PHOTOS: Chasing autumn down the Middle Fork
CASEY KREIDER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 11 months AGO
Kerry Nickou composes an autumn landscape above Coal Creek and the Middle Fork Flathead River with the snow-dusted peaks of Glacier National Park's Mount Doody, back left, and Mount Saint Nicholas, right, in view along U.S. Highway 2 on Wednesday, Oct. 23. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Larches color a hillside above the Middle Fork Flathead River in John F. Stevens Canyon. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
The snow-dusted peak of Glacier National Park's Mount Saint Nicholas rises behind a larch-covered hillside along U.S. Highway 2 on Wednesday, Oct. 23. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Milan Mena casts a line into the Middle Fork Flathead River below Loneman Mountain. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Larches color a mountainside in John F. Stevens Canyon along U.S. Highway 2 on Wednesday, Oct. 23. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Larch needles along the Middle Fork Flathead River and U.S. Highway 2. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Fall colors and low clouds between Deerlick Creek and the shoulder of Mount Penrose along U.S. Highway 2 on Wednesday, Oct. 23. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Larches color a hillside above the Middle Fork Flathead River in John F. Stevens Canyon. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
The snow-dusted peaks of Glacier National Park's Mount Doody, left, and Battlement Mountain behind a larch-covered hillside along U.S. Highway 2 on Wednesday, Oct. 23. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
The snow-dusted flank of Mount Penrose is seen behind a larch-covered mountainside along U.S Highway 2. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Larches along the Middle Fork Flathead River and U.S. Highway 2. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Larches color a mountainside over the Middle Fork Flathead River. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Milan Mena casts a line into the Middle Fork Flathead River below Loneman Mountain in 2024. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake FILE)
Casey Kreider
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Casey Kreider is a staff photographer for the Daily Inter Lake. His work documents news, sports, wildlife, landscapes and everyday life across Northwest Montana through visual storytelling. Kreider’s keen eye captures major sporting events, community moments, and the natural beauty that defines the region. He is a graduate of Penn State University and previously worked as a photographer for Lancaster Newspapers in Pennsylvania. In 2024, he received the Montana Newspaper Association’s Mel Ruder Photograph of the Year award. IMPACT: Kreider's work brings readers closer to the people, places and moments that shape life in Northwest Montana through powerful visual journalism. | November 3, 2024 12:00 AM
Snow-dusted summits rise up to fill the sky above hillsides covered in a vibrant tapestry of bright orange and yellow larches as the Middle Fork Flathead River weaves its way through John Stevens Canyon.
A fly fisherman’s rod slings beads of water into an arc as he snaps his looping line back and forth across the surface of the river. A photographer grins as he crunches down a path of fallen leaves to a sweeping view of fiery foliage and freshly-frosted craggy peaks.
Don’t blink, shoulder season is fleeting. A single night will transform this palette of warmth into a canvas of white as the prevailing winds whip up a frenzy of fresh snow, leaching the landscape of the last traces of autumnal glow.
Larches color a hillside above the Middle Fork Flathead River in John F. Stevens Canyon. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
The snow-dusted peak of Glacier National Park's Mount Saint Nicholas rises behind a larch-covered hillside along U.S. Highway 2 on Wednesday, Oct. 23. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Milan Mena casts a line into the Middle Fork Flathead River below Loneman Mountain. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Larches color a mountainside in John F. Stevens Canyon along U.S. Highway 2 on Wednesday, Oct. 23. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Larch needles along the Middle Fork Flathead River and U.S. Highway 2. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Fall colors and low clouds between Deerlick Creek and the shoulder of Mount Penrose along U.S. Highway 2 on Wednesday, Oct. 23. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Larches color a hillside above the Middle Fork Flathead River in John F. Stevens Canyon. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
The snow-dusted peaks of Glacier National Park's Mount Doody, left, and Battlement Mountain behind a larch-covered hillside along U.S. Highway 2 on Wednesday, Oct. 23. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
The snow-dusted flank of Mount Penrose is seen behind a larch-covered mountainside along U.S Highway 2. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Larches along the Middle Fork Flathead River and U.S. Highway 2. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Larches color a mountainside over the Middle Fork Flathead River. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Milan Mena casts a line into the Middle Fork Flathead River below Loneman Mountain in 2024. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake FILE)Casey Kreider
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