Beating the heat at 3 Bitterroot lakes

To beat the heat last Sunday, we took the dogs on a hike to to a trio of lakes that lie just below 10,157-foot Trapper Peak, the highest in the Bitterroot Mountains. The trail to Baker, Middle and Gem lakes is short and steep, but worth the view.



The trail begins uphill to the south of the parking area, then switchbacks steeply west to Boulder Point at a little less than half a mile. After a short section through the forest, the trail crosses a south-facing slope, descending slightly and passing through several open stretches filled with beargrass. The trail then climbs into the forest to Baker Creek, where fallen trees block the way. From here, it's easiest to walk uphill over the flat rock along the creek to the shore of Baker Lake at about 1 1/2 miles. Several campsites are available here, and Trapper Peak stands above the drainage to the west.



Rounding the lake on either side - we went north, through a small boulder field - the trail continues along a marshy stretch of creek though the forest about another mile to Middle Lake, entering the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness along the way.



From Middle Lake, the trail stays north of the creek and rises steeply out of the forest onto more flat rock and along a cascade about 1/3 of a mile to Gem Lake. The clear pool of water sits with snow at its edge even in July, with the false summit of Trapper Peak directly above it to the west. The water was so cold, in fact, that the dogs opted not to swim at Gem.

After a short break - mostly spent swatting at mosquitoes - we made our way back downhill to the trailhead.

Here are more photos from Baker, Middle and Gem lakes.

Distance: 5 1/2 miles round trip.

Trailhead: From Darby, drive about 4 1/3 miles south on U.S. Highway 93 and turn onto West Fork Road. Follow West Fork Road south for 7 miles, then turn northwest onto Pierce Creek Road. (While this turn is listed as being signed in guidebooks and on websites, we found none; the road is adjacent to mile marker 7 and has fenced pastures on each side.) Drive uphill northwest through an intersection; at a second intersection about one mile up, continue northwest as directed by a sign 9 miles to the Baker Lake trailhead.

Hiking up, up, up to Canyon Lake

Last weekend, with temperatures rising into the 90s around western Montana, we decided to hike up to a lake in the Bitterroot Mountains.

We've hiked the Canyon Lake trail a few times before, but for various reasons never gone all the way to the lake, instead turning back about halfway up the steepest section at an overlook of Canyon Falls. This time, we continued the rest of the way up and found the lake a refreshing spot to stop for lunch.



From the trailhead, the route quickly enters dense forest, roughly paralleling the Canyon Creek to the north. Here, we found an abundance of hairy cat's ear and queen's cup wildflowers.

The trail continues through the forest, occasionally meeting the creek or an opening in the trees revealing the rocky cliffs on the north side of the canyon, for about four miles. Along the way, we began to see beargrass, which is in profusion around western Montana this summer.

After reaching a fairly open aspen stand along the creek where the dogs could could cool off, the trail begins a steep, switchbacked climb up the canyon wall and out of the forest.



About halfway up, the trail reaches the rocky shelf that provides a views of the falls and down the valley to Hamilton. Continuing the climb, we found more wildflowers, including red monkeyflower, larkspur, phlox and purple shooting stars.



The trail re-enters the trees, crosses the high point of the hike, then descends back to the creek and a short distance to the lakeshore at about 5 1/2 miles.



At the lake, several campsites are available and there are several spots on the shore that provide easy access to the water.

After some food and a swim - despite the patches of lingering snow around the lake - we turned back down the canyon and, eventually, the road home.



Here are more pictures from Canyon Lake.

Distance: 11 miles round trip to Canyon Lake.

Trailhead: Just north of Hamilton on U.S. Highway 93, turn west on Bowman Road. After about 3/4 mile, turn south on Ricketts Road. In about 2 miles, the road turns west and continues on Blodgett Camp Road, stopping at an intersection. Continue on Blodgett Camp for about 2 1/2 miles, turning north. Turn west at the intersection with Canyon Creek Road, following the sign, and continue about 2 3/4 miles to the trailhead.

Memories of Mill Creek

Back in May, we took the dogs up the Bitterroot Valley to spend the day hiking at Mill Creek.

A clear, blue sky let the sun shine down on us as spring runoff cascaded through the canyon. Early wildflowers - especially trillium and shooting stars - were abundant.



From the parking area, the trail climbs west gradually on the south side of the creek, past irrigation canals that branch off of it, to a log bridge. After crossing to the north side, the canyon opens up. While a wildfire blackened this part of the canyon in 2000, the green regrowth is evident among the still-standing snags.

The trail continues west on the north side of the creek, past a rock wall that has become popular with climbers in recent years, and at about three miles reaches a rock bench above a cascade that tumbles into a pool - our destination for the day.

After some food, pictures, a dip in the water for the dogs and finding a few ticks, we backtracked to the trailhead.



Here are more pictures of Mill Creek.

Distance: About 6 miles round trip to the cascade, but the trail continues.

Trailhead: From U.S. Highway 93 about 41 miles south of Missoula and 4 3/4 miles north of Hamilton, turn west on Dutch Hill Road and continue 2 1/2 miles. Turn south on Bowman Road and continue about 1/3 mile, then turn west on Mill Creek Trail Road and follow it about 3/4 mile to the parking and picnic area.

Snowy hike up St. Mary

After spending recent months recovering from leg injuries, we finally got out on our first real hike of the summer in western Montana last weekend.

(Over the winter, I developed very painful Achilles tendinitis in my left leg, and while recovering from that I overcompensated and developed less serious post-tibial tendinitis in my right leg. I've been working with a physical therapist on my running stride and hope to avoid recurrences.)



Jen recently declared her intention to hike up St. Mary Peak in the Bitterroot Mountains south of Missoula for the first time this summer. I've been up it before - once with each of the dogs - but she never has even though she's hiked steeper trails and to higher elevations. On Sunday, we set out early without the dogs and checked it off her list.

The day was beautiful - blue sky, not too hot on the mountain and a slight breeze - and the trail started out clear with abundant wildflowers off to the side. Through the first switchbacks, at about a mile, that changed as snow overtook the path. Though deep, it was firm and the route fairly obvious, so we continued. At one point, we did briefly lose the trail, but turned uphill until we found other tracks in the snow and followed them.

Eventually, the snow disappeared as the trail rose above treeline and revealed a sweeping view of the Bitterroot Valley. In the final mile, we crossed the rocky top of the mountain - which was covered in a variety of cushion plants - and one final patch of snow to the lookout at the top.



After lunch and some pictures, we started down for home, playing in the snow along the way.

More photos can be seen here.

Distance: 7.6 miles round trip.

Trailhead: From Missoula, drive about 25 miles south on U.S. Highway 93, past the Stevensville turnoff, and turn west on St. Mary's Road. Follow the signs about 11.6 miles up to the trailhead.

Back on the trail, and still going

It's been a while since we've gone on a real hike here at home in Montana. The last time was months ago, when there was still snow on the ground.

It's not that we haven't gotten out; we walk the dogs on trails in and around Missoula almost daily, and we took a spring hiking vacation to Oregon and Washington's Olympic National Park. Mostly, it's because I've been focusing on my training for the Missoula Marathon next weekend. That and one of our dogs is getting older and has understandably been slowing down (more about that later).

Yesterday, we decided to get the dogs out and tired before the Fourth of July fireworks started in hopes that we wouldn't have a bark-fest after sunset.

We've been up the Bass Creek trail a short distance a couple of times - both in the snow - but with a campground at the trailhead, it always seemed like it would be crowded in warmer weather. We decided to give it a try anyway because it's not that far from home. The trail was fairly busy at the start, but about halfway through our hike we found ourselves mostly on our own.



The wide path starts out by steadily climbing west through the forest along the north side of Bass Creek; there are several places to access the water on the way. Just past 1 3/4 miles, it passes an old log dam with a pond behind it where the valley opens up and you can see the surrounding mountains.

From here, the trail travels a fairly level mile through the forest, into the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and to a junction. Continuing on the narrower path to the north, you wind up the side of the canyon to an open parklike area with plenty of views down the valley, then above a big cascade at a little more than 3 3/4 miles.



A rough path leads down to the falls, and we took turns snapping pictures from below and keeping our older dog, Gigi, above and out of danger. As previously noted, she's getting up there - we believe she's about 16, but there's no way to know for sure because she was a stray. She remains our very faithful hiking partner and will follow us almost anywhere, albeit with a little help over logs and rocks.

The trail continues about another 3 1/4 miles up to Bass Lake, but this marked our turnaround point for the day.

See some more pictures here.

Distance: 14 miles round trip to Bass Lake. (We hiked about 7 3/4 miles round trip to the cascade.)

Trailhead: From Missoula, travel about 20 miles south on U.S. Highway 93, then turn west on Bass Creek Road and follow it about 2 3/4 miles to the trailhead parking area.