Jess and I had been feeling under the weather for that last couple weeks and I had also been away on a business trip, so this was our first, relatively healthy weekend to spend together. The weather happened to be mild and the sun was out in full force. Jess and I decided that it was a great day to take pictures. We first headed out toward the Bridger mountains, but were quick disappointed with the quality of light in that direction, so we looped back and made way toward Gallatin Gateway. Once there we had a great view of the Spanish Peaks as well as a good look at the peaks and ridges over by Hyalite. We first started on a quiet two-lane road and then progressed up a gravel road the looked like it would lead to a promising vantage point. The road then quickly turned to snow and then to drifts. Being an over-confident Subaru owner, I decided that our beloved car could handle it. I wish I could say that I plowed up that hill, but I can’t. About halfway to the top of the last stretch, my speed slowed and I was caught into a large snow drift. A soggy ice-snow mixture, 18 inches in depth, locked us in place, we were stuck. I tried to rock the car back and forth to no avail. The eventual solution was to use the ice scraper to dig out the snow under the wheels. That did the trick and we were free. A small part of me wanted to attempt it again, we were so close! But the more reasonable side won out and we walked to the top of the hill to be rewarded with some amazing views.
We made our way back down to the car and backed down almost all the way to the start of the snow-covered road. We took a few more pictures on our way back into town, winding down our fun little adventure.