It’s not often that new trails get built in the woods of Montana. The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have enough work maintaining the existing trails, let alone adding more. So the fact that volunteers cooperated with federal and state agencies to get a new, albeit short, trail built to access a section of state land is no small feat. Luckily, these volunteers were tenacious and they found some willing officials to work with. The Ernie Strum Trail was dedicated on Thursday in memory of the veteran outdoorsman who lived in Red Lodge. The short route, only about one mile long, crosses BLM land along the West Rosebud drainage at the base of the Beartooth Mountains. By traveling the route, hikers can reach Lilly Pad and Crater lakes that have been stocked with fish. Note: hikers must have a state land pass; anglers get theirs when they buy a fishing license. For directions to the route and more on the volunteer and agency effort, check out my story at http://bit.ly/1s3JDPP
