50 Wild Places: Celebrating Montana's Outdoors

A10 – Missoulian, Monday, June 23, 2014

North Fork of the Flathead River

ROB CHANEY/Missoulian

Floaters will find lots of mountain scenery, feisty cutthroat trout and good public campsites along the North Fork of the Flathead River, which borders Glacier National Park from the Canadian line to Columbia Falls.

Floaters experience rare side of Glacier

By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian

have bear-resistant containers for all food or risk a hefty fine.

The U.S.-Canadian border to OLEBRIDGE – It doesn’t Ford makes a leisurely 14-mile have to be an “official” day float. Polebridge sits wilderness for your another 11 miles downstream, destination to provide a wild with more campgrounds and Montana experience. hostels surrounding the popular Federally designated wild and Polebridge Mercantile. After scenic rivers run alongside many that, Big Creek Campground wilderness areas. The Flathead waits just above Fool Hen drainage provides three such Rapids, and anyone getting past north of Columbia Falls flips waterways. that can float right into plenty of inexperienced boaters, The Flathead River’s Columbia Falls. only two other Class II rapids branches include 219 miles of The float features views of complicate the waters farther wild, scenic or recreational Glacier’s infrequently seen and north. passage. The Middle and South rarely visited northwest The river’s west bank passes forks originate in the Bob Livingston Range. The river also a mix of private and U.S. Forest Marshall Wilderness Complex. wanders through several Service land. Glacier Park Hungry Horse Reservoir sections of old forest-fire scars, manages the whole east bank, drowned almost half of the with thickets of skeleton trees and requires backcountry South Fork, but its upper filling the view. And it holds lots reaches still qualify for wild and permits to camp there. The of small but gullible cutthroat scenic designation. The Middle passes cost $5 per person, and trout. require users to bring a bearFork has some of northwest The toughest part of a North resistant cooler, fire pan and Montana’s fiercest whitewater. personal waste removal system. Fork Flathead float may be the The North Fork is generally The Forest Service has several shuttle ride up the unpaved considered the main stem of the popular stopping points, North Fork Road. Don’t plan on Flathead, and originates in including the Ford Campground making up lost time on this British Columbia. Its entire that features a rentable cabin, as road, or you’ll need an 58-mile length along Glacier well as tent sites. Campers must alignment-suspension repair National Park’s western border has wild and scenic designation. set up below the high-water line job that will kill most of the joy While Fool Hen Rapids just along private property, and must this river valley offers.

P

Location: Western border of Glacier National Park north of Columbia Falls Distance/Duration: Single or multi-day float trip on 58 miles of river Difficulty: Moderate boating skills required

KEN BARNEDT/Missoulian

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Missoulian, Tuesday, June 24, 2014 – A5

Pyramid Lake

ROB CHANEY/Missoulian

An unnamed lake in the Bob Marshall Wilderness makes a great rest stop on the way to Pyramid Lake. Hold out for the bigger basin, which features a look into the vast interior of the 1 million-acre wilderness complex.

A good first taste of Bob Marshall Wilderness

By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian

S

EELEY LAKE – Close enough to host a bachelor party, but far enough to experience the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Pyramid Lake serves many people their first taste of Montana’s backcountry.

A steep but relatively short hike from a trailhead above Seeley Lake, Pyramid Lake has a couple different trails to its basin. One has been decommissioned, but tracks show continued stock use on that most-direct route. The more recent alternative packs some nasty switchbacks, but nothing as rugged as the incline they replace.

There’s even an extra lake involved, although this can be a hazard if you’re hiking with younger packers. The unnamed water appears right at the point where it seems like a really good idea to quit carrying a heavy backpack.

The fact that several nice campsites dot its shore and fish dimple its surface doesn’t

shortly after cresting the ridge that guards the interior of the Bob Marshall Wilderness. It’s on the left, and delivers you to the lakeshore in a few minutes. Continuing down the main trail may deliver you to Choteau in a few days, if you brought enough food.

Pyramid Lake has one big campsite along its southern shore, which often gets claimed by bigger groups.

Keep working around to the northeastern corner to find some more good tent sites. help the argument that there’s Go all the way around through more climbing to do. a boulder field, and you’ll Nor does the fact that the eventually find the original spur trail to Pyramid Lake has route. often lost its sign. While So why go to the trouble? almost everyone passes near Aside from the fishing, the Seeley Lake Ranger huckleberry bushes, amazing Station en route to the wildflower slopes and trailhead, that’s in the Lolo opportunity to scramble up National Forest. Pyramid Lake Pyramid Peak and gaze into resides in the Flathead the vastness of the 1 millionNational Forest, but is so far acre Bob Marshall Wilderness down its southern extent that Complex, there are several maintenance crews from excellent providers of milk Kalispell don’t get there too shakes in Seeley Lake, at the often. civilized end of the trailhead Keep an eye out for the spur road.

Location: 10 miles from Seeley Lake following Cottonwood Lakes Road and Morrell Creek Road to the trailhead, in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Distance/Duration: 6.5 miles one way; long day hike or overnight backpack experience Difficulty: 1,500-foot elevation gain from trailhead to Pyramid Lake

KEN BARNEDT/Missoulian

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A12 – Missoulian, Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Ross Creek Giant Cedars Natural Area

ROB CHANEY/Missoulian

A graded trail suitable for all ages meanders through the massive trees in the Ross Creek Giant Cedars Natural Area. For the hardy, Ross Creek also leads into the proposed Scotchman Peaks wilderness between Noxon and Troy.

An easy hike to 1,000-year-old trees

By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian

N

OXON – For an awe-inspiring wilderness experience that grandma and her grandchildren can enjoy, head for the Ross Creek Giant Cedars Natural Area.

The intimidating Cabinet Mountains Wilderness rises to the east, while the Scotchman Peaks wilderness study area surrounds the trail itself. But a paved road leads to a gently graded walking trail through a forest that rivals California’s Sequoia National Park.

Cedar forests like this used to dominate many wet canyon bottoms in western Montana. Between early 20th century logging and the forest fires of 1910, nearly all have disappeared. Avalanche Creek in Glacier National Park and Cedar and Ward creeks near Superior are among the few remaining stands of really big trees. And they can’t top the 1,000-year-old giants standing sentinel along the Ross Creek Nature Trail.

Although wildlife (other than birds) are a rare sight in the Ross cedars, the area gets shockingly heavy use by elk. Look carefully in some of the most impenetrable thickets of brush, and you’ll find enough elk sign on the ground to make you expect a stampede. Odd eyeball-height triangular holes in some of the trees testify to the area’s former popularity with trappers, who placed their

Location: 29 miles south of Troy or 20 miles north of Noxon on Highway 56 Distance/Duration: .9-mile graded interpretative trail, handicappedaccessible, loops through the 100-acre grove; other trails lead deeper into the cedar forest.

Difficulty: Easy. fs.usda.gov/recarea/kootenai/recreation/ picnickinginfo/recarea/?recid66084&actid70

sets in the trunks for weasels and fishers.

Underfoot, the rainforest conditions foster between 5,000 and 6,000 species of moss and lichen. Only about 1,600 of them are named and classified in scientific literature.

While most visitors come in summer, Ross Creek is also popular with cross-country skiers who glide up the 4-mile entrance road to the grove. Given the tremendous amounts of snow this area attracts, such winter excursions are possible until surprisingly late in spring some years.

The parking area has picnic sites and vault toilets, but no camping is allowed. A .9-mile interpretive trail loops through the first part of the grove, with smaller trails heading deeper into the wilderness. Front-country campers can find a spot at the Bad Medicine Forest Service campground along Bull Lake, just north of the Ross Creek entrance road.

KEN BARNEDT/Missoulian

Where more than rivers meet.

Call 1.800.526.3465 or visit our website to start planning your next meeting.

Visit missoulameetings.com/mt and learn how Missoula’s natural beauty and vibrant culture combine for innovative meetings.

A12 – Missoulian, Thursday, June 26, 2014

Crystal Lake

ROB CHANEY/Missoulian

A long hike, a short hike or a boat trip all lead to Crystal Lake, in the middle of the Mission Mountains Wilderness between Seeley Lake and Condon. Skilled route-finders can also make their way to seldom-seen High Park and Lost lakes.

3 routes into Mission Mountains Wilderness

By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian

C

ONDON – Crystal Lake holds the unusual distinction of having three trails to choose from — all with different challenges, but all leading into the Mission Mountains Wilderness.

Option No. 1 takes off from Beaver Creek Road, just after the Summit Lake overlook on Highway 83 north of Seeley Lake. It takes four miles of hiking to reach your destination.

Option No. 2 starts off Lindbergh Lake Road, up the Meadow-Bunyon road spur. This trail travels just two miles, but it does so at a considerably steeper grade. By the way, both routes have the further oddity of being a descent to a mountain lake. You do your climbing on the way home.

The third option requires a boat to travel the four miles of Lindbergh Lake, before taking a gentle creekgrade trail two miles to the upper lake. This route allows the heaviest packs and least damage to aging knees, assuming you have access to a boat.

However you arrive, Crystal Lake offers a beautiful basin with a

Location: Lindbergh Lake or Beaver Creek roads north of Seeley Lake, in the Mission Mountains Wilderness Distance/Duration: 2-4 miles one way, depending on choice of trail, with 4-mile canoe option. Day hike or overnight backpack experience.

Difficulty: Moderate. Two trails descend 500 vertical feet to lake from trailhead, while third route starts with 4-mile boat approach over Lindbergh Lake followed by 2-mile hike.

sheeting waterfall covering much of the glacially carved cliff face at its far western end. Its foot has a line of island trees that drain its overflow like a leaky dam. This makes it very wet to get to the opposite shore, should you decide you chose the wrong entry route.

Old social trails lead up both long sides to the head of the lake, but don’t expect them to be in any passable condition.

Adventure-seekers hoping to get a

KEN BARNEDT/Missoulian

closer look at the waterfall or to penetrate on to Lost and High Park lakes farther up the basin will find a troublesome swamp around most of the base of that cliff. It’s better,

although totally unmarked, to bushwhack along the glacial moraine ridges above either shore to reach the upper basin. Hardy anglers report the struggle is worth the effort.

Where more than rivers meet.

Call 1.800.526.3465 or visit our website to start planning your next meeting.

Visit missoulameetings.com/mt and learn how Missoula’s natural beauty and vibrant culture combine for innovative meetings.

Missoulian, Monday, June 30, 2014 – A3

Kintla Lake

ROB CHANEY/Missoulian

As one of the largest lakes in the United States with a boat ramp and a nonmotorized boating restriction, Glacier National Park’s Kintla Lake offers both easy access and deep quiet near the Canadian border.

Paddle, hike, camp in Glacier silence

By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian

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OLEBRIDGE – One of the largest lakes in the nation where the motors have to stop at the shoreline hides in the northwest corner of Glacier National Park.

You can drive all the way to Kintla Lake on the Inside North Fork Road. But you must paddle to see the fantastic spire of Kinnerly Peak at its far end. In addition to its end-of-the-road status as Glacier’s most remote front-country campground, Kintla’s non-motorized status makes this a uniquely peaceful spot.

The National Park Service doesn’t give Glacier federal wilderness status, although it manages most of it the same way. That means no wheeled or motorized contrivances in its backcountry (although national parks have considerably more leeway to bend this rule than the U.S. Forest Service does). In Kintla’s case, it just means incredible solitude and silence and scenery.

Well-maintained trails also mark the shoreline of this 6-mile-long lake, and lead deep into Glacier’s northern Livingston Range. But boating up the water is by far the more pleasant way to see the area.

Location: Northwest corner of Glacier National Park Distance/Duration: 6-mile canoe paddle or shoreline hike Difficulty: Basic boating skills and equipment. Watch for wind storms.

A good campground awaits at the eastern end (backcountry camping permit required). And the fishing at the mouth of Kintla Creek can be amazing.

Just remember to be gentle with the bull trout and return them to the water.

They’re on the Endangered Species Act’s threatened list.

From the campground at Kintla’s eastern end, it’s a 2-mile hike to Upper Kintla Lake, with its own incredible mountain scenery. Many boaters looking at the map ponder the possibility of portaging a boat between the two. Upper Kintla has some fascinating bays and nooks that would be fun to paddle.

If you’re hiking with a crew of University of Montana Grizzlies linebackers, it’s perfectly doable. (Let them carry the boats.) Otherwise, leave the boats on the lower lake’s shore and backpack the 4 miles to another excellent campground at the far end of Upper Kintla.

KEN BARNEDT/Missoulian

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Missoulian, Tuesday, July 1, 2014 – A5

Chaffin Lake

ROB CHANEY/Missoulian

The lakes of Chaffin Creek Canyon in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness southwest of Darby are known for easy fishing, as well as for rock climbing and fantastic scenery.

Stair-step geology on display

By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian

D

ARBY – The giant stairstep nature of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness gets a great display on the way to Chaffin Lake.

This 6.5-mile hike advances through a series of hanging valleys, including one with a lovely waterfall tumbling over the lip. At the end, a series of six lakes occupy individual benches.

Most visitors camp at the first two, Hart and Tamarack lakes, while the more adventurous struggle up the farther steps to the “string of sapphires” 1,000 vertical feet above Chaffin Lake.

Many of the peaks in the southern Bitterroot Range look like they’ve been blasted in a furnace, with harsh ridges and burnt-iron color. But the surrounding foliage and the brilliant blue lakes keep the color balance intact.

Bring sandals, because you’ll have to cross Chaffin Creek a few times on the way up. One involves that waterfall bench, which can be a bit intimidating in early summer when the

Location: From the West Fork Road 4.4 miles south of Darby, take the Tin CupChaffin Road 4 miles to the trailhead.

Distance/Duration: 6.5 miles and a 2,400-foot elevation gain for long day hike or potential 2- to 3-day fishing and rock-climbing adventure.

Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous, depending on how big a load you haul and how high Chaffin Creek is running. Late summer and fall are ideal times.

KEN BARNEDT/Missoulian

water’s still flowing strong. Later in the season, 10-year-olds with backpacks can handle it.

Don’t forget fishing poles either. The trout in Hart and Tamarack lakes will strike on polished toenails, and one former Missoulian reporter nearly scored with a piece of bagel stuck on a hand-carved wooden hook (he forgot to pack tackle).

Glaciers carved the gaps that penetrate the Bitterroot Range.

That left huge, U-shaped valleys with some sheer walls higher than Yosemite National Park’s famous faces. Unlike Yosemite, finding one other party at the end of Chaffin Creek qualifies as crowded here.

Imagine pushing your boot through sand, and the rim of

material raised around your footprint. As they carved their way down, those glaciers left mounds of earth called moraines that form the contours and ledges hikers now climb over. As they retreated in stages, they left terminal moraines (like around the toe of your bootprint) that impound the lakes at the upper end of the valley.

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A12 – Missoulian, Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Froze-To-Death Plateau

TOM BAUER/Missoulian

Mountain goats are plentiful on Froze-To-Death Plateau, and aren’t shy about raiding the camps of hikers who fail to batten down their gear before setting off to explore the high country of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.

A place of serenity, beauty, wild wonder

By MARTIN KIDSTON of the Missoulian

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BSAROKEE – It’s a long way up to Froze-To-Death Plateau, like 26 switchbacks rising 3,000 feet in roughly two miles. But as the saying goes, there’s only one way up, and that’s to take it one step at a time, elevation be damned.

Often described as the roof of Montana, the plateau is a place of legend, death and frustration. It’s also a place of serenity, beauty and wild wonder. While it’s not for the novice hiker, mounting the plateau is worth the effort for those in condition – and prepared for unpredictable and potentially dangerous weather.

The plateau sits atop the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, and it’s a world unto itself. It’s ripe with flowers at the right time of year, pristine snowfields, glacial ponds and endless views of Montana.

To get there, most hikers start at West Rosebud Lake where Trail 19 picks up. After an easy four-mile hike to Mystic Lake, the trail diverges and it’s easily missed. To the left, hikers will find Trail 17, which climbs several thousand feet over two miles

Location: About 25 miles south of Absarokee in the AbsarokaBeartooth Wilderness on the Custer National Forest.

Distance/duration: From the trailhead to the top of Tempest Mountain and back requires a 22-mile trip best accomplished over two days, given the elevation gain and difficult terrain.

Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous, with potentially dangerous weather and limited water supplies once on the plateau.

to the base of the plateau.

Once on the plateau, getting from point to point takes time and there’s no clearly defined trail guiding the way. It’s a boulder field brushing the sky, requiring hikers to hop from one rock to the next while following a network of cairns across five rugged miles.

From the plateau, hikers have a number of options. One includes an easy scramble up Tempest Mountain. It marks the plateau’s high point and lends a full view of Granite Peak – Montana’s highest point at 12,799 feet – which sits just across the ravine.

Granite, a mountain shaped something like a razor blade, appears so close and yet, even from the plateau, it stands so far away. It’s also more than a scramble to the top.

It requires climbing skills to navigate

a few tricky pitches with extreme exposure to the valley bottoms.

But bagging Granite Peak isn’t essential for a high-alpine experience or gaining views of Montana that few ever see. The plateau and Tempest Mountain are good enough for many, offering views of the 943,000-acre Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness spreading beyond.

Within the wilderness, hikers can explore more than 20 peaks thrusting above 12,000 feet. The expansive country boasts 950 alpine lakes and nearly 200 miles of maintained trails.

At nearly every turn, this wilderness area offers good fishing, good camping and good hiking. For a brazen few, it also offers unparalleled opportunities to bag Montana’s highest peaks.

KEN BARNEDT/Missoulian

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A12 – Missoulian, Thursday, July 3, 2014

Rattlesnake Wilderness

ROB CHANEY/Missoulian

The Rattlesnake Wilderness north of Missoula has a network of trails that link mountain peaks, waterfalls, secluded lakes and old-growth forest. Bikes are allowed to use a “cherry-stem” road that pokes 14 miles into the core of the area.

Recreation for all just north of Missoula

By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian

T

he Rattlesnake Wilderness embodies the idea – and the reality – of compromise.

Start with the fact that it’s the only federally designated wilderness area where you can ride a city bus to the trailhead.

Missoula’s northern boundary abuts the 22,000-acre Rattlesnake National Recreation Area, which buffers the actual 32,000-acre wilderness 2 miles farther in.

Then there’s the “cherry stem,” a 14-mile road grade that allows wheeled (and mostly nonmotorized) traffic deep into the wilderness core. Bikes aren’t allowed off the corridor. But trucks servicing the reservoirs that store water for Missoula occasionally rumble up the road.

And still farther north, the Flathead Indian Reservation has a primitive area restricted to tribal members. But in between, there’s plenty to do and see in the Rattlesnake Wilderness.

Except rattlesnakes. The origin of the name remains in dispute, with some storytellers saying dens of snakes used to be prevalent in the

Location: Several trailheads at the north end of the Missoula city limits.

Distance/Duration: The main “cherry-stem” trail follows Rattlesnake Creek for 14.5 miles. Dozens of other mechanized and non-mechanized trails lace the mountainsides for 73 miles.

Use ranges from daily joggers to weeklong backpack experiences.

Difficulty: The lower 2 miles of the cherry stem are suitable for baby strollers. The challenge increases by choice of route.

“A River Runs Through It” author Norman Maclean allegedly hiked the Rattlesnake from Missoula to Seeley Lake as an overnight homecoming, and his fans are developing a memorial trail commemorating the feat.

valley. Others recall a tombstone near the creek memorializing someone nicknamed for or killed by a rattler. In any case, the “Rattlesnake” Creek name was on maps in 1853, before the name “Missoula” showed up.

Elk, mountain goats, cougars, occasional grizzly bears and bighorn sheep do live there. You can also find traces of old homesteads along the creek meadows. Several lovely waterfalls decorate Rattlesnake Creek at various points along the corridor. About 25 lakes (depending on your definition of ponds/lakes) hide in the cirques

above the creek bottom, but they require lots of stamina to reach.

There are no designated camping areas in the wilderness, although it’s not too hard to find the more popular spots. Poe Meadows, just across the national recreation area border, is a favorite for firsttime overnight campers thanks to its easy accessibility. Bicyclists often shoot for Franklin Bridge, 8 miles up the cherry stem. The route gets significantly steeper after the bridge, topping out at 6,920 feet in elevation near the border of the Flathead Reservation, about 19 miles in.

KEN BARNEDT/Missoulian

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