It is hard for me to believe it is my sixth summer season in Montana already. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – time accelerates as you age.  Over those six years, my brother Doug has made at least as many trips here for either skiing in winter or various activities in summer. This season was no different. His 2024 pilgrimage was for four days and a little later in the season in mid-September than some of his other visits.

September can be great weather in Bozeman and usually is. Typically, the smoke from forest fires we sometimes experience in summer has diminished.  The days are crisp and nights chilly. Some parts of the country are still hot in September, almost summery, but here you can definitely tell fall is starting by the first week or two of the month.  There are exceptions, though.  It can even snow.  My brother lucked out weatherwise on previous summer visits, but this time he wasn’t so fortunate. Two days of his four day visit included rare steady soaking all day rains, something that only happens a few times each year here.   That’s not conducive to outdoor activity….and there isn’t all that much to do indoors in these parts.

That worked out OK for him, though. Without the distraction of his wife Aviva and his two needy French Bulldogs, he tells me he managed to get an astonishing amount of work done on those two rainy days at my house.  Of course, Doug is quite the foodie as well, so rain didn’t keep us from many meals out, including some of the favorite places I like to take visitors to town and a few new ones I hadn’t tried before. Left to my own devices, I rarely eat out when I am home, so it was a bit of a treat for myself as well.

Alas, Thursday, the day before my bro’s departure, dawned bright, crisp, and sunny – perfect for a hike.  Well, perhaps not so perfect for some hikes since there was some new snow on the peaks surrounding Gallatin Valley and other trails through the forest would likely be muddy after two days of steady rain.  After six seasons in the valley, though, I now know where the good hiking is for differing conditions.   I suggested Beartrap Canyon, a hike I have now done at least four times.  The hike follows the Madison River west of Bozeman for about 3.5 miles before it gets more rugged and overgrown.  It is great for an early season hike because of its relatively low elevation and open, sunny exposure.  It is also relatively good after a rain because the soil is mostly sandy, rocky and well-drained – almost no mud!  Oh, and it is also almost level, so pretty easy if you aren’t in the mood for serious exertion.

And a good day it was with hardly a cloud in the sky, a mild breeze, and an afternoon temperature that got up to about 70*F.  We had a brief bit of excitement, though, in terms of a wildlife encounter.  We went well-armed with bear spray and encountered ample bear scat along the trail, indicated by the undigested berry seeds in it. If it’s not one thing, though, it’s another.  Our wildlife adventure was not a bear or a moose but rather a rattlesnake, spotted by Doug’s eagle eyes as he was walking a few feet ahead of me. It was well camouflaged in some rocks beside the trail.  It rattled for us and then slithered away from the trail toward the river. That made my day.  It was only my second rattlesnake spotting of my life.