It’s mid-July already and I haven’t been up to the Hyalite Reservoir area yet since moving to Montana. Why is that significant?  Well, only about 20 miles from town, the Hyalite area is the crown jewel of the nearby outdoor recreation options, of which there are many. It was actually not accidental, though. Being at a higher elevation in the Gallatin Range, it takes a while for the snow to melt and make most of the better hikes in the area accessible. It’s not that I haven’t been there before. In March 2009 I went on a snowshoe hike to (frozen) Palisade Falls with my cousin Deb and her husband John.  And then in September 2010 we went on a long hike to beautiful Hyalite Lake, not to be confused with the much larger reservoir which was created by a dam and is big enough for some serious boating.

My chosen hike for the day was to Emerald and Heather Lakes, located at the head of the East Hyalite Creek valley, a trail that runs roughly parallel but a mile or two to the east of the hike I did nine years ago. Word is out in the Bozeman Hiking Facebook group that the trail to the lakes is (finally) mostly snow free in mid-July.   The overall hike to the upper lake is 11 miles round trip with a 2,000-foot elevation gain.  That’s described as “difficult” in my local hiking guides but would definitely be easier than the easiest fourteener climb in Colorado.

I managed a decently early start at about 9:20 at the trailhead.  Well, that’s early for me. I’m not much of a morning person and no longer used to setting the alarm to get places early. But I still started with bright sunny skies before entering the shade of the thick evergreen forest for the first three-plus miles of the trail. The gradual incline most of the way was pretty easy, kind of like what I’m used to doing on the treadmill at the gym. I think I need to start doing Stairmaster if I want to get to a level of fitness where steep mountain climbs aren’t a struggle.  After a long stretch of switchbacks past a waterfall, the trail emerges into open meadows and crosses the creek on a wooden “bridge”, essentially a wide plank of wood, but rather treacherous since the railing was broken off for about half its short length. I made it, so I guess I’m not as clumsy as I look.  Emerald and Heather Lakes are both stunning in their steep-walled glacial cirque, the sides of which still have a substantial amount of snow on them in mid-July. And although the trail was mostly clear of snow, I still had to cross a few small snowfields and skirt some others to get to my destination.  Heather Lake, the higher of the two is located at 9,160 feet altitude, almost the exact same level as the top of Saddle Peak in the Bridger Range, my last hike about two weeks ago, although you’d never guess it.

It was partially clouded over around 12:30 P.M. as I was at the upper lake, and with a high probability of storms forecast, I decided not to dilly-dally there regardless of how beautiful it was. Down is always easier and faster for me, although some people complain its worse for them because it bothers their knees. Skies clouded over further as I got into the trees again on my descent and gradually became more ominous-looking.  Then the rumbles of thunder and finally a few sprinkles in the minutes before I got to my car at the trailhead.  And then the deluge of rain and hail began within a minute of my getting into the car. Safe!  Although I had a rain jacket with me, getting pelted by rain and hail would still not be pleasant.  Overall it was another great hike.