Early Season Missoula Area Hiking

Jen on the top of Mount Sentinel

It's shoulder season again, with spring weather in the valleys and winter still hanging on in the mountains. I have to admit to being somewhat out of ski mode, though I hang on to hope that we'll get another blast of winter and a few more days of powder skiing at Snowbowl. On the other hand, it has been a good ski season, with over 30 days at the hill so far, and a feeling that we've gotten our money's worth out of the season passes this year. An upshot of an early spring is that hiking season starts early. This past weekend, Jen and I got out twice, once up Mount Sentinel and another up O'Brien Creek on the west side of Missoula Valley, which is a relatively unknown gem (to get there, cross Maclay Bridge going west, to where the road intersects Blue Mountain Road, go straight through the interesection, and drive a couple of miles to the trailhead). Nonetheless, I'm not ready for winter to end yet, so bring on some more snow.  

Hiking up O'Brien Creek

Pudge and Jen overlooking Missoula.