In search of inspiration

Bigfork Eagle

After being cooped up for too long last week because of the rain, my wife and I decided to get out and hike to Inspiration Point in the Swan Range.

As we drove through Ferndale toward the Swans, rain tapped on the windshield, and we could see that the mountaintops were completely enveloped in clouds.

At the intersection of Montana Highways 209 and 83, I thought for a moment about taking a left and heading up to Kalispell - maybe we could go see a movie or something - but cabin fever got the best of me, and we took a right.

It was about 30 miles to the area where the road to the trailhead was supposed to start. But the road indicated in our hiking guide was nowhere to be found.

I've found hiking in any area I've recently moved to involves getting lost for a little while. In fact, I've nearly stopped getting frustrated by it.

We turned around three times before I finally just went down Old Squeezer Loop Road. Just a few miles past the mouth of the road was a sign saying that the road we were actually looking for, Goat Creek Road, was a few miles farther.

We drove and talked for a while, and then I commented on how we were really getting into the backcountry for this trailhead.

But a few seconds later we suddenly saw cars whiz by in what had looked to be only forest ahead. It's called Old Squeezer Loop Road. We had come to the end of the loop and back to 83. Somewhere along the way we had missed a turn.

We back-tracked, found the road and started on our way to the trailhead, which was still quite a ways back into the mountains, over a road that was nearly too rough for our station wagon.

The aimless driving paid off when we got out of the car and had a look around. Napa Point, where the trail begins, is at 6,423 feet, so the views right from the beginning were spectacular. To the east was a solid wall of mountain and cloud.

But the first thing I noticed when I got out was the smell. Not the smell of my car burning oil, but a pleasant combination of sage, yarrow and a fungal, earthy smell coming from the dank, rain-soaked forest.

The hike itself began in this forest. Almost immediately we saw clumps of large mushrooms, mostly of the inedible amanita variety. The trail started out fairly steep, and stayed that way for most of its length.

Along the way we came across several huckleberry patches, mostly with unripe berries on them. We also saw Indian paintbrush, some goldenrod, a few orange agoseris and a lot of bright green lichens.

An hour or so into the hike, we caught our dog sniffing at something dead in the middle of the trail. At first I thought it was the body of a baby bird, because of what appeared to be a pink beak about the size of my thumb. But when we looked closer, we found that the thing had no wings, and instead a tail and long, kangaroo-like hind legs. We spent a few minutes trying to decide what it was, and finally called it a baby dinosaur before we started walking again.

The trail mostly stayed along ridgelines, and therefore offered spectacular views for most of the walk.

We walked for about two and a half miles, at which point we were supposed to take Gorge Creek Trail, if we wanted to go to Inspiration Point. But rather than consult our guidebook, we wrongly assumed that the Inspiration Pass trail was the way to go. We walked about another mile or so down this trail before realizing our mistake when we got to Inspiration Pass. By then it was time to turn around and head back to the car.

Inspiration Point sounds like a really nice place in our guidebook. But it turns out you can pass on the point and still be inspired.