When word broke of a 35 million gallon wastewater spill on the Gallatin last night, I had the reaction most local anglers did. An eye roll at Big Sky, a burst of anger at the fact one of my favorite rivers had to deal with this, and maybe another eye roll at Big Sky. I was able to move my schedule around this morning and ran up the canyon to get a first-hand look.
Stopping at Storm Castle (image below) and then again at Greek Creek, the river looked off; chalky and muddy and maybe like runoff was starting early.
Up at Big Sky, however, the divide was plain. Just upriver from Big Sky, the water was clear and clean, as pictured here below for comparison.
Watching the brown wastewater that has taken over the West Branch of the Gallatin come into the main stem was sobering. I hiked around a bit, trying to get a shot that showed the divide. We’ve all seen rivers that look like this in the spring — water coming in from a dirty trib — but this is something else.
I have a few friends in Big Sky, and have even developed a grudging enjoyment of the town.
But, coming back down the canyon stuck behind a shiny black Escalade with rental tags I admit to shaking my head a time or two.
Things happen — that’s just the way it is — but sometimes there is a very high level of irony involved.
