Educational Hikes and Workshops
Explore some of the most pressing issues facing the A-B Wilderness
We invite you to join us this summer on a series of interpretive hikes, often led by local experts and Atlas contributors, throughout the A-B. Hear from local geologists, botanists, mining experts, and wilderness activists, as well as explore a topic while hiking a relevant trail. Hikes are FREE, but you do need to sign up to reserve a spot. Check out the various hikes offered below!
2021 Educational Hikes and Workshops
| Hike Topic | Date | Location | Presenter | Hike Length | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botany and Plant ID | 6/6/21 | North Fork Bear Creek, Gardiner | Heidi Anderson | 8 Miles | Full, Accepting Waitlist |
| Historic Mine Visit and Discussion | 6/17/21 | Mountain View Mine, Nye | Patrick Pierson, Ennis Geraghty, Tom Kircher, Randy Weimer | 1 Mile | Full, Accepting Waitlist |
| The Sagebrush Sea Meets the Beartooth Front | 6/19/21 | Eastern Beartooth Front | Jeff DiBenedetto | 1 Mile | Open for Registration |
| Trail Building Workshop With Sunnyside Farms | 6/21/21 | Clyde Park | ABWF Staff | N/A | Open for Registration Ages 12-18 |
| Climate Change, Whitebark Pine, Grizzlies | 6/26/21 | Emigrant Peak, Paradise Valley | Jesse Logan, Patrick Cross | 7-9 Miles | Open For Registration |
| Trail Building Workshop With Sunnyside Farms | 6/28/21 | Suce Creek | ABWF Staff | N/A | Open for Registration Ages 12-18 |
| Ethnobotany, Cheyenne Beliefs, Connection With The Landscape | 8/15/21 | Lake Fork Rock Creek | Linwood Tall Bull | 1-2 | Open For Registration |
| Pride Hike to Glacier Lake | 8/28/21 | Glacier Lake | ABWF Staff, Phoenix Pearl Tea | 5 | Open For Registration |
| Whitebark Pine: A Treeline Keystone Species | 8/29/21 | Beartooth Pass | Jeff DiBenedetto | 2-3 Miles | Open For Registration |
| Caves and Karst | TBD | Red Lodge Palisades | Dan Seifert | TBD | Registration Available Soon |
Hike Descriptions and Sign-ups:
Ethnobotany, Cheyenne Beliefs, and Connection with the Landscape
Aug 15, 2021
Presenter Bio: Linwood Tall Bull is from the Northern Cheyenne Nation in Montana. He is an ethnobotanist and cultural consultant for Chief Dull Knife College and a Dog Soldier Society Headsman. He currently serves on the Elderly Advisory Board at the Brinton Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming. Linwood is also the Chairman of the Medicine Wheel Alliance of the Big Horn Mountains.
Hike Description: Linwood Tall Bull will lead a small group on a hike at Lake Fork of Rock Creek near Red Lodge, Montana. On this two-hour educational hike, he will share plant stories and their uses. He will also share the relationship of the Cheyenne people to all things the Creator placed on earth. The group may also gather chokecherries, tea leaves, and turnips if available.
Meeting Time and Location: 9:00 AM, Lake Fork Rock Creek Trailhead
Pride Hike To Glacier Lake
Aug 28, 2021
Description: Are you an LGBTQ identifying person who wants to connect with the queer community around the A-B Wilderness? We invite you (and a +1!) to join us for a hike to Glacier Lake, near the headwaters of Rock Creek. After hiking to this beautiful spot, folks are welcome to stop in Red Lodge at Phoenix Pearl Tea and Games for snacks and games.
This hike is a 2.5 mile out and back (5 miles) and rises 1,000ft on a popular trail to Glacier Lake, which sits at 9,700ft!
Meeting Time and Location: 9am, Glacier Lake Trailhead
Whitebark Pine: A Treeline Keystone Species
Aug 29, 2021
Description: Join retired Forest Service Ecologist Jeff DiBenedetto for a visit to a Whitebark Pine stand that experienced a bark beetle attach around 2021. We will discuss Whitebark ecology, why it’s a keystone species, the threats posed by climate change, bark beetles and blister rust, and efforts to protect and restore Whitebark Pine stands.
We will see the effects of a bark beetle attack on the age distribution and structure of the stand (why some trees were attacked and others survived), see regeneration of Whitebark Pine in the understory, see evidence of the tree colonizing (moving upslope) alpine grasslands (is that due to warming temperatures?) and with a little luck, maybe see nutcrackers harvesting pine nuts. As a bonus, on the walk back across the alpine we can discuss or point out various alpine plant communities.
Meeting time and location: 8AM, US Forest Service Beartooth District Ranger Station
How you can Volunteer: We know that many of you have expertise in diverse fields: geology, botany, archeology, etc. If you would like to help the ABWF lead a hike or present a campground talk, we’d love to involve you! Contact us: [email protected].
We’ll continue to roll out new hikes and opportunities throughout the spring and summer.