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At A Glance Length: Approximately 1.6 miles one way, 3.2 miles round trip Elevation gain: 425 feet Usage: The trail is primarily used by day hikers and backpackers. Note: There is no overnight camping at Glacier Lake. Services: The trailhead has a relatively large parking lot with a pit toilet. No drinking water is available at the trailhead. Hikers are able to bring their dogs on the trail. Directions: Travel along Montana Highway 83. Turn west onto Kraft Creek Road at mile marker 37 (just...
OVANDO - The Blackfoot Challenge hosted its second annual Block Party fundraiser in downtown Ovando on Wednesday, Aug. 14. Nearly 200 people attended the event that hosted local food trucks such as Lindey's Steak Sandwich Truck and the Montana Farm Girls, live music from the Huckleberry Pickers of Seeley Lake and Helena, as well as a raffle and live auction with Kevin Ertl as the auctioneer. "Really, thanks to all of you, this is a chance for us to say thank you to the communities that do all...
SEELEY LAKE - While Tim Love worked with the Forest Service as the Seeley Lake District Ranger, the Region was encouraged to consider concessionaire management to maintain recreation sites. While the District decided against the use of concessionaire management, the Regional Office recently proposed a fee increase to several campgrounds, cabin rentals and day-use sites across the Lolo National Forest. The public has until Sept. 30 to comment on the proposal. Love said when Region 1 was considering concessionaires, two Forest Service employees...
SEELEY LAKE - After making one-too-many trips into Missoula for outdoor gear, Ryan Dunster decided it was time for a change. "There wasn't anything here, so we saw the need for it," said Ryan. "Sometimes where you might need something and there's nothing here so you have to make a plan or do without it." Now, locals and visitors will have a one-stop-shop to fill their outdoor needs. The shelves at Heritage Outdoors are packed with odds and ends for backpacking and camping, such as cookware,...
SWAN VALLEY – The Swan Valley School Board approved budgets for the upcoming year, as well as contracts for educators and facility maintenance projects at their meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 6. The board approved the school’s adopted General Fund budget for the 2020 fiscal year at nearly $375,000. According to District Clerk Heather Mincey the budget last year was approximately $388,000. The budget reserves are currently at $35,000, however this is lower than it should be. “We have quite a bit of taxes that haven’t been paid yet,” said Mincey. ...
SEELEY LAKE - The Maughan siblings are no strangers to athletic excellence, but this past summer Seeley-Swan High School senior Caleb, sophomore Sariah and freshman Emily sunk their teeth into competing in track and field competitions outside of Montana. The three siblings moved to Spokane in May to live temporarily with family members to train with the Spokane Speed Academy. They competed in a variety of large track meets in the Pacific Northwest to prepare them for the USATF Region 13 Junior...
SWAN VALLEY - The Swan Valley Elementary School Board filled two vacant positions for the upcoming academic year. At a special meeting July 18, the board hired Chris Mauldin for the vacant kindergarten through second grade teaching position. At their special meeting July 30, they unanimously agreed to hire Ralph King as principal at a .2 Full Time Equivalent (FTE). Seeley Lake Elementary had already hired Mauldin for the 2019-2020 school year as a 0.2 FTE special education paraeducator before he took the K-2 position at Swan Valley School. He...
SEELEY LAKE - As the Seeley Lake Community Foundation prepares for its annual banquet, Executive Director Claire Muller reflects on a year of growth. Last August, Loren and Pam Rose announced that they would donate nearly half of the appraised value for the property that formerly housed Deer Country Quilts to the Foundation. The Foundation began fundraising the additional finances for the building at its annual banquet last year. The crowd donated nearly $40,000 to cover the down payment of the building within nearly 10 minutes. “Part of why my...
SEELEY LAKE - Each year, 100 boys are selected to represent their home state at Boys Nation in Washington D.C. This year, Seeley-Swan High School student Sam Weisenburger represented Montana. Weisenburger was chosen to represent his home state after his performance at Boys State this past spring. He was accompanied at Boys Nation by Thomas Henley of Helena. Boys and Girls State offers high school juniors a hands-on opportunity to learn how the government operates by attending a six-day session...
SEELEY LAKE - Families took to the Youth for Christ Seeley Lake Challenge Triathlon/Duathlon at the River Point Day Use area on Saturday, Aug 3. Nissa Lucero of Missoula competed in the solo short swim for her first ever triathlon. Following her race, she took to the sidelines to cheer on her daughters Soel and Seri that competed in the youth triathlon. "It was such an amazing day," said Nissa, who finished seventh in the 35-39 age group with a time of 1:25:31 for the short swim. "It was so grea...
SWAN VALLEY - Permit agreements between the Forest Service and concessionaires at the Holland Lake Recreation Site outline expectations of site management, maintenance and contract extensions. This past May, community members attended a Swan Valley Community Council meeting after receiving news of the concessionaire’s plans to phase out community day-use passes to the Holland Lake Recreation Complex by 2020. The decision to provide the Swan Valley Community Foundation with 200 passes this summer and none in 2020 was made in a private meeting b...
SEELEY LAKE - Every night since October, freshman Dani Sexton spends nearly two-hours caring for her prime angus steer Shaquille O'Neal. She feeds him, walks him around the pen, bathes him and leads him into a chute to blow-dry him. When she first got "Shaq" in October, he weighed nearly 660-pounds. This month he weighed nearly 1,290-pounds, just before the Western Montana Fair, Aug. 5-10. She hopes to have Shaq place in the most competitive weight class, which ranges from 1,300-1,375 pounds,...
SEELEY LAKE - Contractors with the Big Blackfoot Chapter of Trout Unlimited are working on the North Fork Cottonwood Reroute project that is tied to fisheries and preserving bull trout populations. The project on the #477 Cottonwood Lakes Road, approximately a quarter-mile east of the North Fork Cottonwood Creek, intends to move a segment of road from the banks of the creek and replace an existing culvert. This project is not expected to impact traffic. “The whole idea for the reroute, for instance, is to get the road away from the stream and k...
SEELEY LAKE - Two years after Trenton Johnson was killed while fighting the 2017 Florence Fire, an eight-mile section of Highway 83 through Seeley Lake was named in his honor on Friday, July 19. Several Montana firefighting crews were in attendance, as well as community members. The dedication event hosted guest speakers from the Forest Service and others, including Vicki Minor, executive director and founder of the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, Adam Babbitt with Grayback Forestry, Trenton's...
SEELEY LAKE - Nearly 100 people attended the free choir concert at Seeley-Swan High School Auditorium on Tuesday, July 16. The concert kicked off the four-day International Choral Festival in Missoula that is held once every three years. The performance brought Dagilėlis, a Lithuian boys choir, and the Batavia Madrigal Singers from Indonesia to Seeley Lake. The event was sponsored by the festival as part of its Outreach program. The Outreach Program is devoted to bringing culture into Montana...
SEELEY LAKE - Tamaracks Resort hosted the first annual Ultimate Wedding Giveaway Event at its new wooded wedding venue Saturday, July 20. The event was created to bring local vendors together to make Seeley Lake a spot for destination weddings. According to Kimmel, the plan to make Seeley Lake a spot for destination weddings came after she noticed the rising popularity in lakefront and open-ranch weddings in Montana. "Nobody was in the forest," explained Kimmel. "I really wanted to bring in...
SEELEY LAKE - The Hellgate Civilian Shooters team placed 32 out of 55 teams at the Civilian Marksmanship (CMP) National Championship in Port Clinton, Ohio July 13-15. The team was ranked seventh going into the competition. "The best thing they did was that every one of the kids kept their performance together, they had a shot plan, they stuck to it, they worked through some of their nerves," said Hellgate Civilian Shooters Coach Trace Weisenburger. "That's how we train." The team brought five...
SEELEY LAKE - A loaded logging truck bound for Seeley Lake rolled into the ditch along the northbound lane on Montana Highway 83 on Friday, July 12 around 2:15 p.m. The logging truck driver was wearing a seat belt. There were no injuries. According to Montana Highway Patrol Trooper TJ Templeton, the investigating officer, the vehicles in front of the logging truck stopped suddenly on the roadway to apparently make a left hand turn. The truck moved into the shoulder to avoid a collision and...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Elementary School Board hired three new teachers, appointed a new board trustee and approved a parent request for a student to enter kindergarten at a special meeting July 10. Since SLE has not hired a new superintendent, Missoula County Superintendent of Schools Erin Lipkind worked with a hiring committee to offer the board hiring recommendations. The committee recommended candidates for four different positions at SLE. The board only approved three of the four recommendations. The board approved Susan Bracha to...
SEELEY LAKE – Approximately 70 people volunteered to help create new trails on the Hill 16 Community Trail System during The Nature Conservancy's fifth annual Revive and Thrive event on Sunday, July 14. "I couldn't be happier with the turnout today, I believe we have more volunteers than usual," said Chris Bryant, the Western Montana Land Protection Director for TNC. "The goal is obviously to build trails, but also to bring people together and build relationships." Volunteers split themselves b...
SEELEY LAKE - The Outdoor Adventure Club began another season of fun this past week. Program leaders are eager to teach participants how to explore and enjoy the outdoors. The program is available for children in grades three - eight and runs every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Aug. 15. There is no cost to attend. “I really like providing an opportunity for a lot of these kids who otherwise wouldn’t be getting [outside] this summer,” said Program Leader Ella Batchelder. “I just think that’s really special....
SWAN VALLEY - Hundreds of people flocked to Condon, Mont. for the annual Fourth of July festivities. Locals raved about the annual parade, which many mentioned seemed longer than usual. The Swan Valley American Legion Post 63 hosted the parade. It hosted a variety of floats from local emergency vehicles, a string of classic and vintage cars, and horses. The Grand Marshal for the 2019 parade was Ronda Feucht. Throughout her lifetime she has lived and worked around California, Swan Valley and...
SWAN VALLEY - In the afternoon on the Fourth of July, the Swan Valley Saddle Club hosted the Fourth of July O-Mok-See. Traditional events included pole bending, key hole and western jump. Organizer Kellie Auchenbach introduced the event "Let's Get Dressed" to the festivities, where participants raced down the arena, got off their horse, put on extra clothing, then raced back. O-Mok-See High Point Winners: 7 and Under: Ryder Lund 8-11: Lilly Boyd 12-15: Kyla Conley Adults: Jennie Webb Overall...
SEELEY LAKE - The Bob Marshall Music Festival celebrated its fourth year in Seeley Lake by bringing people from all across Montana to the event in the name of music. This year, the event was organized by Lewis & Clark Brewing Company of Helena, Mont. Event organizers with Lewis & Clark Brewing Company estimated that between 700-800 people attended the event this year. Beth and Mark Mogensen traveled from Victor, Mont in the Bitterroot Valley to attend the festival for a second time. The couple...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake resident Don Larson sat patiently on the barge as Seeley-Swan Search and Rescue Chief Gerry Connell towed him out into the bay to ignite the 1995 fireworks display over Seeley Lake. Larson worked to position the barge so that he would light the fireworks down wind from the barrels that contained the rest of the evening’s ammunition. From shore, Mike Baker, a college student in Great Falls, could see Larson positioning the barge. He could see multiple boxes with rockets that would patriotically paint the sky. “We watch...
