Photo by Rob Chaney/ MT 55
A panoramic image of the Rattlesnake Wilderness shows Murphy Peak and the Grant Creek Basin to the right, with the Jocko Valley visible in the upper left.
Stay outdoors, stay distanced, stay safe: Take a hike
Missoulian Staff Montana 55 Daily, it seems, we’re bombarded with advice on how
to avoid contracting the coronavirus. Mostly, it’s of the “wear masks, wash your hands” variety — necessary, but not much fun. Better is when the experts tell us we’re safer outside, and 6 feet away from the next person. Fortunately, the wealth of hiking trails surrounding Missoula offers plenty of opportunities to do just that. Here’s a reminder of a very few. For many, many more, with detailed information on routes, regulations and elevation gain, see the Missoulian’s Explore: Hike, Bike, Run publication, either online or drop by the lobby for a copy. Or visit the Missoula Parks and Recreation website for information on its maps, which detail city Open Space and other local recreation areas, including hiking and biking
20 Summer 2020
trails on Mount Jumbo, Mount Sentinel and the North Hills. The maps are available for $4 at Currents Aquatics Center, or various retailers around town.
even if only for a day. Montana Snowbowl Wait, what? It’s summer. But as the Missoulian’s Rob Chaney points out, nobody has to fight
Erin Boggs and Joe Dixie hike with their dog Kenai up the Barmeyer Loop Trail on Mount Dean Stone. We’ve also included a couple of hikes that are farther afield because, if you’re like us, you’re hankering to get out of town,
for a parking space to enter the Rattlesnake Wilderness’ backdoor. While the main trailhead off
of Missoula’s Rattlesnake Drive can swarm with cars, the entry behind Point Six above Montana Snowbowl Ski Area barely warrants a skinny signpost. And that’s even though a chairlift ride eases the first 2,000 vertical feet of elevation gain, after a car ride has absorbed 2,000 more from the Missoula Valley floor. Once off the Summit Lift, you’ve still got the equivalent of Mount Jumbo to climb before reaching the wilderness boundary. From there you can see Jumbo and neighboring Mount Sentinel looking like knobs above the University of Montana campus. Directly below, a few bright green patches indicate the small ponds that form the headwaters of Grant Creek, dependent on a huge but barren basin on the Rattlesnake Wilderness’ western edge. A small sign denotes the start of a ridge-walk to Murphy Peak, elevation 8,167 feet. The trail drops off a switchback just
