Friday thru Sunday May 23 - 25, Lower Flathead River Canoe Float/Camp. Beginning at Buffalo Bridge we'll flow south about 40 miles through the Flathead Indian Reservation to Dixon. Described as an "extremely scenic section of river" which "rolls by steep cliffs and unusual badlands", where waterfowl should abound. In spring this dam controlled class 1 section of river will move along at a good pace; which may allow for an additional 14 mile leg to Perma bridge. Tribal recreation-camping fee/permit required. Contact: John Wolverton 543-6696 Saturday June 14th, Spring Wildflower Hike to Packer Meadow. Join us for an 8 mile hike on the Lee Ridge Trail as we hike from Lee Creek Campground to Packer Meadow to see the purple Camas bloom at Lolo Pass. This is a moderately strenuous hike. Horticulturist Adrienne Hopkins will help us identify wildflowers and plants along the way. Bring your lunch and plenty of water. Rain cancels the hike. 9 AM meet-up at the Missoula Big-Lots parking lot to carpool. For more information, please contact Adrienne at 549-7012 or John Wolverton at 543-6696

Saturday June 28 - Service Outing, Fence and Weed Pull in Sawmill Gulch Elk Habitat. Help remove barbed wire and Hounds Tounge from elk winter range in the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area. Meet-up at the main Rattlesnake Trailhead north of Missoula at 8am and we'll be done by noon, giving volunteers a chance to recreate or head home for chores. We'll remove the last vestiges of barbed wire from a steep, brushy roadside area, making it easier for the North Hills elk herd and whitetails to roam and avoid entanglement. Then we'll take an interpretive-sightseeing 1/2 mile hike to another work-sites. Time permitting, we'll "top" some of the the invasive Hounds Tounge weeds. Long sleeve shirt, long pants, sturdy footgear, work gloves, and glasses of some sort will be required. Bring your own gloves, glasses, tool belt, linemans pliers and small bolt cutters if you can; but we will have supplies on hand for those who do not have such items. Not recommended for anyone with bad knees or bad back. Contact, Bert Lindler 542-7645 or blindler (at) montana.com

Friday thru Sunday July 25 - 27, Great Burn Backpack Trip. Backpack along the Montana/Idaho border in the wildest reaches of the northern Bitterroot Mountains. Spectacular scenery, wildlife, and natural history abound in this 250,000 acre inter-state roadless area. This 15 mile trip will be moderately strenuous with some off-trail travel required. Space is limited. Contact Bob Clark 549-1142 or bob.clark (at) sierraclub.org

Saturday and Sunday July 26 - 27, Pine Creek Lake Backpack. Backpack to Pine Creek Lake in the Absaroka Wilderness just North of Yellowstone National Park. These Mountains are rugged and wild, with old growth forests, waterfalls, wildlife, and most important peace and quiet. Pine Creek Lake is situated in a cirque valley that was once carved out by a glacier and is surrounded by 10,000-foot peaks. After a hard hike we will enjoy are time swimming, fishing, and lounging in the sun. The first mile of our hike is an easy stroll to Pine Creek Falls and the next four miles are tough ones (gaining 1000 feet every mile), so please experienced and strong hikers only. Space is limited so hurry and call Chris @ 406-209-6770 for more details.

August dates TBA, Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness backpack. Join us on this service outing to McCalla Creek/St. Mary's Peak area. A perfect mix of service and pleasure. We plan to recon and document potential user-created routes, bushwack a steep ridge, and spend the night at Upper McCalla Lake - approximately 7 miles round trip. There may be an opportunity to get to the top of St. Mary's peak as well! Or we could try to descend McCalla Creek and take another logging road back to the vehicles, looking for more user created trails along the way. This is a fairly strenuous hike. This will be a joint outing with the Rocky Mountaineers. Trip leaders; Steve Schombel and Bob Clark, contact Steve at 721-4686, Bob at 549-1142 or bob.clark (at) sierraclub.org

Saturday and Sunday August 9 - 10, Backpack to Carlton Lake, Climb to Lolo Peak. Taking the most popular route from the Mormon Peak trailhead, we'll hike a good trail to the top of Carlton Ridge with over 2000' of elevation gain. Then drop several hundred feet to Carlton Lake to set up camp for the evening. Then we'll do a daypack scramble of 1000' up and along the long ridge to the south to Missoula's landmark: 9,096' high Lolo Peak. Great views all around! Total elevation gain nearly 4000'. Join us on this overnight trip in order to experience and learn why this area should be protected from ski resort development and is crucial for elk, fish, bear, old growth pine, larch trees, hunters, hikers and for scientific research. Contact John Wolverton, 543-6696

Thursday thru Sunday September 4 - 7, Missouri River Breaks Canoe Float/Camp. Float with us on this 50+ mile canoe trip through the lightly traveled "Badlands" within the Wild and Scenic corridor of this famous river. Early September normally has mild weather, less wind, less folk and less mosquitos. Side hikes and explorations will be on the agenda. Rent or BYOBoat/gear. Contact John Wolverton 543-6696

Get Involved - The Montana Chapter Outings Program is looking for outings leaders throughout Montana. If you'd like to share your favorite wild places by leading an outing, contact the Outings Coordinator, John Wolverton at 543-6696 or yodelingdog (at) hotmail.com

For information on over 270 national and international Sierra Outings, visit: www.sierraclub.org/outings/ or call (415)977-5522