Mill Creek Falls

Oh, yawn, another gorgeous Montana day, another gorgeous mountain hike.

This one, to Mill Creek Falls, is about 8 miles round-trip on mostly well-maintained trails with a gentle climb through an area of burn in 2003. You gain only about 750 feet of elevation to the falls, according to the Sierra Club (http://trails.sierraclub.org/trails/default.aspx?name=Mill_Creek_Falls) and it's pretty much in full sun without green trees once shading the path.  We enter the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness area about halfway up.

As a city slicker, I think this hike is tough, especially the sun. But reaching the falls by around 1 p.m. is a huge pay off...

 ...Water thunders past us. We can barely hear each other.  It is (I hate the over-use of this word, but it applies here) awesome!

 
We find a boulder in shade and unpack our yummy sandwiches and sides purchased earlier at Hamilton's second-floor deli -- The Loft (even it has a view of the mountains.)

 

We eat in silence, exhausted (I'll speak for myself), taking in all of the beauty.  Alex, as always, brings his fly-fishing gear and, again, the water is too high, too cold and too fast to fish. He tries anyway, whenever he finds some rare little pool. Our Montana fishing licenses have got to be good for something!?!

And then, we begin the trek down. It's hot -- actually, a rare sunny day so far in June -- but it goes much faster than the climb up. Knees and feet ache by the time we get back to the car. The Subaru's soft seats and air conditioning never felt so luxurious. Home and a nap. I feel like I may be gaining a little (just a little) Montana street cred, right? And especially since we find nearly 10 ticks on our clothes and ourselves when we get home. We shower furiously and find two again the next day on our crisp, white sheets!! Ugh! They must like white (or more likely, they're easier to see on light colors); Alex found most of them stuck to his white T-shirt. And another one appears out of nowhere on white subway tiles in the shower, the day after. I now officially despise the little buggers (although some other hikers here talk about them as a fact of life this season; you want to hike in the mountains? you check frequently for ticks).