We started out with a quick visit to Cataract Falls, near the parking area and Trailhead for the Steamboat Mountain Lookout trail. Twenty plus years ago, I had visited the Cataract Falls in winter to do a little ice climbing of the frozen falls, but first time seeing in the liquid state. I have 9 videos to watch, to share the hike.
Then we got on Trail number 205 at the trail head to Steamboat Mountain Lookout, a twelve mile round trip, 3400 feet elevation gain through a regenerating forest. In 1988 240,000 acres burned, as evidenced still in the charred trees seen in the videos.
Staying on Trail 205, there is another trail to the right, Trail 215. We continue to gain in elevation and see plenty of fresh bear scat and tracks.
Time for a rest at the junction of Trail 205 and Trail 239. After water, jerky and trail mix, power up towards the cliffs, veer to the left on Trail 239.
Lichen covered rocks along the trail, the looming cliffs of Steamboat Mountain, and the plains are on display. Also the standing remaining dead trees from the 1988 fire are quite prevalent.
Can finally see the top of the Steamboat Mountain Lookout, elevation 8,585 feet. A solar powered repeater is barely visible on the top, but we make our way up to the saddle before the ascent in the scree.
On the saddle, we look east and out over the plains toward Great Falls. A bit of a rest before the final climb in the scree, with a trail all the way to the top.
On top, the view is spectacular and the merging of the plains and the upthrusted Rockies is very apparent. It was our first time for this hike and well worth the effort.
Once we got back to the parking area, we saw the critter that was making all the tracks and scat.
Thank you all for watching and reading, another in a series of the Work and Life balance theme.
@jimmie_vanagon 
Jim, thanks for the heads-up on Twitter. Am I correct that this is the hike you also shared with your Periscope fans? A couple of the views looked familiar. Cheers! Looking forward to watching your next adventure.
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Yes, I did a periscope while on top of Steamboat Mountain Lookout, but also did a separate video directly to my phone I later uploaded to you tube. So there are actually two separate videos, the periscope and you tube. The reason I did this, I was afraid the quality on the periscope would be poor due to poor 4G connectivity. So I am glad I did the you tube upload video, as it was a much better quality. Thanks for watching. I hope to have another hike or two before the snow starts to fly. I am hoping to try Ear Mountain and maybe Rocky Mountain Peak. Take care.
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