Featured Stories Archive

Hiking The Northern Mission Mountain Wilderness (FT 7/22/11) The Mission Mountains are some of the prettiest and most rugged terrain in western Montana...Having never hiked in the Missions, our family backpacked the Cedar and Piper Lakes area in the northeast part of the range that is managed by Flathead National Forest in August of 2010.

Searching For Salmonfiles(MT Outdoors, by Dave Stagliano - Posted 6/8/11) Every year in late spring, like kids anticipating the last day of school, trout anglers in western Montana await the annual salmonfly hatch. These 3-inch-long members of the stonefly family are so big and protein-packed that even hyperwary large trout lose all inhibition and rush to the surface in midday to attack floating deer hair or foam imitations. For anglers used to trout snubbing their dry flies, it can be fly-fishing nirvana.

Growing Tomatoes in Montana(MSU Extension, by Cheryl Moore-Gough - Posted 6/1/11) Growing tomatoes in Montana gardens is tricky or, put another way, challenging. Extremes in temperature, dry climates, poor soil quality, water shortages and short growing seasons make the production of fine tomato fruit difficult...there are plenty of things you can do to improve your chances of producing bushels of vine-ripened fruit.

Changes Afoot At Flathead Trails - a note from the editor(FT - Scott Wagner, Posted 04/26/11) It was about this time a year ago that I started this site in the hopes of providing relevant information for outdoor activities in northwest Montana. I have decided that I need to consider a different approach to the site content and the future direction.

Standing For Montana - Strange stories of how the bitterroot, grizzly bear, mourning cloak butterfly, and Montana’s other state symbols came into existence(Montana Outdoors March/April 2011 issue, by Sara Groves - Posted 4/26/11) How do you represent to the rest of the world a state like Montana, with its diverse landscape, plants, animals, and people?

Wolves: The Goal Is To Force You Off The Land(Lobo Watch - Destroyers Of Wildlife - Toby Bridges, Posted 2/28/11) The topic...wolves...and everything wrong about the Northern Rockies Wolf Recovery Project. The topic turned to why our own government would purposely introduce a non-native and definitely non-endngered species of wolf into Montana.

Ice Fishing Gets Civilized(Montana Outdoors March/April 2010 issue, by Tom Dickson - Posted 12/15/10) Electronic fish locators, portable ice houses, and other technological advances are making this once-brutal winter sport downright enjoyable.

How To Build Snow Shelters(FT, Posted 11/22/10) Now that winter is officially underway in western Montana, we've put together some short video selections on how to build snow shelters.

America's 100 Best Adventures (Montana claims five)(National Geographic, Posted 10/29/10) National Geographic polled experts to determine the country's 100 most iconic American adventures and Montana takes five.

The Peak: Triple Divide Peak, Glacier NP(Backpacker Magazine September 2010, by Jason D.B. Kauffman - Posted 9/28/10) If mountains are the birthplaces of rivers, then 8,020-foot Triple Divide Peak in southern Glacier National Park's Lewis Range is having triplets.

10 Trails You Have To Try(Montana Outdoors July/August 2010 issue, by Becky Lomax - Posted 9/22/10) From rain-soaked cedar forests to sun-drenched prairies, these day hikes take you to some of the state’s most scenic places.

2010-11 May Be An Interesting Winter(FT - 9/20/10) According to a information from the National Weather Service and a number of related articles, a strengthening La Niña is expected to last at least through the Northern Hemisphere winter of 2010-11.

Snowshoe Lakes Hike(LibbyMT - Trail Report by Bob Hosea, Posted 9/14/10) Bob Hosea recently took a hike to Snowshoe Lakes in the Cabinet Mountains. Even though he did this hike earlier in the year, he wanted to go back up to redo the photos from Lost Buck Pass.

Fall Fishing Heating Up On Flathead Lake(Montana Living - Dick Zimmer, Posted 9/9/10)The August lull seems to be over with better catches in mid-depths (190 to 220 feet). As the fish begin to stage for the fall spawn, they’ll be in decreasingly shallow water and become more aggressive.

Great Northern Mountain(SummitPost.org - Bob Sihler, Posted 9/2/10)Great Northern Mountain is part of the the Flathead Range and is the monarch of the Great Bear Wilderness. It is not high as great mountains go, but its ruggedness, remoteness and northerly latitude make it a great and challenging peak that offers Glacier Park-like scenery without the Glacier crowds.

Really Endangered? - Activists will stop paying for wolf kills in Idaho and 5 other states(Belingham Herald, - Rocky Barker, Posted 9/1/10)The Defenders of Wildlife will end its ground-breaking program to compensate ranchers for livestock losses on Sept. 10.

Too Many Places To Hunt - Advice on figuring out where to hunt on Montana's overwhelming 30 million acres of public land(Montana Outdoors - Dave Carty - Posted 8/24/10)The only drawback to having so much public property available is figuring out just where to begin.

Whitefish Resort Announces New Uphill Travel Policy(Flathead Beacon 8/17/10)Whitefish Mountain Resort announced a new uphill travel policy last week, laying down clear guidelines for skiers, snowboarders and snowshoers who wish to ascend the slopes of Big Mountain during the winter.

In Search of the Elusive Montana Huckleberry (FT 8/10/10) It is that time of year again, the time when you can find carloads of people traveling up to their secret mountain destination in pursuit of one of our great treasures, the Montana Huckleberry.

First Leg of Whitefish Trail to Open(Daily Interlake 7/16/10) The first phase of the 55-mile Whitefish Trail will be unveiled on Saturday at the Lion Mountain trailhead, with a celebration in downtown Whitefish later that afternoon.

Climbing Little Matterhorn - Glacier NP(SummitPost.org - Vantana) Little Mattherhorn is a small peak that sits above Avalanche lake at the foot of Sperry Glacier. It rises sharply on all sides forming a striking spire that reminds one of the Matterhorn of European fame.

Hiking the Ten Lakes Scenic Area(FT 5/8/10) Ten Lakes Scenic Area, northeast of Eureka, MT in the Fortine Ranger District of Kootenai National Forest, is situated within the northwest portion of the Whitefish range.

Fastpacking: Carry Less, Go Further(Backpacking-guide.com) If you're looking for the absolute newest trend in backpacking, search no further: fastpacking is quickly gathering steam as more and more people embrace speed hiking as their primary technique in preparing for a weeklong or shorter outdoors excursion.