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| Hiking | 3.29 Miles |
176 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.29 Miles | 1 Hour 24 Mns | | 2.56 mph |
| 176 ft AEG | 7 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Written 9-19-2025. The mileage is only from the Whitefish Loop but we also walked to Big Gus and dinner in Whitefish.
After our morning at the Peoples Buffalo Jump outside of Great Falls, we drove Highway 200 west and then headed north at Clearwater Junction on Highway 83 between the Swan and Mission Mountain Ranges. Our goal was to visit Big Gus who was new to me. Wendy found out about it online. We made one wrong turn before finding the pullout on our quest to see Big Gus. Gus is estimated to be between 700 and 1,000 years old, with some sources suggesting it might be up to 1,000 years old. It stands at a height of 163 feet (plus a 10-foot dead top) and has a circumference of 22.5 feet.
It was indeed special as Wendy gave Gus a big hug.
We next drove to where the bridge is out; they don't know when it will be replaced. Nonetheless we walked below it at the Clearwater River which was full of blooming lily pads  , oh my! You could see Seeley Lake as well. I have only been at Seeley Lake once in the early 80s.
And now on to Whitefish but first, we found a Brewery next door to a fresh produce store. Well the produce store was closed so we went over to the brewery. Wendy had a whiskey beer and I, of course, had a Marty Huckleberry Wheat Ale. We hung outside in the back and live music. It was a great place. We would hit the produce store when we left Whitefish on our way to Missoula.
As usual we stayed at my 2nd cousin's lovely home in Whitefish. This is the third time I've stayed here. It's very convenient and such a quaint place. We walked to town for dinner and it was packed for a Sunday evening. We finally found a place on the third floor of the Blackstar BrewPub (the old Great Northern Brewing and former Cadillac Hotel). It was a beautiful evening with a long-lasting rainbow.
Jul 28, we walked to a breakfast where I enjoyed my first huckleberry  crepe, YUM. And now to take our hike around the city that included by the river and tons of berry bushes, the railroad tracks where we saw a deer, and over to the northside (I had never been on this side for the part of the loop). We saw a few hikers, bikers and dog walkers about. This section had lots of tall trees. We passed by a building that had just burned down on the 24th. And now it was over the viaduct which I don't think I ever walked across when I lived here. It goes over the very active railroad tracks.
We checked out the pedestrian/bike tunnel where they had finished the art work and put in some colored lighting. I wasn't overly impressed with the artwork for such an artsy town. We headed back toward home via the river and enjoyed some of the flowers along the way. They are fixing the bridge that is near my cousin's house so we had to wait for the backhoe a moment.
After Wendy took care of some trail business (she was in charge at the Bitteroots work event), we headed up the mountain. They have built a tunnel or breezeway above the road connecting the old Viking Lodge to a new resort area. Going up Whitefish Mountain (we used to call it Big Mountain) is still interesting. They have changed up the parking area a bit, but we found our way. We had to figure out the ticket situation as there are two things we wanted to do. It was late in the afternoon so that limited our possibilities and it was a bit nippy on the way up.
We took the lift up the mountain and walked around enjoying the views, mostly to the east as it was somewhat smoky in the other directions. We went inside to see what was brewing, but nothing really caught our attention. I did end up buying something hucklebearish at the gift shop. After getting back down we went over to the Alpine Slide (what I call the Luge) to try our hand at each of the runs. I got a slow sled but Wendy's said hers was pretty fast. I much prefer the one in Afton, IL that I was on last summer. They do have a zip line up there as well.
After freshening up we walked downtown looking for dinner and found this really cool bar where we enjoyed some huckleberry libations with fresh huckleberries. And if you buy a small flight of drinks you can get a discount on a bottle of booze. You'll never guess what I found...yes, huckleberry is involved.... tequila  . I haven't tried it yet. We then went over to another establishment for dinner where Wendy had a smoky Old Fashioned. I got video as there really is smoke involved.
I do love Whitefish, but it is crazy overcrowded  . It's a mixed bag coming here (memories) too, but much easier with company. We didn't have time to stop by my old house or grandparents grave.
Part 1 Larch Grove, Seeley area, Whitefish [ youtube video ]
Part 2 Whitefish City Loop, Whitfish Mountain [ youtube video ] |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
so many berry bushes of all sorts and some flowers too. |
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| _____________________
For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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