Down in the valleys, it was a warm, mid-June day. My partner and I and our dog had traveled several thousand feet up into the Mission Mountains, with the intention of camping for a few nights at a lake, when we encountered a field of snow. We had yet to cross out of the treeline and were almost two miles from camp, but the snow patch was small, and it was easy to pick up the trail again. …

This Field Note was written by Phoebe McIlwain Bright. Would you be interested in writing one? Contact Allison De Jong, Field Notes editor, at adejong [at] montananaturalist [dot] org or 406.327.0405. Please visit the Field Notes website at the Montana Natural History Center for more information.