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THE AUTUMN HIGHWAY |
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Story and photographs by Larry Turner |
It has always been my favorite season, when the wondrous elevated pulse of summer changes into the slower timbre of autumn. I left home the day after my September 16th birthday and traveled back-roads from the Oregon-California border to a friend’s remote cabin along the Oregon-Washington border. It was a long beautiful late summer day as I made my way to Lakeview, Burns, John Day, Baker City, LaGrande. I arrived in the last light to the cabin near Tollgate in the Blue Mountains. Missouri River Wolf Creek Fly Fishing
Steen and I missed fly fishing the Missouri River last year, an annual excursion that we’ve done for years during the shoulder season of his chef job. I might add here—and proudly so as a father—that Steen was the sous chef of the first restaurant in the history of Montana to be invited to cook in the James Beard House in NYC...sorta similar to being nominated for Best Picture in the Oscar world, but in this case, the culinary world. The invite was extended to the Cafe Kandahar, his previous employer before Buchanan’s purchased the Kandahar, when the name changed.
Our trip to the Missouri River this year was extra special as my sister LeAnne, brother-in-law Rob Crawford, and long-time friend John Paulson would join us. Actually, LeAnne and Rob had been there a week previous to our arrival. Steen, John and I stayed at our traditional place the Wolf Creek Anglers https://wolfcreekangler.com/, a charming, somewhat funky cabin (we prefer cabin #1) near the MO (Missouri River). LeAnne and Rob stayed nearby down the road at the newer Wolf Creek Fish House, available on www.airbnb.com/. We used their place for lively dinners after pleasantly tiring fishing days.
Fishing wasn’t as red hot as it had been in previous years, but nonetheless, we caught fish and had a splendid time. Boating the river via oars (no engines) is relatively easy, does not require prior experience, but does help in locating the better fishing spots. I mainly rowed one day, allowing Steen and John to fish. We did wade fishing, too. Near our lodging was a large elk herd. Several afternoons, we enjoyed watching them as the big bulls squared off ‘protecting’ their harems. It can be amusing, too, as there is a lot of blustering and bluffing going on while they execute their “protecting” tactics, sometimes turning comical. Drive to Glacier National Park and Crossing Going-to-the-Sun-Road
After several nights at Wolf Creek, Steen and I made our way back to his residence in Columbia Falls. We traveled US Highway 287 and 89 (Rocky Mountain Front Road) through the charming towns of Choteau and Augusta en route to Glacier National Park. LeAnne and Rob did the same, traveling ahead of us, making their way to Many Glacier where they saw and photographed a giant black bear. They stayed at an airbnb just outside Columbia Falls—just a block away from where a lady had been mauled by a grizzly bear on August 31st. The woman at this writing is still in a Seattle hospital, recovering from her wounds which include the loss of an eye. A few days later, we saw a black bear at the backdoor of the airbnb. The Going-to-the-Sun-Road crossing was in the last light during the making of a storm which closed the famous road the following day because of snow and ice. It would reopen later and I would drive it three more times before the final closure for the remainder of the year. Friend Cindy Klein and I would make our way across on a brilliant October day, eventually making it to Chief Mountain and Many Glacier. North Fork Road and Bowman Lake
LeAnne and I left their airbnb, traveling up the North Fork Road, past Polebridge and on to Bowman Lake. Autumn colors were singing. The North Fork of the Flathead River is designated Wild and Scenic and it lives up to its billing. We made several stops to photograph and gaze in awe at the tall mountains of Glacier and Waterton Provincial Park in Canada. It had been years beyond my recall since my sis and I traveled solo. We stopped for the traditional bear-claw huckleberry pastries at Polebridge, then made our way up a narrow dirt road to Bowman, a postcard-perfect lake of beauty and grandeur. Lo and behold - and unexpectedly - we saw Rob there as we thought he was going fly fishing elsewhere. We circled our way back to Columbia Falls, stopping at Apgar Village and McDonald Lake to soak in more views. Later that evening, we had a delightful dinner at Three Forks Grill in Columbia Falls. The chef had made a delicious white chantrelle mushroom soup from wild mushrooms that he had harvested himself. My walleye fish entree was sumptuous.
One day, Rob and I fly fished with our fishing guide friend Peter O’Hearne. We put in at the Hungry Horse Bridge on the Flathead’s South Fork and floated to the Flathead’s main fork. I hooked a nice westslope cutthroat with my first cast and broke the fly rod when setting the hook. I landed the fish by fighting it with just the upper tip of the rod. A first in all my years of fly fishing! It was a chilly day on the river (glad that I wore my ski jacket!). But we caught fish and reveled when the sun came out, spraying the bank-side autumn trees with glowing golden light. We floated and fished all the way to the Tea Kettle Bridge in Columbia Falls. After fishing, we had a hale and hearty meal at Vaqueros in downtown Columbia Falls. Their ceviche is excellent!
A few days after LeAnne and Rob departed, I hooked up with dear friends Dennis and Mary and we rafted from West Glacier on the Flathead’s Middle Fork to Blankenship Bridge where the Middle and North Fork meet. It was a dazzling day of sunshine and river relaxation, along with productive fly fishing. Grizzly Encounter Many Glacier
With autumn colors in Glacier National Park at their peak, Cindy and I made a day trip across the fabled Going-to-the-Sun-Road, making our way to Babb where we headed north and then turned east on a back road that I had never been on before. “I’ve never seen autumn colors this glorious,” she commented, “outside of my Canadian childhood province of Quebec.” We encountered only one vehicle on our drive: a US border patrolman. He was reveling in the autumn glory, too. We were right beside Chief Mountain, called Ninaiistako (Mother Mountain) by the Blackfoot Nation. It is revered by the Blackfoot culture as a direct connect between the Creator and Earth. The Blackfoot people go there on vision quests. Our day was a visual feast.
After leaving Chief Mountain, we made our way to Many Glacier in Glacier National Park. We took a short hike to Fishercap Lake, seeking moose. There we met famous wildlife photographer Don Jones who was seeking the same. We decided to leave though after a short stay as we had an ample drive ahead. So glad that we did because after walking to our parked car, out of the blue, a beautiful sow grizzly with her two healthy cubs wandered into the parking lot. Quickly we grabbed our cameras and took some rare photos as the three strolled through and went into the nearby campground which was filled with campers. A nearby park ranger started screaming to warn campers and also to spook the bears away. She yelled at some young campers to get out of their tents as the sow and cubs went through their camp. Cindy and I arrived and I was able to photograph the grizzlies as they sauntered away in a dry stream bed beside the camp. “Man that was a heart stopper,” belted out 20-year-old Paul from Los Angeles. “They walked right beside us as though we were ghosts. My friends in LA will not believe this story.” I told the five young campers to make sure that all of their food was securely stored away inside their vehicles.
Before exiting Many Glacier, I was able to photograph a large black bear foraging on the steep slopes near Swiftwater Lake. In the twilight at Going-to-the-Sun’s Logan Pass, we encountered bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain goat, our final wildlife photos of the day. It was a rich day of blazing colors and unforgettable wildlife sightings. Autumn never disappoints in Montana. Avalanche Lake Hike With Son
After arriving at the parking lot, we packed in our gear and headed back to Columbia Falls, stopping along McDonald Lake a couple of times as the lake was utterly calm and glowing with all of the beauty of autumn. The day culminated with a drive down the Apgar Lookout Road. We parked where McDonald Creek empties into the Middle Fork. I had a new seven-weight fly rod that I wanted my son to cast. A perfect ending to a perfect day.
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