Little Saint Joe Peak Summit

Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, Bitterroot National Forest, Montana

Heat Wave in the valley so off to a close mountain to get to a cool place. It really was a wonderful morning, had the trailhead all to myself as I set off. I was surprised to be the only vehicle at the trailhead as it is only 30 miles south of Missoula. Starting off in a lodgepole pine forest there were lots of trees down from the beating they took in last falls windstorm.

Averaging 19% for the first 3 miles it is an aggressive climb in places but quickly the views open up. This was my view of the Bass creek valley as I worked my way up Little St Joe.

The beargrass is blooming here as well. Not anything like the massive bloom in Glacier but enough to keep me entertained looking at all of them.

Eventually I got to the white bark pines and alpine larch, then on to the remaining snow. That was a great place to stop and have a snack in a dry area right by the snow. Stayed comfortably cool there.

Then it was a bit more snow on the way up. This snowfield started thin at the lower edge but was was deep enough and big enough that you could ski it if you wanted to. Sure makes the sky look a deep blue in contrast with the snow.

After a bit I made it through the snow to the summit block that was all melted out. While it is only a bit over 9,000 feet in elevation it gives great views deep into the heart of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. I hung out trying to ID as many of the snow clad peaks as I could. I also realized I will have to wait about 2 more weeks before going back up Sky Pilot.

On the way down i transitioned over to a section of the mountain that a fire fighting aircraft crashed on back in 1991. While all the big stuff was cleared from the mountain there are still lots of small pieces if you look. The folks who fly those fire suppression missions sure put it all on the line.

Other flowers were in bloom higher on the peak, sure do like seeing them all this time of year.

I spent a lot of time exploring all over the mountain. It was nice to beat the heat up high and I really wasn't in a rush to get back down to it. In 7 hours on the mountain I never saw another person out on it. The parking area at the trailhead was empty except for my vehicle. Not a bad day at all!