Independent Record - 1/1/09

MacDonald Pass moonlight hike planned for Jan. 10

The Montana Discovery Foundation is having a moonlight snowshoe hike Jan. 10 at the MacDonald Pass Recreation Area, 7-9 p.m.

The family-friendly moonlight hike is appropriate for all skill levels. Equipment is provided for the first 30 participants with reservations.

The foundation also will offer a snowshoe hike at Flesher Pass between Helena and Lincoln on Monday, Jan. 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A group limit of 15 has been set. Call 495-3718 or 495-3711 to make reservations.

The events are free and open to the public.

The moonlight hike series is a partnership program of the Montana Discovery Foundation and the Helena National Forest.

For reservations, contact the Montana Discovery Foundation at 495-3718 or 495-3711

MWA Wilderness Walks series kicks off with Monday program

The Montana Wilderness Association kicks off the release of its sixth annual Winter Wilderness Walks schedule with a program on Monday at 7 p.m. in the Lewis and Clark Library large meeting room.

The 2009 Winter Walks schedule includes 47 guided snowshoe walks across Montana and a good representation of walks in each region of the state. Monday’s program will highlight 13 outings in the Helena area, including Stemple Pass, McMaster Hills, The Continental Divide, Alice Creek and many more!

John Gatchell will present details about the new Helena Travel Plan and discuss ways that we can help protect the Helena National Forest.

This year the walks schedule can be found by visiting www.wildmontana.org and clicking on “Winter Walks” in the “What’s New” section.

For more information about the Winter Walks program contact the Montana Wilderness Association at 443-7350.

Bitterroot Ski Club raffling off dinner, night at cabin

The Bitterroot Cross Country Ski Club is selling raffle tickets for the annual Chief Joe Extravaganza.

Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5. All proceeds benefit the club’s volunteer grooming expenses.

The winner will have the Gordon Reese Cabin at Chief Joseph Ski Trails for the night of Feb. 21, a dinner for four prepared and served by a professional chef, and access to cross country skiing on groomed trails. The drawing will be on Feb. 12.

For more information contact Carol Battcher 406-821.0950 or Earl Philips 406-961.0101.

Program on Icelandic expedition planned for Outdoor Club meeting

Mark Reinsel will present a program on his March 2008 expedition in Iceland at the Helena Outdoor Club’s meeting next Tuesday.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the Community Room of the downtown branch of Valley Bank at 321 Fuller Ave. Use the east entrance to the bank. The program is free and open to the public.

Reinsel will present photos and highlights from his March 2008 trip to the Hornstraandir nature preserve in northwest Iceland that included skiing, skinning, sailing and boot packing. There will also be a short video taken by a professional French-Canadian filmmaker who was along on the expedition.

Jim Crichton of Helena, Rolf Crichton of Boise, two French Canadians, and two Icelandic guides were also on the trip. The group .

The terrain to be shown was highlighted in this year’s Warren Miller ski film, “Children of Snow,” and the Miller team was on location the week before Reinsel’s trip.

Outdoors Woman program offering pair of snowshoe classes

The Montana Discovery Foundation and the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Becoming an Outdoors Woman program are sponsoring two one-day snowshoe classes on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at the historic Forest Service Moose Creek cabin near Rimini.

Participants will practice “walking” in snowshoes and learn techniques for traveling up, down and across a hill. The class will also view signs of wildlife and learn basic track identification. Participants will also learn about winter ecology, the history of the site, and other signs of wildlife found in the area.

Snowshoes will be provided and a $15 fee will be charged for lunch and supplies. For more information and to register, call 495-3718 or pick up a registration form at the Helena FWP office or Forest Service Headquarters.

Helena Area Hiking Guide launches new companion Web site

A companion Web site for the “Helena Area Hikiing Guide,” written by Cedron Jones, released last year, is now up and running.

The site allows people to share their experiences on the hikes by posting pictures, comments, alternative routes and other information.

The site also has updates with new information that wasn’t in the book, including:

• the access road to Sheep Mountain has been rebuilt for a subdivision;

• the climber’s trail on Red Mountain — it’s been sawed out by an unknown person;

• the BLM trailhead sign in the North Hills has been ripped off.

Click here to go to the Web site.

Christmas Bird Count for Helena rescheduled for this weekend

The Montana Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count for Helena has be rescheduled for this Saturday.

The count was originally scheduled for last month but was canceled due to bad weather.

Information gathered from the annual count, held at locations around the country, helps scientists learn more about how birds are faring throughout the state, adding to over a century of data collected by previous generations of volunteers.

Participants will meet at Jorgenson’s at 6:45 a.m. for breakfast, or 7:15 a.m. People can choose to participate for a half day or full day.

Call Sue at 442-8142 for more information