Saint Mary Peak Summit

Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, Bitterroot National Forest, Montana

A really nice morning so change of plans and off to climb Saint Mary Peak and do some exploring of some small alpine lakes in it's shadow. Tough living when the sky is so blue and all the greens are showing so strongly.

Still a few snow fields along the way but they were all above 8,000 feet and none were too big to be an issue in crossing them or finding a way around. This one was as bad as it got anywhere on the mountain.

I was surprised to find that the fire tower at the summit was not opened up for the season yet. I know many have had their opening dates pushed back a week or two because of all the wet weather. This is one of the cooler looking towers in the Bitterroots. Really like the stone base it rests on.

Views to the west into the heart of the wilderness are just wonderful. Saw one of the lakes still had a lot of ice on it but most looked to be opening up nicely. Some clouds were trying to get into the really deep blue of the sky.

About a mile down from the summit I decided to do some cross country hiking and get so a string of small lakes that always intrigue me when I am up this way. The water was crystal clear, cold and tasted wonderful. Made a great lunch stop.

After playing by the lakes I headed back down the mountain to the trailhead. Because it was later on my way down there were many more people heading for the summit. I was glad I had got an early start and beat all the crowds. It wasn't a long day but it was a pretty one.