Mt. Helena, and a horribly long day of driving.
This morning I took my morning run toward Mt. Helena, and ran up to the tree line. It was exhausting. The altitude was about 4200 feet, and I’m not used to that thin air.
I flew back to the motel to shower up, and I headed over to hike to the peak.
Mt. Helena alone would be reason enough to move here. Beautiful and accessible. It literally buttresses the town.
I took about 125 pictures just making the 1,000 foot ascent to the peak.
The hike was 2 hours of blissful reflection and dreaming.
What a treat.
But alas, my feet grow itchy.
By nightfall I had driven about 400 miles through Butte, Anaconda, Missoula and back to Whitefish.
I was desperate to find a place in Missoula, but being a tourist town, and the home of the University of Montana, I couldn’t find a motel for less than $100.
And, to complicate matters, I couldn’t see mountains. I headed back to what has become base-camp.
Motel 8 is $40, and 2 blocks from the cutest coffee shop, City Brew Coffee, which has awesome coffee, great service, and free internet access!
Wednesday and half of Thursday will be spend catching up on homework, taking breaks to hit the hills if the sun comes out.
Bill