From the height of Hyalite Peak, the rugged crags of the Gallatin Crest undulate south to Yellowstone National Park.

Eastward, the high peaks of the Absaroka Mountains reach toward a seemingly endless sky. To the west, the pinnacles of the Madison Range soar above the Gallatin Canyon.

Hike these slopes and you've got a good chance of spotting elk and mountain goats and grizzly bears. You've also got a good chance of seeing a few people, though not as many as you may have a year ago.

In May, the Gallatin National Forest implemented its 2010 interim summer-use management plan, which restricts use on the Gallatin Crest and several other trails in the Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area. The restrictions come in response to U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy's September 2009 ruling that the 2006 decision set forth in the Gallatin National Forest's Travel Management Plan failed to maintain the 1977-era wilderness character of the Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area.

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