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Finding Big Sky: 101 Great Spots in Western Montana
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141 pages1 hour
Summary
A guide to some of the best spots to visit in spectacular western Montana -- lakes, mountains, trails, ski areas, bars, and campgrounds.
Publisher: Jeff SchmerkerReleased: Feb 16, 2017ISBN: 9781386249535Format: book
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Finding Big Sky - Jeff Schmerker
Introduction
Let’s state the obvious: Montana is a big beautiful state. And let’s state the not-so-obvious: it’s full of hidden corners and sublime moments that guidebooks don’t capture.
What you have here is a totally subjective list of the 101 best spots in Western Montana. What’s Western Montana
? For the sake of this book I’m calling it Montana west of Interstate 15. No, I-15 does not split the state nicely in half, but east of the highway, the state begins a subtle shift away from greenery and into wide open spaces. Western Montana is full of wide open spaces too, but the feel is different—it’s closer, denser, and less intuitive.
Let me say something else: I know some people can’t stand the idea that their secret spot is being publicized. In some places in the world, that’s true. In Montana, I don’t think it is. The bottom line is that for most of these places you can’t just show up – you got to hike to it, ski to it, or bounce along insufferable 4WD roads to it. Further, it’s hard to protect places that are secrets – Glen Canyon today stands as evidence to that. People need to know what’s out there.
I firmly believe that the magic of a place is not just the place, but your moment in it. I’ve found that many of the places in the world which are supposed to be grand aren’t simply because the moment I turned up was not a special, regardless of how special the place was. And so many places that are not grand at all produce irreplaceable feelings of beauty and solitude. For me, that’s a lot of what Montana is. There’s no way to predict what places will be special for you and which will be duds: the most important thing—the most critical thing—is to just get out there and start seeing it. I hope this book will serve as your inspiration.
Mountains
1. St. Paul Peak
From Noxon, follow MT 200 east; turn north on Forest Road 150; it quickly makes a sharp right. Follow FR 150 about 8 miles and make a right on Forest Road 2741, which ends 6 miles later at the trailhead
As a guide book said about the area, the drive to the trailhead here is much more difficult than the hike itself. After bouncing along on dirt and dusty roads for about 8 miles up the large Rock Creek drainage, you then begin a grueling seven-mile uphill push which gains 2,500 vertical feet—that would be a tough hike, but this is done in a vehicle (and preferably a sturdy one with tough tires). After an hour in four wheel drive I made it to the trailhead to not surprisingly find just one other battered vehicle. On the trail, within minutes I had entered the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness and was walking along treeline toward St. Paul Pass and Cliff Lake. I skirted Cliff Lake and aimed up the southeast ridge of St. Paul Peak, which is probably the easiest big mountain to climb in the Cabinets (actually, it’s one of the easiest mountains to climb anywhere). I was on top an hour after clicking the truck door closed, braced against a cold wind and swirling fog. Nice views.
2. Morrell Mountain Lookout
From Seeley Lake, head north on MT 83; make a right on Morrell Creek Road and a left on Mt. Morrell Road at Cottonwood Lakes
It was a cool morning, so I had a lazy start, drinking coffee and listening to country music on the drive up, passing Cottonwood Lakes and bouncing on the mostly good road until the road was blocked by snow. As often happens, however, this snow was not continuous, so past the drift I was on snow and off, working up the south face the Swan Range, and 90 minutes later was at the lookout. The Morrell Peak lookout is not on Morrell Peak itself, but a high point one bump south, which affords a commanding view of everything from Ovando to the Bitterroot. The lookout, however, was still locked for the winter, so I continued along the ridge, gaining ground, until making the peak itself—featureless from the south and piercing from the east and north. From there, I was off into the Bob.
3. Point Six
From Missoula, follow Grant Creek Road, turn left on Snowbowl Road, and park at Snowbowl Ski Area. Ascend to the top of the ski area and then Point Six
Now this is rare—I've got free tickets to Snowbowl and the avalanche danger is low. I pick up Kevin at a leisurely hour and 25 minutes later we pull into the Snowbowl parking lot. We take the Grizzly chair up, traverse a bit, and load on to the LaVelle chair. From the top of LaVelle it's a short schuss to the ski area boundary, where we gear up and start climbing. You can easily go around Point Six and save yourself a bit of effort, but the top has a great view of both the Rattlesnake Mountains and the Missoula Valley. Actually, it's not just those two you see, but on a clear day everything from the Great Burn to the Anaconda-Pintlars to the Swans and of course the Mission. This peak bristles with radio equipment and the National Weather Service's Doppler radar—which some brilliant person dubbed the Death Star. We ski off the north face, into the wilderness.
4. Ch-paa-qn
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