Forum Index > Trip Reports > Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, Wyoming/Montana, 8.22.21 - 8.25.21
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
Jonny V
Member
Member


Joined: 20 Jul 2009
Posts: 63 | TRs | Pics
Location: Lake Stevens
Jonny V
Member
PostSun Aug 29, 2021 10:18 pm 
And here I thought I was going to be the first one in a long time to submit a report on the Beartooths and I get home and Stefan and crew beat me to the punch! It sounded like they had a great trip and who wouldn't with that scenery. I had only recently even heard of the Beartooths. Last year I drove over Beartooth Pass in September but it was so smoky I couldn't see much. What I did see was enough to know I needed to see more. Then I bought an excellent map of the entire Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness (Beartooth Publishing). One glance at the topography was all it took to get me all riled up. The Absaroka (pronounced Abzorka)-Beartooth Wilderness is a series of very high plateaus with names like Hellroaring and Froze To Death. Interspersed among these plateaus are hundreds, perhaps over a thousand lakes nestled into every nook and cranny in rock bowls. In a northwest to southeast orientation, huge walls of cliffs separate the north and south along the high points of the plateaus, culminating in the highest point in the state of Montana, 12,807’ Granite Peak. On the map U.S. Route 212 runs roughly sixty-eight miles stretching from the town of Red Lodge Montana across the southwestern border of Montana into northern Wyoming to Cooke City and the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The Beartooth Highway climbs from about 5,200’ to 10,947’ at its high point at Beartooth Pass. For a long section the road runs along the border of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness on a wide plateau mostly above timberline past numerous picturesque lakes. There may be a more beautiful road in the United States but if there is I haven’t seen it yet. My dear friends Mike and Sandy from Steamboat Springs, CO signed on for the adventure and plans began to come together. I did tons of research and came up with what sounded like a really good seven day trip. We would start at Island Lake which sits at 9,500' and hike up the Beartooth High Lakes Trail for a few miles. Veering off the trail, a well worn path would take us past several more lakes to Becker Lake where we would camp. Day Two would be a short day further past Albino Lake to Jasper and Golden Lake where we would also camp. Our third day was to be a 2,100' climb to the top of 12,283' Spirit Mountain. Day Four we would travel cross-country past Cloverleaf Lakes and descend a valley past Rachel Lake to another beautiful drainage that holds Martin Lake, Wright Lake, Spogen Lake and Whitcomb Lake and a third campsite. Day Five would be to ascend to Kidney Lake and then head cross-country back east to a camp between Abandoned Lake and Lonesome Lake. This would put us in position to climb 11,409' Lonesome Mountain the following morning. That same day we would have time to break camp and head off trail down to T Lake Basin and camp for a final night, following an established trail back to Island Lake.
Sorry there are no route lines. I'm map editing challenged. But that didn't happen. Our trip was supposed to start on August 19 which was a Thursday. I had planned to leave four days early. Two days would be spent visiting an old friend in Butte and two days I would tent camp up near Island Lake to acclimate before our backpack started. The forecast called for rain, snow, wind, highs in the forties and lows in the upper twenties all the way through Sunday which was as far as NOAA went out the day I left for Butte. When it looked like the bad weather would linger through Sunday we opted to push back the start day to Sunday instead of Thursday. Over the next two days it looked like the chance of rain might decrease but the lows were still hovering right around thirty degrees. Feeling old, we made the command decision to bag the backpack part of it and just go on day hikes each day starting on Sunday. Even though we would have to miss out on parts of the itinerary, this decision actually also opened up great new possibilities as we could now drive to various starting points which might give us a broader sampling of what the Beartooths had to offer. DAY 1 Sunday finally arrived and I met Mike and Sandy at Beartooth Lake which is perched at 8,910'. We left their vehicle there and drove my Jeep a few miles west and up the road to the Clay Butte Lookout. The Clay Butte Trailhead is at the final switchback below the top. It was cold but thankfully it wasn't raining. After a year of planning and waiting, it was really exciting to finally set a boot down on a trail in the Beartooths. After a week of rain and snow, the trail was really muddy. Thick heavy globs of mud would stick to our boots and we had to go slowly to keep from slipping. The adventure started off with a bang as we began to see grizzly tracks in the mud on the trail. Lots of tracks. Big ones and little ones. We were on super high alert. It's kind've weird really hoping to see a grizzly bear and yet also hoping you don't see one. I think we leaned towards wanting to see one but maybe off on some hill a bit further than two feet away coming around a corner. The trail contoured around the side of Beartooth Butte, first in clumps of trees and then opening up into vast meadowy hillsides. We did see several deer and a grouse with her chick hopped onto the trail right in front of us for a bit.
Grouse Amazingly, the weather began to rapidly improve and patches blue sky and sunshine became more frequent. Sandy spotted a bull moose standing above us on the hillside. If he had decided to charge we would have had no shelter so after a quick photo we moved on so as not to agitate him.
Bull Moose Near the far end of Beartooth Butte we climbed a bit and the trail dried out nicely. Soon we dropped into a creek, crossed it and gradually ascended the creek through rocky meadows and trees. Around four and a half miles in we came to our first lake called Native Lake. It was a real gem with rocky walls and nice grassy spots around the lake. Good camps were found on a small knoll above the lake. By the way, there are no designated campsites in the Beartooths that I'm aware of. You can basically camp anywhere you can find a flat spot as long as you follow the common camping rules.
Meadows on the traverse of Beartooth Butte
First view of Lonesome Mountain
On the route to Native Lake
Native Lake
Native Lake Native Lake is on the Beartooth High Lakes Trail which we connected to when we arrived at the lake. From our map study, we had decided to try going off trail to a a spot called T Lake Basin. As any map reader knows, things are usually much more complex in real life than on the map and the Beartooths can be very challenging if you aren't paying close attention. We followed the main trail to a bend and then left to wander through some really nice rocky meadows. These led us to several more lakes that were on the map but unnamed.
Typical off trail travel
Unnamed lake
Another unnamed lake A bit of poking around and a few ups and downs got us up to an open ridge. As we topped out on the ridge we all gasped at the scene laid out before us. Wow! Our position was a few hundred feet directly above T Lake and the first big view of the Beartooth Plateau sprawled out before us. What a sight! In addition to the T Lake Basin, Lonesome Mountain rose by itself as if presiding over the area. We could easily see a half a dozen lakes and in the far distance the upper reaches of the plateau was visible, lined with big peaks with a fresh dusting of the recent snowfall. It seemed like the perfect place to have our lunch and gawk for awhile. With my Peakfinder app I was able to identify numerous mountains near and far, many of which were over twelve thousand feet high.
The Beartooth Plateau
T Lake Basin
Big peaks in the distance
Lonesome Mountain
Castle Rock Spire
Upper T Lake Basin
T Lake Basin We stayed perched on our ridge top for the better part of an hour. It was getting plenty warm and I shed my long johns and even zipped off my leggings to just wear shorts. Eventually we had to tear ourselves away from our spectacular view spot and we made our way down the grassy hillside to the shore of T Lake. Following the shoreline we ambled down the basin past several more lakes, none of which were named lakes until we eventually connected up to the official trail. This we followed down past Claw Lake to a junction. A left would have taken us to another lake on the Beartooth Highway called Island Lake. We stayed to the right and worked our way up and down to Beauty Lake which was an extremely large lake. Beyond Beauty Lake it was a short descent through the woods back to Beartooth Lake and the other vehicle.
Inlet creek to Claw Lake
Junction with the Beartooth High Lakes Trail
Beauty Lake
Clay Butte Opting for a very leisurely pace, we didn't get back to the cars until 5:30 or so. That worked out great because Mike and Sandy had never seen the entire Beartooth Highway. Driving over Beartooth Pass and dropping down towards Red Lodge was beautiful in the late afternoon light.
From high on the Beartooth Highway looking across at the Hellroaring Plateau
Zoom of the Bear's Tooth DAY 2 Our second day hike was picked by Mike after reading that Timberline Lake might just be the prettiest lake in the Beartooths. Considering that we had already seen fifteen beautiful lakes on our first day, that was really making a statement. Another interesting thing about the hike to Timberline Lake is that it wasn't on our radar at all in the initial planning. Timberline Lake is located in a large valley bisecting two sides of the Silver Run Plateau. It is much further north than the trails on the Beartooth Highway. To access the trailhead, we took the West Fork Road right on the outskirts of Red Lodge. This begins as the same road that goes to Red Lodge Ski Area but then branches off. Passing several campgrounds we found the trailhead eleven miles from Red Lodge. Ours was the only car in the parking lot.
Trailhead sign The hike to Timberline Lake was very different than our hike the first day. The trail is a nine mile out and back. It begins by steeply climbing about a thousand feet pretty quickly. This was a bigger test for my acclimatization. I found a good slow pace and the elevation went by smoothly. The weather was warm and sunny and shorts and a t-shirt were all that was needed on this day. During the first mile we were distracted by tons of wild raspberries lining the trail. Wild fruit is always a treat while hiking.
Berry berry good As we climbed higher we hiked through the burn zone from the 2008 Cascade fire that burned much of the West Fork valley. You would think hiking through the burn would be a drag but oddly enough, burn zones have their own interesting qualities, only one of which was more views than a deep forest hike would normally provide. After the first stiff mile the trail leveled out to a gentler grade and we began to follow Timberline Creek higher into the upper reaches of the valley.
The burn zone After about four miles we reached the boundary to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. Soon after we arrived at the first lake called Lake Gertrude. From there it was a quick half mile further to the end of the valley where Timberline Lake nestled into the bottom of a huge cirque at 9,620'.
Mike topping out on the rise above Timberline Lake As advertised, Timberline Lake was indeed spectacular. It was a fairly large lake with a really pretty outlet stream. The Silver Run Plateau encircles the lake like a giant inverted “V”. On the far side of the lake a large bluff guarded what must be an even higher basin. On the end point of the plateau and towering over the entire scene was a huge granite pillar that is part of 12,478' Silver Run Peak. It was tempting to wander down the left side of the lake and climb past a long cascade to see what the upper basin looked like but it was more tempting to lie around in the warm grass and relax in the sun so that’s what we did. Another bonus was that we had the entire place all to ourselves. Another party did eventually show up but that was as we were already packed up and leaving the basin. Oddly enough, the woman was from Ballard and one of the guys was from Woodinville. Small world.
Timberline Lake
Timberline Lake
The pillar on 10,600' Silver Run Peak
Timberline Lake We all agreed that the approach hike wasn’t really that spectacular, especially as an out and back but the payoff at the end of the trail made it so worth it. Timberline Lake was really gorgeous. DAY 3 I was very excited for our third hike which was what we were going to do on our first day if we had followed the original backpack plan. This hike would start back up on the Beartooth Highway not far from Beartooth Lake at another beautiful roadside lake called Island Lake. I picked up Mike and Sandy at their campground and we headed up onto the Beartooth Plateau as the sun was just coming up. I was hoping to get some really nice photos on the way to the trailhead but this day started out as the smokiest day we had encountered so far and all the views were about as smoky as when I had been here in the fall of 2020. Things looked much better close up so when we got up to the top of Beartooth Pass I was really happy to see a herd of mountain goats right off the road. We pulled over and watched them for a bit before continuing to Island Lake.
Moonset on the Beartooth Highway
mountain goats
mountain goats
mountain goats
mountain goats Island Lake is one of the starting points for a popular hike known as The Beartooth High Lakes Trail. On my original itinerary, the plan for our very first day of backpacking was to hike this trail to the three mile point and then leave the trail and hike cross-country up to Becker Lake and camp overnight. From there we would continue deeper into the heart of the Beartooth Plateau past Albino Lake to Jasper Lake, camping again and then continuing to points even further before looping back around a different way to return to Island Lake. Jasper Lake is seven miles from Island Lake so for our day hike we had the option depending on the weather and how we felt of going to Becker, Albino or Jasper and then coming back out the same way. This could be decided on the fly. The morning was pleasantly warm but the smoke was the thickest of any day on the trip. We wondered out loud if the future generations of young folks taking up hiking will ever see a crystal clear sky again. The trail begins by following the west shore of Island Lake. Almost immediately after getting to the end of the lake Night Lake appears and we again hiked along the shore past this lake. A third lake called Flake Lake is passed before the first junction. Not a true junction, at roughly the three mile mark we left the Beartooth High Lakes Trail. If we had continued we would have reached the junction from our first day in about a quarter mile. Instead we veered northwest off the trail and worked our way towards a gap in a ridge. Although there is no official trail on the maps, a well worn path led us where we needed to go. To reach the gap we hiked between Mutt and Jeff Lakes and then had to cross a small boulder field along the shore of Jeff Lake before reaching a steep hill.
Fall colors starting to show in the ground cover
Jeff Lake. Our route headed up through the gap
Small boulder field to cross at Jeff Lake After crossing the boulder field we climbed a small hill. Arriving at the top we got our first views of Becker Lake, a very long lake with incredible rocky cliffs along the far shore. Due to cliffs on our side as well, the trail climbed up and over a hill before dropping down to the level of the the lake near the far end.
First view of Becker Lake
Near the inlet creek to Becker Lake. Lonesome Mountain on the left. Albino Lake is only another two miles beyond Becker Lake and we felt strong so we marched on. Beyond Becker we followed a really nice creek coming from Albino Lake and then climbed over another easy hill to reach Albino Lake. Halfway between Becker and Albino Lakes we officially hiked from Wyoming into Montana, although there was no sign or indication of that other than what it showed on our maps.
Climbing up towards Albino Lake Albino Lake sits at exactly 10,000’. We found a nice grassy hill to plunk on and considered our options. Across the lake rose Lonesome Mountain. Just to the right of Lonesome was a gap. This gap looks down on Jasper Lake which is seven miles from the Island Lake Trailhead. We could have gone for Jasper but it would have taken us a few more hours to get there and back so we decided the six mile hike to Albino was far enough for this day. Our original plan for the backpack trip would have also included a climb of Lonesome Mountain.
Albino Lake
Albino Lake
Team Beartooth
Albino Lake Instead of following the trail back down from Albino Lake to Becker Lake, we opted to climb a knoll with a commanding view of both Albino in one direction and Becker in the other. From the top of the knoll we wandered cross country down the opposite side of the creek from where the trail was almost back to Becker Lake before crossing back and rejoining the trail. Our makeshift route wasn’t very long but it was much more enjoyable than simply taking the trail back down.
Sandy descending from the knoll
Coming back to Becker Lake
Hummocks near Flake Lake We passed by at least seven lakes on our nine mile out and back from Island Lake to Albino Lake. It’s hard to grasp just how many lakes there are in the Beartooths. The place is a paradise. We had planned to hike five days in a row but another front was going to move in so we thought it best to get one last hike in on the fourth day and then head for our respective homes. Day 4 Our ability to adapt to the changing circumstances served us very well and we had been extremely fortunate on each of the three days we had been hiking. Partly by chance and partly by design, we elected to hike to Glacier Lake on our final day. Glacier Lake is located on the northeast side of the Beartooth Plateau. On the map it was easy to see that the lake was butted up against the massive cliffs that dominate the northern side of the plateaus so I wanted to see for myself if it was as dramatic as it looked on paper. There were four particular reasons why this ended up being an excellent decision. First, normally this can be a quite popular hike so by doing it on a Wednesday we reduced the odds for having a larger crowd of people on the trail. Second, this would be the shortest hike of the four days which left us time in the afternoon for some other activities. The third reason was that the approach road for this hike was the same road Mike and Sandy were already camped on which made picking them up and getting to the trailhead very easy. Finally, what I hadn’t even factored in was that the Glacier Lake Trail and the lake itself got really great morning light which made for better photos for the location. Wednesday morning dawned clear and warm. This meant that every day I was able to hike at least part of the day in shorts and a short sleeved hiking shirt. After stopping into Coffee Factory Roasters to get breakfast bagels for everyone, I drove out to Mike and Sandy’s campground. After breakfast we started the drive up the Rock Creek Road eight miles to the trailhead. The road started out as a smooth dirt road but the further we went, the rougher the road became. I didn’t need to put it into four wheel drive, but it was a pretty bumpy ride. Along the way we began to get incredible views to the area we would be hiking.
Looking up Rock Creek Road There was only one other vehicle at the trailhead and the couple who owned it were the only people we would see on the trail until we were halfway back to the Jeep at the end of the hike. The Glacier Lake Trail is only about three miles each way if you include our side trip. It starts out fairly steep as it climbs up a rocky mountainside along Moon Creek. We crossed the creek and shortly after came to a side trail. This trail leads to two other lakes called Moon Lake and Shelf Lake but we wanted to see Glacier Lake so we continued on the main trail.
Bridge over Moon Creek As we climbed higher the scenery became much more rugged with big rock walls rising above us and twisted gnarly trees clearly battered by the winds that frequent this valley.
Working our way up to the ridge top Topping out on the ridge the walls of the Beartooth Plateau came into view and they were even more rugged and dramatic than I could have even hoped for. This was some serious mountain grandeur.
Sandy and Mike at the top of the ridge
Plateau reflection
Tarn at the top of the ridge As we crossed through the gap on the ridge and made it to the other side, the full view of the Beartooth Plateau was splayed out before us. As I had suspected, Glacier Lake was situated down below us right at the base of these huge rock walls.
First view of Glacier Lake
Team Beartooth on the ridge above Glacier Lake From the ridge it was a few hundred feet of descent to get to Glacier Lake which sat at 9,702’. It sits exactly on the border of Wyoming and Montana. Long ago the lake had been dammed up to increase the depth of the lake. We crossed the dam and followed a way trail around the corner to the southwest end of the lake. Continuing, we passed by Little Glacier Lake and then a short way further over a rise we came to Emerald Lake. Glacier Lake is notorious for getting pretty windy around mid-day but Emerald Lake is around the corner and protected from the wind. We found a wonderful spot by the lake to sit and eat lunch. Across from us the walls of the Beartooth Plateau rose straight up out of the lake. Looking up and down the length of the plateau we could see no easy access to the top of the plateau. Oddly enough, as the crow flies, Becker Lake was right across from us on the south side of the plateau but miles and miles away by any hikeable route.
Southeast end of Glacier Lake
Emerald Lake
Little Glacier Lake with Glacier Lake beyond After lunch we packed up our things and started reluctantly working our way back to the trailhead. Being a fairly short distance we took our time. We didn’t do a lot of talking as everyone was deep into their own thoughts reflecting on their Beartooth experience.
Gnarled wind-blown trees near the ridge top
Looking back down the valley of the West Fork of Rock Creek. The Beartooth Highway runs atop the furthest ridge. We could actually see cars driving along the ridge framed by the skyline. Back at the motel we all took showers and then went out for a nice steak dinner in Red Lodge. It was a great way to wrap up what had been a really wonderful trip. I felt no remorse whatsoever that our original plan to backpack fell through. It made it so easy that all three of us were so willing to adapt on the fly. Mike and Sandy are great hiking partners and we are building quite a resume including our backpack trip to Lyman Lakes and Cloudy Pass in the Glacier Peak Wilderness and hiking the Alpine Circuit at Lake O’Hara in Yoho National Park. Even the weather cooperated. The freezing temperatures killed every mosquito in the Beartooths but one and it found Sandy as if they were a match made in heaven. Our adapted plan gave us a tremendous sampler of what the Beartooths have to offer, yet it really whetted our appetites to see more of this great area. It is a place of equal grandeur as the best of our national parks have to offer with none of the crowds associated with those parks. I could go back there many times and I am sure I would never have a lack of new and spectacular scenery to explore. This trip was incredible, yet it barely scratched the surface of the splendor that is the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.

There's time to conceive in and time to expire though the time twixt the two tells the tale that transpires - "Time Waits For No One", Ambrosia

Now I Fly, olderthanIusedtobe, Waterman, RichP, Mountainfisherman, hapemask, runup
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Stefan
Member
Member


Joined: 17 Dec 2001
Posts: 5082 | TRs | Pics
Stefan
Member
PostTue Aug 31, 2021 2:32 pm 
This is great! Another group! I know of somebody else too who went almost at your time period....we seem to be invading this part of the world. Your pictures show how many more lakes we could not get to!

Art is an adventure.
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
olderthanIusedtobe
Member
Member


Joined: 05 Sep 2011
Posts: 7687 | TRs | Pics
Location: Shoreline
olderthanIusedtobe
Member
PostTue Aug 31, 2021 5:29 pm 
Another cool TR from the Beartooths. There are so many options in the vicinity of Beartooth Pass, and a whole lot of other options from other parts of the range.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Trip Reports > Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, Wyoming/Montana, 8.22.21 - 8.25.21
  Happy Birthday speyguy, Bandanabraids!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum