Travel Planning: Lewis and Clark National Forest — Montanans Welcome RMF Travel Plan

FRESH TRACKS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS:
A New Travel Plan for the Rocky Mountain Front
By Chris Bechtold

Here on the Rocky Mountain Front the smoke and heat of summer have long since blown away and we are entering that time of year when the wind and the cold become the focus of most conversations. It is a time of year when the trails along the front are windswept and drifted, with only the tracks of the wild critters upon them.

This time of year, few of us venture out into the far reaches of the Front. The trails become difficult to negotiate, the wind a little too bitter for all but the most hardy of travelers. If you are lucky enough to get out, likely the only sounds you will hear are the wispy skittering of snow upon the hardpack and the lowing call of the wind. And for those of us who cherish the wildness of the Front, that is how it should be.

This fall, the Lewis & Clark National Forest approved a new travel plan for the Rocky Mountain Front that honors historic foot and horse trails, and increases opportunities for those of us who enjoy the peace and solitude this part of the world provides. In today’s daily grind of the modern world, there are fewer and fewer places one can go without hearing the drone of man’s machines. I commend the Montana Wilderness Association for working with the Forest Service and reaching out to other user groups to achieve a valuable long-term travel plan. As a society, we have become numbed by the whirl, buzz, and hum of technology. If conservation management is not afforded some of our last best pack, saddle, and hiking country then we run the risk of becoming as de-sensitized as our machines.

This does not bode well for either future generations or us. It is our duty, as parents, grandparents, and mentors of young people to instill in them the importance of our natural environments. This means more than just sharing pictures and stories of areas we have traveled through. This means playing an active part in future generations lives by introducing them first hand to the beauty and wonder of our great state. Nothing encourages love of the land like spending time in it. As the holiday season approaches, I encourage each of you to give a gift that can change a child’s life and potentially change how our society values wild country. Promise a young person in your life to take them out for a hike on one of the quiet trails along the Rocky Mountain Front. Show our future generations how to appreciate the peaceful grandeur of this area. We will need these young people to advocate in the future for the wild country that we protect today.

Next spring, when the snows have melted, come to the Front and fulfill your promise to that young person in your life. Take them out hiking or riding behind Castle Reef or along the South Fork of the Teton River. Listen to the whip of the wind, and savor the fresh opportunities that spring will bring. This will be a grand opportunity to teach the children in our life about this fantastic world we all love and protect. Look to the South slopes for the early green up of grass, peek around the corners of the trail for a glimpse of a mule deer and scour the soft spots of the trail for fresh tracks, those of elk and deer, and maybe even bear, sheep, or lion – the truly wild tracks that multiply when tire tracks are diminished.

Chris Bechtold is the author of “Current Adventure: In the Wake of Lewis & Clark”. He manages an organic ranch west of Choteau, MT.