These are the same heavy canvas wall tents the outfit packs into the backcountry for the fall hunt — we just pitched a handful of them on cedar platforms in a meadow down toward the Flathead, where the only neighbors are the cottonwoods and the river going by. From the platform you look out across open grass to the water and the Whitefish Range beyond, and in July the beargrass blooms right up to the edge of camp.
Don't let "tent" fool you. Inside there's a proper bed made up with Beargrass Woolens blankets, a rug on the floor, a chair and a lantern, and a small wood stove that takes the chill off a mountain dawn in about ten minutes. Zip the door and it's just you and the canvas glowing soft in the lamplight; unzip it in the morning and the whole valley is right there, dew and birdsong and woodsmoke.
A short walk brings you to a tidy shared bathhouse with hot showers, and the cookhouse for breakfast and supper. It's the least money and the most stars of anything we offer — the way the outfit has always slept, with a few honest comforts thrown in. Cool nights are part of the deal, and so is the best sky you'll see all year.