Running with Waterfalls: A photo essay

View looking down Hyalite Canyon

The Hyalites have always been one of my favorite outdoor venues around Bozeman. I have long considered this range of tall mountains, deep canyons and stunning waterfalls to be Bozeman's own national park. The three main canyons in the range are all accessible from Hyalite Canyon Road. The central canyon, Hyalite Canyon, is where I headed this morning. When I lived here in the 1980s, the trail up this canyon was colloquially referred to as the 7-waterfalls trail. That name seems to have been forgotten in the intervening years, but it is no less apt today than it was 40 years ago. In fact, 7-waterfalls was then, and is still, an undercount.

What follows is a photo essay that focuses mainly on the waterfalls, but also captures other aspects of the beauty of this canyon.

Grotto Falls, left, and Twin Falls, right, are the first two falls along the trail. 40 years ago, Twin Falls was visible from a meadow directly across from the falls. The trees at the far end of that meadow have long since grown tall enough to obscure any view of Twin Falls from that point. The only point to see them now is from where the Grotto Falls trail connects to the main canyon trail.

Twin Falls had a bit of mystique about it when I was younger, and might still today. The falls pour out of Palace Lake which sits in the hanging valley between Mt Elephant and Palace Butte. Viewing Palace Lake was notoriously difficult. Rumor had it that there was a chimney up the cliff that was climbable without technical gear. Some buddies of mine finally found the chimney, but I never made my way up there. I got to see Palace Lake by heading up through the steep forest between Palace Butte and Maid of the Mist Mountain, then I found a chute that allowed me to gain the peak of Palace Butte and I looked down upon the lake. It was a beautiful tarn in a lush green cirque that was worthy of its mystique.

Maid of the Mist Mountain (left), and Palace Butte, (right)

Arch Falls is next along the trail. The volcanic conglomerate that comprises the Hyalites makes it look as though the arch was built by masons instead of the natural form that it is.

Whereas Twin Falls pours over the western face of the canyon, Silken Skein flows down the eastern face. It's a bit of a climb to get to these falls, and the upper falls, left, and lower falls, right, are often just trickles this late in the season. With the bright green mosses and the ample flow, this is the prettiest I have ever seen these falls. It struck me after I left these falls, that I have never gone above them, to see if either there is a third falls, or if the source of these falls becomes apparent. Something for the next adventure.

Champagne Falls is my one of my favorites in the canyon. It's taller than many of the other falls and has a majesty about it that captures my imagination. It seems made for a movie set.

Chasm Falls, left, and Shower Falls, right, are in close succession, maybe a mile beyond Champagne Falls. Small though they be, they show off the variety of forms that falls take in this canyon.

Apex Falls, above, follows shortly as one starts to ascend the headwall toward Hyalite Lake. Apex is a mixed waterfall and slide. I took this shot from the bridge that crosses the slide as it sweeps underneath.

S'il vous plait, left, and Headwall Falls, right, are the last two falls as one hikes up the headwall toward the upper basin. Headwall Falls, is not actually a named falls, but it seems appropriate as it flows from the top of the headwall into the Hyalite Lake basin. I lost my nephew Josh in this canyon last July 7th (see https://www.ragingwhileaging.com/post/finding-josh-the-hyalites-suddenly-feel-extremely-remote-10-min-read). At that time, this tame waterfall was flowing right onto the trail and was dangerous to cross. Neither Josh nor I crossed it--yes, I found him eventually. We chose to climb the headwall instead and shortly found ourselves at the lake.

Hyalite Lake with Hyalite Peak in the right photo

So that's 11 waterfalls by my count if we count the upper and lower Silken Skein Falls as two falls, and 10 if we don't. By either count it is indicative of the wealth of outdoor riches of this area. Hyalite Canyon is one of three in the Hyalites, and one of many other beautifully endowed canyons in the region.

Being that it was early September, I was lucky to find a few flowers still in bloom and it seemed to be fungi season. The weird looking orange fungus above caught my eye.

We were fortunate in southwestern Montana this summer. As the green grasses and the mosses in the photos indicate, we had a cool, wet summer, with no wildfires in the vicinity. Too many other places in the country and the world suffered through extreme heat and the southeast is now collectively biting its nails with hurricane season in full swing.