We could see large smoke plumes in the distance, but it wasn't close enough to be evacuated. At night you could see the ash in the air using your flashlight beam. In the mornings our tents had a light ash coating. We hiked up to Castle Lake one day and the air was hazy.

We had a great wilderness fishing experience. It definitely was hard work, but it's great to catch wild cutthroat and not see anyone else for such a long time. There wasn't a single rafter, the water was too low.

If you know of other places similar in fishing and remoteness to the MF of Flathead, that don't require a lot of expense or outfitters, I would like to hear about it. Our budget is typically $500 each for 8 days, excluding airfare which is normally free using NWA mileage. That includes all local transportation, food, drink, local flies, licenses, fees, etc. We prefer to stay in tents every night except the night before we fly home.

This year were headed back to our old standby, Slough Creek in Yellowstone to fish the 2nd and 3rd meadows again as well as the Lamar River around cache Creek.