Month: August 2020

It was about a month ago when we last hiked Jewel Basin, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now that Kyra’s best friend Hannah is visiting for the week, we decided to head that way again. They wanted to summit Mt Aeneas, the highest peak in the area (at 7,500 feet). We donned our trail runners and headed out.

The first few miles were pretty tame: a wide trail with a fairly easy upward slope. But the last mile or so was where the trail earned its “strenuous” rating. It climbed through the forest with switchback after switchback, finally coming out on a ridge that runs upward to the peak. Here’s Kyra surveying the last half-mile of the route:

The summit is the highest point, of course. Already pretty tired, she and Hannah heaved a sigh and set off.

Despite the difficult climb, the peak was worth every calorie getting there. The views were astounding. To the north are the Picnic Lakes and probably Canada.

To the northeast, the peaks of Glacier are visible.

The southeast features Hungry Horse Reservoir, an enormous man-made lake (it’s visible in the distance, just before the mountain range).

And to the west, the always beautiful Flathead Valley. Here’s a shot of Pepper overlooking the land below. Flathead Lake is, of course, the huge body of water in the center. It makes Echo Lake, a popular tourist spot, look like a tiny pond (it’s in the lower right). We could also see the Flathead and Swan Rivers. Pretty awesome.

Kyra and Hannah took a few minutes to catch their breath at the top, and then posed for a picture.

It’s always cool to summit a mountain. “Top of the world, baby!”

Okay, maybe only five of the Seven. Two years ago, five of us met up in Indianapolis for Gen Con, and last year four of us were at Casa del Becher in Florida. This year, my new(ish) house was the destination. Since travel is all weird this year, Bech, Derek, and Dirk piled into a rental van and drove from St. Louis to Montana. Twenty-six hours on the road, with a stop in Omaha to pick up Aron. Oof.

Once they were here, though, we had a grand time. We mostly played board games, with breaks to go out on the lake or shoot some pool or just talk and laugh about our thirty-plus-year history together.

Derek enjoyed relaxing in the cool lake water. He decided paddleboarding wasn’t for him, so instead he just floated behind his board for about an hour.

Aron worked on standing on his paddleboard and eventually managed it. Then he decided to strike a yoga pose; this is some odd form of warrior:

We learned some new games, including Rising Sun, which turned out to be fairly complicated and not worth the effort.

The perennial favorite Power Grid probably saw half a dozen plays, which was great because it’s one I really enjoy. Also, I win that one a lot.

We learned Endeavor and after a few games, had the strategy down.

Let’s not forget Terraforming Mars, which is pretty high on the complexity scale but definitely popular with this group.

Grilling burgers and steaks, commenting on the hot summer weather (and lack of air conditioning in the house), sitting around in the courtyard until 2am… it was really awesome to hang out with these yahoos from my childhood.

Where will we meet up next year? It’s not clear yet, but since this is the third year in a row, it’s now officially an annual tradition. Maybe one of these times we’ll actually get all seven of the Magnificent Seven together…