SNOWSHOE ADVENTURE IN THE JEWEL BASIN

Yesterday Callie, Kent and I went snowshoeing in the Jewel Basin wilderness area, which is an area in the Swan Mountains. Ths sky was an unbelievably perfect blue and temperatures rose to around 40 degrees. A perfect day to be out enoying the day. We were out for close to 5 hours and were totally wiped by the end. But it was so exhilirating and beautiful I was on cloud nine. These pictures are totally out of order so bear with me.
There was some sliding too. Kent wanted to slide straight down the face of the mountain but I thought that sounded like a bad idea. This little slope had to suffice.
There was a well-worn snowshoe path which made it easier than it would have been had we been breaking trail. We saw a backcountry skier while we were up there too. The only annoying thing was that snowmobilers were out in full force in the area and occassionally the loud sounds of their snowmobiles interrupted the otherwise peaceful calm. I thought snowmobiles weren't allowed anywhere in the Jewel Basin but evidently I was wrong.

The above picture is where we decided that perhaps we should loop back towards home. I really know little about backcountry snow safety but hiking over that cornice looking thingy didn't seem prudent. Not to mention the strenuous climb. We made our way down off the spine of the mountain and found the trail that led back to Camp Misery and then back down to the car.
This was a very steep climb. Sammi, behind me, kept stepping on the back of my snowshoe as if she were trying to hitch a ride, and Mukwah, in front of me, periodically laid down on the trail to take a rest. Sonja did pretty well though I think she would prefer to be off-leash.

The views of the valley were phenomenal. You can see Flathead Lake behind us. This climb about killed me. I am very sore today.