This morning at 8 am we set off from Ruby Springs for a hike. (photo--Chuck, grandson, jo, your blogger, and Emily, daughter-in-law.). With our guide, Dave Frederick, we drove 8 miles to Sheridan, and then another 15 miles on a bumpy, dirt road to Branham Lakes Campground in the Beaverhead National Forest.

None of us had a clue what to expect, including, it turns out, our guide. We certainly never expected to be hiking through snow banks 3-4 feet deep! We hiked for about 1 1/2 hours, 3 miles, up to an altitude of almost 9,500 feet.

At the peak, where we had a picnic, it was an astonishing world-class sight. We could see 2 lakes--Bell Lake and Branham Lake--plus multiple snow-covered mountain ranges, including the Rubies, the Pioneers, the Gravelly Range, and the Madison. We could see mountains in Idaho!

It was a perfect hiking day--sunny, brisk, windy. In the total time we hiked we did not encounter another person. It was one of those hiking experiences that will go down as a best of the best.