Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, Bitterroot National Forest, Montana
Last day of July and it has been hot so the snow should be gone from the mountain peaks. So off to the Bass Creek Overlook trailhead to start going up. There was little to no thought given to the route of this trail, it just goes up the ridge towards Little St Joe till it peters out in the scree. Turns out I was mostly right about the snow but there were several snow fields on the way up to Little St Joe, and the chute for St Joseph itself was chock full of snow forcing me into an adventurous detour route.
Even with the detours it was a great climb and the views were spectacular. It was also one of the hardest days in the mountains I have had in a few years. Finding a route across the ridge and up and around the cliff bands near the summit took a lot of energy and in a few places there was some exposure that was quite a ways down if I fell. So I took my time, made sure of both footing and handholds and made extra sure not to tumble.
Once up on top it felt as if I could see forever in this part of the world. Can see some of the peaks I have already been on, and lots more that I still need to climb. Hard to tell in the picture but I could make out the small plume of smoke from a lightning caused fire that was started yesterday afternoon. Not much to burn where it is at and I wouldn't wish the hike in to the fire site on any wildland firefighter. It's that steep, rugged and remote.
Was pretty parched on the way down even though I carried more water than normal to drink. There is one spring on Little St Joe and I headed for it and filled up on great fresh cold water. It also is the only lush green meadow on either mountain so it is a great place to rest for a while as well. I have seen elk there before but none today.
After a rest I headed the rest of the way to the truck ending a great day. Only saw 4 people today and they were all together about 2 miles from the end of my day.
No comments:
Post a Comment