water from the earth through its roots to the sky via the trunk and branches, connects Heaven and Earth.
The vortex shape is designed to pull the viewer, too, down into the earth, where it is possible to sit or stand on the stone deep in the centre and look up at the sky.”
Ponderosa Whirlpool.
Chris Drury
The art got mixed reviews from our crew of two, which is a diplomatic way of saying my wife liked it and I stood in front of a tree stump with a plaque calling it a chair and had a small internal crisis about the nature of authorship. Look - some of it was great. The willow circus thing? Genuinely great. But somebody took a chainsaw to a living tree and carved words into it, and I'm supposed to nod thoughtfully. Turns out the real problem was that I'd been to Anza-Borrego and seen giant steel dinosaurs erupting out of the dirt, and now every sculpture park on earth has to beat a 25-foot serpent, which is an unfair standard I have decided to keep.
Regardless, it was definitely a change of pace and worth doing.
A half hour later, and just after 4:30pm, we pushed the Tacoma through town, filled up the tank, and continued on our way. We were trying to complete 200 miles on the day, and with 120 miles on the odometer, we wanted to get almost all the way to Seeley Lake before calling it a night.
Almost, because there was a lookout a few miles out of town - one with rather special meaning to @mrs.turbodb - that we hoped to camp at for the night!
The trail headed northwest out of town, threading its way between Black and Stonewall Mountains, the road surface rough but reasonably pothole-free. In fact, we were making good time as we rounded a bend to see a pair of firs, nearly blocking our path. These must have been blown over by a wind event, and only luck kept them from falling completely to the ground and blocking the road.
Six inches to spare.
Soon, we were once again racing through the woods, gaining elevation as we climbed toward a pass on the southern flank of Arrastra Mountain; a place that suggests an interesting past that - with a bit more time - we might enjoy exploring.
Arrastra Mountain view.
On the other side, the landscape changed dramatically. Out of the mountains for a good 30 miles - nearly half the route - we sped along well-groomed roads along the edge of the Blackfoot Valley. There were big skies here, and the clouds were certainly playing their part.
Wide. Open.
Less than half-an-hour later - a good indicator of the speeds we were able to attain along this section of Stage 4 - we were still on dirt as we rolled through Ovando. Here - like everywhere we'd visited over the last several days - there was no hiding the fact that it was nearly the birthday of our country. Everywhere, patriotic paraphernalia was on display; this, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Human-sized red, white, and blue Rooster.Does it get more Montana?
I actually turned around to snap a shot of that patriotic poultry, so after a three-point turn on Main Street / the Montour's driveway, we were back on the route again, crossing the last of the golden fields and headed for the hills.
We'd been a little worried as we'd headed out of Lincoln, but as it wasn't even yet 6:00pm - and with less than 15 miles to the turnoff where we hoped to spend the night - we were suddenly starting to wonder if we should push on even farther before calling it a day. After all, it was only a couple weeks after the summer solstice, and the sun was still high in the sky as we raced our way north.
Into the Swan Mountains.
Usually the BDR planners keep their waypoints close to the main route and any spurs to only a mile or two. I'm not sure what the thinking behind that might be - perhaps to keep traffic down in sensitive areas, or to preserve fuel given the tiny tanks of the two-wheeled travelers that comprise their core demographic - but whatever the reason, it was blatantly ignored for the route that climbed to Morrell Fire Lookout.
Eight miles one way, the road climbed nearly 3,000 feet, through "this would be amazing," I was informed, cross-country terrain. In fact, @mrs.turbodb was not - apparently - the only one who saw the potential of this area, because there were two raised yurt platforms, complete with firewood storage shelters, along the road to the lookout. Perfect for those who might want to overwinter in this wonderland of white.
Need a hot chocolate halfway down the mountain? Montana's got you covered.
Soon enough, we reached the top. Well, not quite the top, but pretty darn close. You see, Morrell Lookout is a staffed lookout, and like many such lookouts has visiting hours. These usually end somewhere around 5:00pm, so when we found the upper gate closed and locked, we figured the occupant was probably done with visitors for the day. Enjoying dinner and a nice sunset as it were.
Still just a bit of snow at the top.
Still, there is rarely a rule against visiting a lookout at any hour of day, as long as you're respectful of its resident and only engage them if they initiate the interaction, so we grabbed the camera gear and headed up.
With the shutters off, we were sure - and frankly, a bit excited, even if they might not talk to us - that someone would be there.
After climbing the final quarter mile, we rounded the final bend to find no vehicle and an empty lookout. We're still not sure what the situation was - either a lack of funding, or the occupant on one of their days off - but we were a little bummed to be the only ones at the top of this particular mountain on this particular day.
Well, not the only ones. There was a deer. The deer had been asleep. The deer had, I assume, also driven eight miles and 3,000 vertical feet up this mountain specifically because nobody comes up here after five, and then two idiots with a camera showed up and started photographing him. He got up. He looked at us. And I want to be clear: I have been looked at by a lot of animals; this was the single most disappointed animal look I have ever received. So, we named him Dudley, because if you're going to be judged by a mammal you should at least be on a first-name basis
Nap, interrupted.Dudley was not so happy to see us.
The Mount Morrell Lookout was first built and put into operation in 1921. The original structure was replaced in 1962 with the current lookout. The lookout has been in continuous service since 1921, providing fire crews with early warning of forest fires. In 1996, Mount Morrell Lookout was listed on the National Historic Lookout Registry.
The lookout plays a very important role in the management of wildfires. By detecting fires while they are still small, fire crews are able to quickly extinguish fires with minimal damage to forest resources and at minimal cost. Decades of vigilance by the Mount Morrell lookout has resulted in hundreds of forest fires being extinguished within an hour of ignition, saving untold acres of forest, dollars, and homes.
In addition to detecting forest fires, Mount Morrell is a vital communication link on the forest, relaying radio communication from remote areas of the forest to the Seeley Lake Ranger Station, the Clearwater Unit of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the Lolo National Forest dispatch center in Missoula.
Many of the fires in the Seeley area are started by lightning, though an increasing number of forest fires are the result of careless campers who do not completely extinguish their campfires. Due to the extreme build up of forest fuels in the Seeley area, fires can rapidly grow from small ground fires to deadly crown fires with the potential to consume thousands of acres of forest and endanger the lives and property of forest visitors and residents. So enjoy your National and State Forests and please remember Smokey the Bear’s timeless message: Only you…
Info sign
Morrell Lookout view.At the top.
We weren't able to get up to the deck - a good indicator that today was a "weekend day" for the resident - so after a few minutes wandering around the base and reading the historical sign posted at the bottom, we set our sights on the Tacoma and got to talking about camp.
With the truck at a nice pull-out in the road on a saddle between Morrell Lookout and the top of Morrell Mountain, it commanded an amazing view to both the east and the west. Temperatures were pleasant and bug levels seemed reasonably low. Our only concern - up here at 7,403 feet - was wind.
Ultimately, given the relative lack of wind we'd had all trip to this point, we decided that we were unlikely to find a better spot than this to call home for the night. Soon, the tent and kitchen were deployed, and taco-rritos were toasting on the grill.
We went to bed to the sound of volleys of fireworks over Seeley Lake in the valley below. There were at least two major shows - complete with finales - on this, the day before the Fourth of July. It was - as far as I can recall - the first day-before celebration I've seen of this particular holiday, but I'll never complain about more fireworks in my life!
The following morning...
As with the previous, we were up bright and early. The wind didn't ever really pick up overnight, only a light breeze providing a bit of white noise in this otherwise tranquil mountaintop.
Good morning, Mission Mountains.Our little buddy got a nice pre-sunrise view of Morrell Lookout.
We'd consumed the last of our milk the previous morning, so before eating breakfast we needed to wrap up the stage and find a grocery store in Seeley Lake. A feat, we hoped, that would be reasonably traffic-free, given our 5:17am start.
And so, after packing up the tent and snacking on a few nuts, we headed into town. There, we'd find a very familiar-feeling WordArt sign announcing the entrance to "...the Middle of Everywhere," which we would soon discover was truer than we'd have imagined!
