STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Want to take Mom or Grandma on a walkabout for Mother’s Day?

Check out the new reroute of the short loop at Greenhorn. Tiny mountain bluebells are ringing in the gentle breeze. And wild peonies and other wildflowers are getting close to budding.

And, no, you don’t have to worry about fording the spring creek with the ladies in your life.

The Ketchum Ranger District has rerouted the trail, which sported a precarious stream crossing last spring after snowmelt blew out one of the bridges.

The new trail traverses a hillside opposite the old trail so hikers don’t need to cross the creek. It doesn’t have the shade, but that means it doesn’t have the lingering snow and muddy conditions present on the old trail every spring.

And it offers lovely views of the creek and adjacent ponds, although hikers will miss the vaseflowers and other shade loving flowers that dotted the original trail.

One woman said she missed hiking along the creek. But others say they like the new trail.

“We shouldn’t have been hiking through riparian areas as long as we did,” said Kim Nalen.