Boondocking in Montana’s Beartooth Mountains

What a week it was. Nearly 100 Roadtrekers from across the country boondocked in a national forest about 12 miles southwest of the mountain community of Red Lodge, learning everything from night sky photography to taking photos of wildlife.

Along the way we hiked (a lot), made new friends, received a great gift of a solar cooker and learned how to prepare gourmet meals with the power of the sun and staged a Roadtrek parade of our various RVs up and down the main street in Red Lodge, complete with a police escort.

Jeff Martyka (one of our instructors) took the mountaintop view photo at the top of this post and it says it all: This has to be one of the most visually stunning places in the world, on the edge of the Yellowstone National Park ecosystem amidst some of the most pristine wilderness on the continent. And yes, those are Roadtreks you see climbing the mountain

Each day moose strolled through our campsites. We saw deer, elk, bear and mountain vistas, waterfalls and landscapes that make you weep from their beauty.

Besides Jeff, we had photo instruction from Laura Robinson and Joe Morales. Merv Coleman, who has been named as the Montana Photographer of the year and is well known as a wildlife and landscape photographer, taught us outdoor techniques and guided us on a long hike up to a beautiful mountain waterfall.

For many, this was the first time they boondocked – camped with no electric or water hookups – in a remote area.

We took up just about every site in three national forest campgrounds that are all within a half-mile of each other.

Here are some photos that show some of our activities. And yes, we will do this again next year.

 

 

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