In the gathering darkness of last night, I looked over to the bunkhouse. Wood smoke curled from the stovepipe. It had been raining and blowing williwaw winds as the Alderspring crew worked in the meadows on fences and irrigation all afternoon, and we didn’t get in from the wet meadows until nearly eight o’clock. The combination of damp clothes and …
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Painting the Prairie
Dear Friends and Partners. Lincoln, Montana. The west is defined by rivers; the ancient paths of Native Americans followed them as do many of our roads. Hamlets and towns like Lincoln now punctuate the cursive penmanship of river meanders. I’ve been following the serpentine flow of the Blackfoot River threading the middle of Montana. It braids …
How Tim Met Tenacity
On Alderspring, we’ve had nearly 60 seasonal and short term interns and employees over the years, and they come away with knowledge, skills and abilities to bring to their lives wherever they end up. But one of the best things they come equipped with is story: times they have prevailed over all odds and stuck with tasks through the most adverse …
From Spooks and Goblins to Sky Islands
In the deeply incised canyons and cliffs of the upper Hat Creek country was pasted a tiny ranch. It rested at the foot of one bottomless fold simply called South Gulch. I never figured out why it was named thus, for it was on the north side of Hat Creek which it was tributary to. But even on the old 1940s era USGS 15 minute quadrangle maps from a …
Not All Black Hats are Bad
Roscoe Hamilton trotted his horse, heading for sunset, and home. He had just settled his shorthorn cattle on thick, deep and undulating grass covering the big sloping bar that tilted down toward the Pahsimeroi River. The grass reached up to his stirrups, and he could hear it swishing by as he headed across the prairie. He was almost home now, and …
Alone at the Top of the World
To our surprise, we discovered that the tiny wind blasted cubicle still stood as we clambered up to the prominent peak at nearly 10,000 feet. We had left all forest vegetation behind us several hundred vertical feet back on our climb. This weathered and decomposing shed was in the alpine tundra zone, that area of perpetual permafrost and rock where …
When Bridges Fail
There were now only three of us horseback on the darkening backroad. Linnaea had fallen behind and was scooped up by Caryl, piloting truck and trailer. The 7 year old was frozen and tired on her aging gray mare, who now happily had wheels under her. The little blonde haired girl in the truck was happy again, chattering with mom. An old (and a …
Four Months in the Mountains
Well, we got them hired. Six twenty-something gals and guys, hailing from Ohio, Colorado, Texas, Utah, Indiana and Idaho, for a range riding position on Alderspring. Ohio was the strongest state repped this year, with 3 of our hired hands calling the Buckeye State home at one time or another. Ohio does sound a little like Idaho, after all. To the …
