Pines and Hardwoods In Cottonwood Canyon.
“Chris and I have had a good night’s sleep and this morning have packed the backpacks carefully, and now have been going up the mountainside for about an hour. .. The forest here at the bottom of the canyon is mostly pine, with a few aspen and broad-leafed shrubs. Steep canyon walls rise way above us on both sides. Occasionally the trail opens into a patch of sunlight and grass that edges the canyon stream, but soon it reenters the deep shade of the pines. The earth of the trail is covered with a soft springy duff of pine needles. It is very quiet here.“
Cottonwood Canyon, Gallatin National Forest, MT What was the ZMM Narrator's trail in the mountains after he left the DeWeese Family? On page 173 he says, “Just up above the top of the ridge the snow can be seen now. So, where is the Narrator's trail? We must use topo maps and all the Narrator's clues, even tiny ones, to deduce his trail. Early in Part III, he says that he started at the DeWeese's and followed the stream up a narrow canyon. And he moves directly towards the (closest?) snow, and this snow is visible while in their deep narrow canyon. Most likely these are the mountains in the Southeast. Indeed, there is a 1.2 mile stretch of Cottonwood Canyon that does point, up canyon, directly at some very high snow peaks (over 10,000 feet) in the Gallatin National Forest, such as Mount Blackmore and Elephant Mountain. Given these crucial clues, a ridge fitting the narrators descriptions, is identifiable. Having thus identified a probable "ridge" on the North side of and parallel to Cottonwood Canyon, another connecting ridge that then could lead a climber to snow may be identified. See link to map previous photo. Continued next.)
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(Photo = Summer06 0132...... ZMM Page = 167 ...... Photo Simulate WayPt = N+C 02)