Montana – Page 10 – The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe

Fizzle Lake, Beartooth Mountains, Montana (7-15-13)

This long day hike to Russell, Ouzel, Skull and Fizzle Lakes starts at the Clark’s Fork trailhead about 3 to 4 miles E of Cooke City, in southern Montana along Beartooth Highway No. 212. The short gravel access road to the trailhead is on the N side of the highway, just slightly SE of the entrance to the Chief Joseph campground on the S side of the highway. Very close to the trailhead, the trail crosses the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River above a waterfall (there is a short side trail to a viewing platform).

The Clark’s Fork trailhead is at 8,000 feet elevation. Lupe took the trail on to Russell Lake (8,372 feet), Ouzel Lake (9,400+ feet), Skull Lake (9,660 feet), and Fizzle Lake (9,818 feet). She saw other lakes along the way too, although she never did make it to Fossil Lake, her main objective, due to SPHP’s map reading error.

After a long day the previous day going to Frozen Lake, Lake Promise, Heart Lake and several other alpine lakes in the Beartooths, SPHP thought that Lupe should just try a relatively easy short trek on July 15, 2013. Lupe and SPHP could then spend a pleasant restful late afternoon and evening back at their favorite campsite on the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River.

In August of 2012, Lupe and SPHP had gone to Kersey Lake with Lanis on Lupe’s first ever big summer Dingo Vacation. The trail to Kersey Lake almost immediately crosses the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River, but is otherwise a pretty ordinary stroll through the forest the rest of the way to Kersey Lake. Today though, SPHP thought Lupe might go further. Rock Island, Fox, Widewater and Big Moose Lakes were all possible destinations.

So on the morning of 7-15-13, Lupe and SPHP set out from the Clark’s Fork Trailhead. Lupe crossed the Clark Fork’s of the Yellowstone River and followed the trail to Kersey Lake. The S side of Kersey Lake is set in a dense forest. Although the trail passes fairly close to the lake, there weren’t many good views of it from the trail. Soon Lupe and SPHP were beyond Kersey Lake.

Lupe explores in the forest near the trail.

Well before reaching the turn-off for the trails to the other lakes SPHP had in mind as destinations, Lupe and SPHP met up with a young couple heading in the opposite direction. They were going towards Kersey Lake. SPHP asked them where they were headed. They replied that they had just spent 4 days coming over from East Rosebud, which seems to be a very popular backpacking start or end point. They were headed for the Clark’s Fork trailhead, so their trip was nearly done.

SPHP asked them what part of the trip they had liked the best. They said the top of the world around Windy Lake and Fossil Lake. Around Windy Lake the sky had been beautiful with rainbows in addition to the great alpine views.

SPHP is a total sucker for the high country. Lupe loves it too. After the young couple went on, SPHP took a quick check of the map. (SPHP didn’t even have a topo map of this area – just a map of the general area for tourists Lanis picked up in August, 2012 at the visitor center in Cooke City.)

The map showed Fossil Lake and a trail going to it. Furthermore, Fossil Lake was on the edge of being close enough to where Lupe and SPHP might just be able to make it there and back as a very long day hike. All thoughts of a short day and restful evening in camp evaporated. Fossil Lake was Lupe’s new destination!

SPHP had seen from a high point S of Kersey Lake a large canyon off to the NE heading N into the high country. This had to be the route to Fossil Lake. SPHP knew it would be uphill all the way, but thought it was worth a try. When Lupe came to the junction of the trails to Big Moose Lake and Russell Creek, Lupe and SPHP chose Russell Creek.

Lupe was passing through a nice forest. There were mosquitoes, but they weren’t bad. It was a pretty easy stroll for a while, since the trail wasn’t climbing very fast. Lupe passed another trail to Fox Lake, but stayed on the Russell Creek trail. It was definitely heading for the big canyon. A little while after passing the Fox Lake trail, Lupe reached Russell Creek.

The waterfall on Russell Creek just below Russell Lake in the Beartooths.

From then on the trail started climbing more and more steeply as Lupe followed Russell Creek up the big canyon. In places there were switchbacks. Eventually Lupe reached a bridge downstream from a nice waterfall. There were some big smooth rocks there. Lupe and SPHP took a break. There didn’t seem to be any mosquitoes at all here. Just above the waterfall was a lake (unnamed, but shown on the visitor guide map). SPHP learned weeks later, this was Russell Lake. It was very beautiful. Russell Lake is set deep in the canyon with high thinly forested rock walls around most of it.

Somewhere along the E side of Russell Lake there was supposed to be another trail leading E to Mariane Lake. SPHP was watching for it, but never saw it. Lupe wasn’t going there anyway.

Lupe at Russell Lake. — Lupe at Russell Lake 7-15-13.

N of Russell Lake the trail climbed very steeply with many switchbacks. Lupe came to some beautiful meadows, marshes and ponds set deep in the canyon. Russell Creek, or some fork of it, ran through it all too. After climbing lots of switchbacks, Lupe reached Ouzel Lake – another pretty, but smaller lake shown on the map. From here the trail turned W. Lupe and SPHP started encountering more alpine terrain, and unfortunately lots more mosquitoes. Lupe soon came to a place with a very nice view of the creek flowing down gently from the W in a narrow part of the canyon.

Wildflowers along the creek near "Mosquito Ford". (W above Ouzel Lake and just downstream of the unnamed lake.) — Wildflowers along the creek near “Mosquito Ford”. (W above Ouzel Lake and just downstream of the unnamed lake.)

There was no bridge across the creek here, so Lupe and SPHP had to ford it. SPHP made the mistake of taking socks and boots off to ford the creek barefooted. That greatly slowed SPHP’s progress across the slippery stones on the creek bottom. The mosquitoes were delighted. SPHP was eaten alive while making the creek crossing. Lupe was also being plagued by the “bad bugs” waiting for SPHP to hurry up and get across.

The trail went W following the S shore of the creek. Soon Lupe was at another lake. This lake was larger than Ouzel Lake, but not shown on the visitor guide map, which had at least shown Ouzel Lake as a little blue do. As it turns out, this lake is unnamed even on the Peakbagger.com topo map. The trail continued W above the S shore of the unnamed lake.

Once past the unnamed lake, the trail turned N. Before long Skull Lake came into view (also not shown on the visitor guide map). Skull Lake was larger than Ouzel Lake, but smaller than the unnamed lake. Lupe followed the trail N along the W shore of Skull Lake.

N of Skull Lake, Lupe was getting very high. SPHP knew she had to be getting very close to Fossil Lake. Lupe and SPHP were following the trail on the W side of the creek, and came to another place where the creek had to be forded. SPHP now made the mistake of not just fording it and staying on the trail. (The visitor guide map did show the trail crossing the creek not long before reaching Fossil Lake, but by now SPHP had lost a great deal of faith in the map since it failed to show so many landmarks.) Instead, Lupe and SPHP left the main trail and continued upstream on a spur trail heading NNW still on the W side of the creek.

Lupe climbed a fairly long way, maybe 1/2 mile from Skull Lake, without coming to any better spot to cross the creek. However, Lupe did come to a gorgeous lake, larger than any of the others, with views of high snow-capped peaks off to the NNW. Fossil Lake was shown on the visitor guide map as a large and very interestingly irregular-shaped lake. Maybe this was Fossil Lake? It didn’t seem to be in quite the right spot, but only a portion of the lake could be seen.

The outlet stream at the SE end of Fizzle Lake. Initially SPHP thought this might be Fossil Lake. Fossil Lake is actually considerably larger. It is about 0.5 mile E of Fizzle Lake. Lupe never made it to Fossil Lake this day. 7-15-13

Lupe and SPHP climbed up near the top of a ridge along the SW part of the lake. Lupe actually got up on top of the ridge, but SPHP was blocked by a nearly vertical 20 foot high snow bank. Lupe had no problem going right on up. She stood on top of the snow bank peering down at SPHP. SPHP made it partway up the snow bank. The view was splendid. SPHP didn’t realize it then, but Lupe and SPHP were looking at Fizzle Lake – not Fossil Lake.

A corner of Fizzle Lake in the Beartooths 7-15-13. Fizzle Lake has a very irregular shape. Lupe and SPHP only saw part of the lake.

It was starting to get late in the day. SPHP was pretty tired from the long climb, although Lupe seemed quite happy. At least there weren’t any more of the “bad bugs” to plague her up on her snow bank. The terrain around Fizzle Lake was rugged enough to discourage SPHP from any further exploration around the lake. It was time to head back. This was supposed to have been an easy day, after all!

On the way back down towards Skull Lake, SPHP could see the main trail on the hillside on the other (E) side of the creek. Having pondered the visitor guide map some more, SPHP now realized that Lupe had not reached Fossil Lake. It had to be just over the ridge on the other side of the creek. Thirty more minutes and Lupe could be there. If it had been earlier in the day and the mosquitoes weren’t so bad, Lupe and SPHP would have forded the creek and gone to see Fossil Lake. As it was, Fossil Lake was going to be left to a future American Dingo adventure.

A look back at the trail to Fizzle Lake in the Beartooth Mountains.

The mosquitoes were horrible almost everywhere on the way back, even where they hadn’t been on the way up. Lupe and SPHP hurried along. At the outlet of the unnamed lake W of Ouzel Lake, there were lots of little 3″ to 5″ trout leaping out of the stream to eat mosquitoes flying above the waters. Lupe and SPHP paused momentarily on the trail to cheer the little trout on! A few minutes later, SPHP was plunging right on through the creek at the ford a bit farther downstream. The boots got soaked, but Lupe and SPHP did not have to serve as the local blood bank.

Along the E side of Russell Lake, Lupe encountered 7 or 8 backpackers coming up the trail. A young woman leading them was startled by Lupe. The backpackers were on their way to East Rosebud. They intended to camp at Russell Lake, which was a very good choice. It is a beautiful spot, and by some miracle there still weren’t any mosquitoes here.

Below Russell Lake, Lupe and SPHP stopped to rest on the big smooth stones near the bridge across the creek where there is a view of the waterfall. Lupe hadn’t eaten anything all day. She eagerly wolfed down part of a trail mix bar, and all of the Taste of the Wild SPHP had brought for her.

Lupe had a fun time sniffing an exploring along the trail the rest of the way back. SPHP was pretty miserable due to mosquitoes which were very annoying all the way. Deet was helping, but the mosquitoes still whined all around SPHP’s face looking for vulnerable spots. It was enough to start SPHP thinking it was about time for Lupe to leave the Beartooths and head for the Canadian Rockies.

When Lupe got back to the G6, it was 47°F and 9:38 PM. Just another short, easy 11-hour day on the trail in the beautiful Beartooth Mountains!

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The Journey to Two Bits Lake, Beartooth Mountains (7-12-13)

Lupe and SPHP first came to explore the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains of NW Wyoming and S Montana in August, 2012 on Lupe’s first ever big summer Dingo Vacation. Lanis had been along then, too. Lupe and SPHP were completely enthralled with these beautiful mountains full of alpine lakes, streams and forests, and eager to return in 2013.

This glorious long day hike starts at Island Lake (elevation 9,518 ft.) in NW Wyoming and gains less than 1,000 ft., with a high point of around 10,360 ft. on a ridge reached N of Jasper Lake shortly before arriving at Two Bits Lake. Lupe and SPHP found no discernable trail the last part of the hike beyond Jasper Lake. The hike passes just E of Lonesome Mountain, the highest peak Lupe has ever climbed to date (6-23-15), although she didn’t climb it until 2014, about a year after making the hike that is the subject of this post.

Clicking on this blue Lonesome Mountain link will take you to the Peakbagger.com page for Lonesome Mountain which features a topographic map of this area. Clicking on this red Lonesome Mountain link will take you to Lupe’s blog post on climbing Lonesome Mountain in 2014.

The Island Lake trailhead is near the Island Lake campground on the N side of Beartooth Highway No. 212 in NW Wyoming. (Both use the same access road off the highway.) The Island Lake campground is approximately 2 miles E of the Top of the World Store & Motel or roughly 15-20 miles E of Hwy 212’s junction with the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, Hwy 296. Lanis & SPHP purchased topographic maps of the area at the Top of the World Store in 2012.

Lupe woke up early on the 3rd day of her 2013 Dingo Vacation to the Beartooths and Canadian Rockies. She and SPHP had spent the night in the G6 due to rain, after having claimed their favorite camping spot on the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River the day before. It was early, but already light out. The sky was mostly cloudy, but it was no longer raining or even threatening to rain. Lupe and SPHP got out of the G6 eager to greet the new day in the Beartooths.

Set up on the Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone, July 2013 — Set up on the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone, July 11, 2013

Swarms of mosquitoes were eager to greet Lupe and SPHP, too. Lupe and SPHP beat a hasty retreat back into the G6. Lupe snoozed another 30 minutes while SPHP made journal entries. Eventually a squirrel woke Lupe up and she just had to get out to bark at it. She buried the only “Minties” bone SPHP has ever given her under a tree near the tent. SPHP resolved to retrieve it after checking out the maps for a place to go exploring.

Back in August, 2012, Lupe, SPHP and Lanis had taken a fabulous hike from the Island Lake trailhead to Beauty Lake and then doubling back to a side trail to Becker Lake. SPHP decided exploring the area above tree line beyond Becker Lake would be great fun for Lupe. By 10:00 AM, Lupe was setting out on the trail from Island Lake. Lupe passed by lakes she had first seen with Lanis in 2012 including Island Lake, Night Lake and Flake Lake. Lupe was making great progress along the trail, partly because mosquitoes became a big problem anytime SPHP stopped for even a few moments.

SPHP was watching for a side trail angling to the right that led to Mutt & Jeff Lakes and then went on to Becker Lake and beyond, and yet somehow missed it. When the trail started to curve to the left and rapidly lose elevation, SPHP remembered it was about to descend to Beauty Lake. SPHP realized Lupe had gone too far. Lupe and SPHP turned around and went back in search of the side trail to Becker Lake and beyond, and this time found it. Upon reaching Mutt & Jeff Lakes, SPHP knew for certain Lupe was headed in the right direction.

Mutt & Jeff Lakes are very close together. The trail goes between the two lakes, crossing a broad connecting stream. There is no bridge, but there are quite a few rocks in the stream and stranded bits of grassy or bushy land. SPHP managed to hop across from rock to rock without getting non-waterproof boots too wet. Lupe had no problem leaping from one rock to the next, or just wading through enjoying the cold, clear water.

Once across the stream, the trail turns NE and crosses a boulder field that extends right down to the NW shore of Jeff Lake. Past Jeff Lake, the trail heads N up a small headwall and then along the E side of a shallow pond (more boulders here) in a saddle.

Jeff Lake in the Beartooth Mountains. The trail crosses the boulders at the base of the hill (L) and then goes up around the right side of the hill. Mutt Lake is just to the left of this photo. (Not pictured.)

Soon after passing the saddle, a portion of the S end of Becker Lake came into view. Lupe followed the trail N through the woods well above the E shore of Becker Lake. Towards the N end of Becker Lake, the trail was out in the open and closer to the lake.

There were just scattered groups of trees around as Lupe and SPHP left Wyoming N of Becker Lake and entered Montana on the way to Albino Lake. The trail stayed on the E side of the stream coming down from Albino Lake to Becker Lake. The last few trees were at Albino Lake (10,000 feet elevation), which is situated just E of Lonesome Mountain. Lupe loved the open ground of the high country, although without trees there was the drawback of no more squirrels to bark at.

Lupe near the trail E of Becker Lake. Photo looks N.

Looking S from the trail on the E side of Becker Lake.

The stream coming down from Albino Lake on its way to Becker Lake. Photo looks N.

Lonesome Mountain (L) lies just W of Albino Lake. This photo is taken looking NW from the trail near the stream flowing out of Albino Lake. — **Lonesome Mountain** **(11,399 ft.)** (L) lies just W of Albino Lake. This photo is taken looking NW from the trail near the stream flowing out of Albino Lake.

Albino Lake and Lonesome Mountain. Photo looks WNW.

Looking S back at Becker Lake from a hill S of Albino Lake.

Albino Lake from the hill to the S. Lonesome Mountain at left side of photo.

Lupe happy in the Beartooth Mountains S of Albino Lake 7-12-13 — Happy Lupe in the Beartooth Mountains S of Albino Lake 7-12-13

Lupe on the hill S of Albino Lake. Photo looks N. — Lupe on the hill S of Albino Lake. From here Lupe went around the left (W) side of the lake and climbed over the ridge shown on the far side of the lake at the low point seen at left center. Photo looks N.

At the SE end of Albino Lake, Lupe crossed over the outlet stream (easy rock hopping) to the W. Lupe and SPHP went up on a hill just S of Albino Lake for a look back towards Becker Lake. Then Lupe followed the trail NW above the W shore of Albino Lake up to the next big saddle ridge ahead. From the saddle was Lupe’s first view of Jasper Lake. The area around Jasper Lake was completely devoid of forest. Rock, heather, scattered patches of snow and sky was all there was. Gorgeous high mountain terrain was everywhere.

Jasper Lake in the Beartooth Mountains. Photo looks N.

The NW end of Golden Lake visible from the ridge S of Jasper Lake. Photo looks WSW. — The NE end of Golden Lake visible from the ridge S of Jasper Lake. Photo looks WSW.

Lupe and SPHP were not alone, however. Soon after reaching the saddle with a view of Jasper Lake, a troop of backpackers came traipsing up the trail from the NW. Lupe ran over to greet them, but they soon passed on by. The rest of the afternoon, Lupe and SPHP saw no one. After a break enjoying the view of Jasper Lake, Lupe and SPHP continued NW on the trail, which went down to the outlet stream from Jasper Lake near the SW corner of the lake. This stream had a lot of flow in it.

Lupe greeted these backpackers, some of the very few people Lupe saw this day. Golden Lake in background.

SPHP didn’t want to get wet feet, so Lupe and SPHP followed the S shore of the stream down all the way to Golden Lake, which wasn’t far off to the WSW. There was no place to cross and stay dry anywhere along the way. There was nothing to be done, except take the plunge. SPHP and Lupe forded the stream at the delta where it enters Golden Lake. Now on the N side of the stream, Lupe and SPHP headed back up towards the W shore of Jasper Lake. Nearing the lake again, Lupe turned N heading for a ridge.

Lupe near Golden Lake. Photo looks SW. Lonesome Mountain is on the left.

SPHP's boots got soaked crossing this stream where it enters Golden Lake. Lonesome Mountain on left. Photo looks SW. — SPHP’s boots got soaked crossing this stream where it enters Golden Lake. Lonesome Mountain on left. Photo looks SW.

Lupe and SPHP gained the top of the ridge NNW of Jasper Lake at a broad shallow saddle. The saddle area and beyond consisted of rolling terrain strewn with a mix of boulder fields, grassy areas and small shallow lakes. Crossing this ridge, Lupe reached her highest elevation of the day at somewhere between 10,360 and 10,400 feet. Beyond the ridge was Two Bits Lake. Lupe spotted a snow drift and ran down to cool off in it not far from the lake.

Looking back at Lonesome Mountain from the N on the way to the ridge NNW of Jasper Lake.

Looking back to the SE at Jasper Lake. The ridge Lupe came over from Albino Lake is on the right side of the photo.

Largest of the unnamed lakes in the saddle area NNW of Jasper Lake.

Lupe on her snowbank near Two Bits Lake. Photo looks NNW.

Just S of Two Bits Lake, Lupe and SPHP stopped for a break. Lupe chowed down on some Taste of the Wild. SPHP celebrated success with a Coke. After the break, Lupe and SPHP explored among the rocks above the S shore of Two Bits Lake.

Consulting the topo maps, SPHP really wanted to climb another ridge NW of Two Bits Lake and then turn N to find High Pass with the ultimate goal of reaching Sky Pilot Lake. However, the day was wearing on and it was a long way back to the G6. It was too late in the day to try it. If Lupe was ever going to reach Sky Pilot Lake, she would have to come back to Island Lake and start all over again earlier in the day.

Lupe takes a break SSE of Two Bits Lake.

After suitable time spent admiring pretty Two Bits Lake, Lupe and SPHP followed a rock ridge SW from the lake. Just to the NW was the outlet stream from Two Bits Lake running down to Triskele Lake. When Lupe reached Triskele Lake it was time to turn back. Lupe headed back up to the saddle area on the ridge NNW of Jasper Lake. The view of Lonesome Mountain and Jasper Lake was just awesome. Lupe saw a bald eagle fly over Jasper Lake heading E.

SPHP thought about climbing this ridge to look for High Pass and Sky Pilot Lake, but it was too late in the day to be advisable. Photo looks NW and shows SW corner of Two Bits Lake.

Looking SW down the stream from Two Bits Lake on its way to Triskele Lake.

Triskele Lake in the Beartooth Mountains from the NE.

SPHP's favorite photo of Lupe and Lonesome Mountain. Photo was taken looking S from NNW of Jasper Lake. Lonesome Mountain is much more impressive from this angle than from along the trail to the E or S. — SPHP’s favorite photo of Lupe and Lonesome Mountain. Photo was taken looking S from NNW of Jasper Lake. Lonesome Mountain is much more impressive from this angle than from along the trail to the E or S of the mountain. A portion of Golden Lake is seen at center right.

SPHP wanted to go around the E side of Jasper Lake to avoid having to ford the big outlet stream again. On the NE side of Jasper Lake, Lupe found a big feather near a little stream. Perhaps it was from the bald eagle? That was pretty cool! There were lots of streams coming into Jasper Lake from the E, but since they were smaller, SPHP managed to stay mostly dry getting across them. Eventually Lupe and SPHP reached the ridge to the S of Jasper Lake and found the trail again.

The eagle feather is seen just to the left of Lupe. Photo taken NE of Jasper Lake.

Lonesome Mountain across Jasper Lake from near the eagle feather. — Lonesome Mountain across Jasper Lake from “Eagle Feather Creek”.

Jasper Lake & Lonesome Mountain, 7-12-13

The rest of the evening was spent retracing the trail back to the G6. Lupe and SPHP had seen very few people all day, but on the way back SPHP did stop to talk to a fisherman on the W side of Albino Lake. He was catching mostly 8-12″ cutthroat trout, but said he had caught a couple of 18-20″ cutthroats up at Golden and Jasper Lakes. The fisherman was from Pennsylvania. He claimed to have seen a white wolf.

Lupe reached the G6 again at 11:28 PM. Lupe had been sniffing and exploring for 13.5 glorious hours! By now, though, both Lupe and SPHP were about totally played out. The weary dingo hopped into the G6 and curled up for a snooze. SPHP drove back to the campsite at the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River. Arriving well after midnight, SPHP was just too tired to set things up in the tent. SPHP covered Lupe with a blanket. Another night was spent in the G6. The next morning, a bleary-eyed dingo was still curled up, happily snuggled in the blanket.

Carolina Dog catches 40 winks. More adventuring lies ahead!

Although Lupe did not get as far as Sky Pilot Lake this time, 3 days later she returned and did find it. Click on this Sky Pilot Lake link to see her post on that adventure!

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Castle Mountain, the Carbon County Montana High Point with Mountaineer Jobe Wymore – Part 1: Island Lake to Two Bits Lake (8-7-20)

Lonesome Mountain in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana (8-3-14)

The highest peak Lupe has ever climbed to date is Lonesome Mountain (11,399 ft.) in the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains. Lupe and SPHP first saw Lonesome Mountain on a day hike with Lanis on Lupe’s first ever big Dingo Vacation in the summer of 2012. Lupe and SPHP returned to the area for two more treks, one to Two Bits Lake and another to Sky Pilot Lake during Lupe’s 2013 summer Dingo Vacation. There are other higher ridges and peaks around, but Lonesome Mountain stands separate and alone in all its glory. SPHP always thought it looked potentially climbable from the S by an adventurous little Carolina Dog.

This long day hike starts at the Island Lake Trailhead near the Island Lake campground on the N side of the Beartooth Highway No. 212 in NW Wyoming. The Island Lake campground is approximately 2 miles E of the Top of the World Store & Motel or roughly 15 miles E of Hwy 212’s junction with the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, Hwy 296. The hike starts at Island Lake (elevation 9,518 ft.) and gains less than 500 ft. all the way to Albino Lake (elevation 10,000 ft.) at the foot of Lonesome Mountain. Then the real work begins.

Lupe and SPHP left the Little Belt mountains of Montana on the morning of August 2, 2014, after climbing King’s Hill. The plan was to head for the Beartooth Mountains in NW Wyoming and southern Montana. Lupe took Hwy 89 down to White Sulphur Springs and eventually all the way S to I-90. This was a very pretty scenic drive through big rounded mountains of the Little Belt range, soon followed by high rolling prairie and wide river valleys. It all looked very Old West and mostly still unspoiled.

SPHP stopped at a city park along the N bank of the Yellowstone River after getting food and gas in Columbus, MT. Lupe drank out of the Yellowstone River and cooled off in it. She also managed to find something very stinky to roll in to hide her scent. SPHP objected to her proudly worn new scent. Lupe had to get back in the river again to wash it off. From Columbus, Lupe took Hwy 78 to Red Lodge, MT and then Hwy 212 up and over fabulous Beartooth Pass (elevation 10,947′).

Lupe and SPHP arrived at their favorite camping spot on the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River by mid-afternoon, but the site SPHP wanted wasn’t available. Lupe and SPHP hung around enjoying the beauty of the location while waiting to see if the site would open up. After a few hours, it did! SPHP ran for the G6, turned the key – and nothing happened. The battery was dead! It started to rain. The windows were open and couldn’t be closed. An error message on the G6 said “Service Traction”. This helpful message went unmentioned in the owner’s manual.

Eventually two people appeared and were kind enough to give the G6 a jump. Lupe and SPHP headed for Cody, WY over the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway in rain, lightning, thunder and hail. A double rainbow cheerily appeared on the E side of the pass. It was late on Saturday evening when Lupe reached Cody. SPHP found a Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart was a great place to be since it had almost anything Lupe or SPHP might desire, was open all night, and a new battery for the G6 could be had there in the morning. After getting a sandwich at the Subway in Wal-Mart (plus 3 free cookies they were about to throw away because it was closing time), SPHP tried the G6. It fired right up! Maybe the battery wasn’t really bad.

The night was spent in the G6 in the Wal-Mart parking lot. SPHP dreamed wild and vivid dreams, but Lupe slept soundly. Or maybe she always has wild and vivid dreams. Sometimes she twitches. It was already very late, after 8 AM, by the time SPHP regained consciousness on Sunday morning. The G6 started right up again! Nevertheless, SPHP talked to a gentleman in the Wal-Mart automotive center. They couldn’t diagnose or fix complicated problems, but they could install a new battery. The gentleman suggested waiting until Monday to take the G6 to a repair shop.

SPHP had a better idea. Why not drive all the way back to the Beartooths and make the most of the day? The secret was to park the G6 so it would be easy to get another jump if the battery pooped out again. Lupe was going to climb Lonesome Mountain! It was 10:13 AM, clear, calm and a perfect 61°F when Lupe and SPHP left the quirky G6 at the Island Lake trailhead in the Beartooths. The mosquitoes were bad and SPHP was slathered with unhealthy DEET.

Lots of people were around on the trail, which headed N on the W side of Island Lake. A guy from Michigan said it was supposed to rain at 3 PM. This was concerning. There were already some clouds on the western horizon. One lady reported having seen a grizzly bear and two cubs just 10 minutes before Lupe and SPHP came along. Lupe wasn’t even past Island Lake yet. The fishermen SPHP talked to were all having good success catching fish – mostly cutthroat trout.

Lonesome Mountain from near Becker Lake. Lupe climbed up near the left side.

The trail passed through gorgeous territory. This may be the best hike Lupe and SPHP have ever been on outside of the Canadian Rockies. There were beautiful wildflowers everywhere. The mountain scenery was impressive. Lupe and SPHP passed a succession of splendid alpine lakes – Island Lake, Night Lake, Flake Lake, Mutt & Jeff Lakes, and Becker Lake. There was only one trail intersection to watch for, which was a right turn 2.5 miles from the start (at the S end of Island Lake) onto the trail that goes between Mutt & Jeff Lakes. The only bad thing was the mosquitoes. Lupe really couldn’t stop anywhere for more than a few minutes before they came swarming in.

N of Becker Lake, Lupe and SPHP left Wyoming and entered Montana. There was no sign. At the S end of Albino Lake at 10,000 feet it was time to leave the trail. Lonesome Mountain loomed high above Albino Lake just to the W. Lupe and SPHP turned SW and headed for the big ridge that projects SSE from Lonesome Mountain. Once up on the ridge, Lupe discovered lots of hidden ponds and deep snow banks. Lupe and SPHP turned NNW and headed for the summit of Lonesome Mountain scrambling up and down over big granite ridges.

Albino Lake from the SW near where Lupe left the trail. This shot was actually taken in the evening when Lupe returned to the trail.

Eventually the climb turned into just a scramble over huge boulder fields all the rest of the way to the top of Lonesome Mountain. Lupe is an excellent scrambler and could have been at the top of the mountain long before SPHP got there. The weather started deteriorating all around as Lupe and SPHP scrambled ever higher on the mountain. SPHP’s progress over the big boulders was painfully slow. Lupe was always appearing nearby looking like a true explorer surveying the world from the heights of various boulders.

As SPHP finally got close to the top of Lonesome Mountain, the rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance. A big rainstorm was in progress some miles to the S. Fortunately, SPHP did not see any cloud to ground lightning. Lupe and SPHP finally reached the top of Lonesome Mountain. The view was spectacular. Lupe and SPHP could see lots of lakes and mountains that SPHP hadn’t ever seen before except on maps.

Looking S from Lonesome Mountain. Island Lake is the most distant larger lake toward the center. Part of Becker Lake is seen much closer on the left. Beauty Lake is on the right. — Looking S from Lonesome Mountain. Island Lake is the largest distant lake toward the center. Night Sky Lake is right next to Island Lake but closer and smaller. Part of Becker Lake is seen much closer on the left. Beauty Lake is the largest and most distant lake on the right.

Beartooth Butte from Lonesome Mountain. The long skinny lake is Lonesome Lake.

The view to the NNE of Lonesome Mountain. A portion of Jasper Lake is seen at the lower left.

A woman on the trail between Albino and Becker Lakes had told SPHP she tried to climb Lonesome Mountain earlier this day, but ran out of time. She told SPHP that the summit in view was a false summit. Lupe and SPHP had climbed the false summit. Quite a distance to the NW, SPHP could see another summit separated from where Lupe was by a big drop-off and then a saddle consisting of another boulder field. It all looked very possible to get over to the true summit easily enough, but it was late in the day already and would have taken at least an hour to get over there.

In a way it really didn’t matter – the true summit looked to be at essentially the same elevation as the false summit. A check of SPHP’s maps showed both summits within the same elevation contours. The difference in height between the two summits can only be a matter of 0-20 feet. (Later on SPHP found out that on Peakbagger.com the false summit at 10,399′ which Lupe did climb is listed as the high point on the mountain, although a 10,400′ contour is shown to the NW. SPHP’s Alpine Quadrangle of the Absaroka-Beartooth mountains shows a height of 10,409′ to the NW.)

Lupe and SPHP would have loved to stay up on the summit (false or not) of Lonesome Mountain to enjoy the views while figuring out which lake below was which. However, although current conditions were just cool with a light breeze, Lonesome Mountain was now surrounded by threatening weather.

To the S there was a big storm going on. Dark clouds hung just over the huge ridge to the NE. Back at Island Lake where Lupe had come from, SPHP could see it was raining hard. Off to the W an ominous line of dark clouds and showers was approaching. A cloudburst was going on to the SW. SPHP was pretty certain rain was going to hit within 30 minutes. Rain wouldn’t be too bothersome, and even hail might be avoidable under the shelter of a big boulder, but lightning would be potentially deadly.

Looking NW toward the possible true summit of Lonesome Mountain. Some maps indicate it might be 10,409 feet, whereas the summit Lupe climbed may be only 10,399 feet. Close enough for Dingo play! — Looking NW toward the possible true summit of Lonesome Mountain. Some maps indicate it might be 10,409 feet, whereas the summit Lupe climbed may be only 10,399 feet. Close enough for Dingo play, especially with stormy weather around!

SPHP snapped a few quick photos and told Lupe it was time to get down off Lonesome Mountain ASAP. So began the scramble down. It took quite a long time, but not as long as going up. SPHP thought about going down by Lonesome Lake, which could be seen clearly to the SW. Lupe and SPHP have never been there before. That whole area looked full of lakes easy to reach. It would have been fun to explore there, but a look at the map showed it would be a longer hike back to the G6. SPHP knew Lupe was going to be late enough getting back to the G6 as it was.

About 20 minutes after Lupe started down, it did start to rain, but it never rained hard. Lupe and SPHP only got sprinkled on, and even that only lasted maybe 20 minutes. Eventually the skies to the W cleared. The storm to the S still rumbled. There was some cloud to ground lightning, but it was far away. It became apparent Lupe and SPHP were not going to get caught in any significant storm.

It took Lupe and SPHP a long time to work their way back down to Albino Lake. The were-puppy liked to attack SPHP on the big snow banks that had to be traversed, but SPHP was now in too much of a hurry to play the were-puppy game. On one snow bank SPHP suddenly noticed a dark pink, almost red color on Lupe’s white vest and paws.

Lupe wanted to play the were-puppy game on the snow banks on Lonesome Mountain.

Initially SPHP thought maybe Lupe was injured and bleeding from some mishap in the boulder fields, but upon examination it proved to be just some of the pink coloration that is common on the old snow banks here. Lupe certainly acted like she felt not only fine, but terrific! Once down out of all the super rocky stuff up on the ridge, Lupe took off running great distances at top speed racing here and there over the heather. She had an absolutely wonderful time.

Nope, not blood. Just pink stuff from the snow on the puppy.

Lupe and SPHP rejoined the trail at Albino Lake. They went long distances on the trail without seeing anyone. The last sunlight to shine on Lupe was at Becker Lake. Other day hikers had already returned to the trailhead. Backpackers had already reached their camping destinations. Lupe and SPHP met just a very few people, but otherwise the trail was empty. It grew so dark it was hard to see the trail, but SPHP didn’t use the flashlight until the final major stream crossing at the outlet from Island Lake. The campground was totally dark and quiet.

Lupe arrived at the G6 at 10:09 PM. It was 44 degrees F. SPHP fed Lupe some Taste of the Wild and Alpo. She was tired. SPHP was tired too. Thankfully, the G6 started up. SPHP drove in the darkness back to Lupe’s favorite spot on the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River for another night in the G6. At nearly 12 hours, this hike proved to be Lupe’s last really long day hike of her 2014 Dingo Vacation to the Canadian Rockies & Beartooth Mountains. Climbing Lonesome Mountain had been a wonderful time. Lupe agreed it sure beat spending the day cooped up in the G6 in the Wal-Mart parking lot!

Beartooth Butte from Lonesome Mountain 8-3-14 — **Beartooth Butte** **(10,514 ft.)** from Lonesome Mountain 8-3-14

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