Camping in the 'Root

Because the rivers are high, and in some cases dangerous right now, I was overruled in my desire to spend the weekend floating the Bitterroot River. Instead, and with hesitation at first, I agreed with the boys to head south of Missoula and camp. Thus, we found ourselves at Como Lake near Darby, MT.

A man-made lake underneath snow covered peaks, the lake is an impressive size with dark green stretching from the blue sky all the way down to the shoreline. Because bodies of water like this are not common here in Montana, on any given weekend (like the one while we were here) you find motorized boats galore. I couldn't help but accept this as a little foreshadowing to my arrival back in Minnesota.

Aside from the beautiful setting and deep blue waters of Como Lake, the area around the campground also appears to be hotbed for bouldering. Add the mountain bike trail that wraps around the lake and a weekend here holds a lot of promise. While I didn't get on any rock or bike saddle, I did get plenty of swimming and sun.

Scott, Jim, Ryan, and I lounged all day on the shore, jumping off of logs and rocks on the waters edge. Tischer and Minnie (Scott's dog) got all the swimming I might assume they could handle, but I was wrong. First thing the next morning they were back at it. I personally wore a big grin across my face as Tischer displayed her first jumps into the water. This is only her second year of swimming and she seems to have opened up even more this time around. Finally begging for me to throw a stick out into the water and now leaping from shore. I love her energy!

The surprise of the weekend came on Saturday night when my friends Jeremy, Kim, and Andy happened to be creeping through the campground looking for a site. Jeremy and Kim both work down in Idaho for the Forest Service and have been letting me stay at their house in Missoula while they are gone. This being their weekend, they crossed paths with Andy at the Bitterroot Brewery in Hamilton and decided to camp in the area. As coincidence would have it, it brought our paths together as well. They joined us for a night that included a long campfire session and brilliant stars above.

Being the last to bed, I stood next to the dying fire and tried to get lost in the night sky above. The air was still and with no light to ruin my eyesight, I was able to enjoy the stunning window in the canopy above. Later I brought both T and Minnie into my tent for the night where we all chased down some well earned zzz's.