Day 3 of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast.
Lupe was somersaulting again against the door of her “tiny house”. She still hadn’t figured out that she couldn’t go through the tent door when it was zipped shut, but it had only been her second night ever in a tent. A squirrel was chattering away in a tree outside. Lupe wanted to go bark at it, but it was very early. Lanis was still asleep in the Honda Element, after his gear got soaked in a sudden downpour the previous evening.
Lanis isn’t much of a morning person. SPHP figured he would sleep for several more hours. This was an opportunity for Lupe to return to Bald Mountain(10,042 ft.). Lupe, Lanis and SPHP had climbed Bald Mountain the evening before, only to be almost immediately chased off of it by a brief intense rain shower. It wasn’t going to rain now, though. Lupe and SPHP left the squirrel and the campground in peace, and climbed Bald Mountain again.
After searching around on top of the mountain, SPHP had almost given up. Then, suddenly, there they were. Lupe had found the names that had been up there for a quarter century or more now. The names were just made out of loose rocks, but they were still easily recognizable. SPHP spent a little time repairing them.
SPHP wanted to add Lupe’s name to the mountain, but so much time had been lost looking around, it was probably best to get back down to the campground before Lanis awoke to find himself alone. It would take too much time to search around for some rocks to use. So Lupe and SPHP went down Bald Mountain enjoying the panoramic views, sunshine and fresh air.
(Just 11 months later, Lupe returned to spend a night on Bald Mountain and SPHP added her name then.)
SPHP needn’t have worried. Lanis was still sound asleep when Lupe returned. After having been responsible for getting Lanis’ gear wet the night before, SPHP wasn’t eager to further aggravate him by waking him up. Lupe and SPHP stayed busy in camp. Lanis eventually came to on his own. He was in a better mood than when he’d gone to sleep in the Element.
It was time for Lupe to leave the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming and head farther W. The sun was much higher now. Lanis and SPHP dried things out while Lupe sniffed around. Pretty soon things were dry enough to pack them back in the Honda Element, and Lupe, Lanis and SPHP were underway.
Lanis drove W out of the Bighorns on steep, windy Hwy 14A. The route continued through Lovell, Powell and Cody, WY. From Cody, Lupe went N on Hwy 120 to Hwy 296, the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. The Chief Joseph Scenic Byway lived up to its name. The road wound high up over a lofty pass. At a pullout on the W side of the pass, Lupe, Lanis and SPHP got out for a look.
View from the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. Photo looks W from the pullout near the pass.
The view was most impressive, but there was a chilly wind. It looked rather stormy on the W side of the pass. Lupe hadn’t been at the pullout long when a cold rain began to fall. American Dingoes do have the good sense to come in out of the rain. Lanis and SPHP quickly joined Lupe in the Honda Element. Lupe’s journey continued down the winding highway on the W side of the pass.
The rain eventually stopped, but it was still pretty cloudy out. The St. Joseph Scenic Byway led to the Beartooth Hwy (No. 212). The Beartooth Highway goes NE over spectacular Beartooth Pass on its way to Red Lodge, MT, but Lupe wasn’t going that way yet. Instead Lupe, Lanis and SPHP headed W on the Beartooth Highway toward Cooke City, MT.
A side road off the St. Joseph Scenic Byway. The rain had stopped, but it was still pretty cloudy out.
Lanis and SPHP were looking for a campsite along the way. There were some campgrounds, but SPHP was picky and found nothing that looked quite right before reaching Cooke City, MT. Along the way, Montana became the 3rd U.S. Lupe state!
Cooke City, MT is basically a one street tourist town strategically situated 5 miles from the NE entrance to Yellowstone National Park. After looking around town just a little bit, it was time to get more serious about finding a campsite. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP headed back E on the Beartooth Hwy. This time Lanis was driving slower to allow for a more complete reconnaissance of the possibilities.
Not long after entering Wyoming again, Lanis and SPHP saw a turn to a little parking lot just N of the highway. A pickup truck with a camper was parked there close to a bend in a very beautiful river just 200 feet from the highway. It looked like a great dispersed camping site. Lanis pulled in off the highway. Everyone piled out of the Element to check things out.
This bend in the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River, became home base for Lupe, Lanis & SPHP during Lupe’s stay in the Beartooths on her 2012 Dingo Vacation. Photo looks NW toward Pilot Peak (L) and Index Peak (R).This small waterfall or rapid was just downstream of the bend in the river.Lanis is liking what he sees.
Unknown to Lupe, Lanis and SPHP at the time, the river was the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone. This gorgeous site would become home base for the entire time Lupe spent in the Beartooths on her 2012 Dingo Vacation. The bend in the river offered a terrific view of the dramatic spire of Pilot Peak(11,699 ft.) and its neighbor Index Peak(11,240 ft.) to the NW. Just downstream of the bend, was a small waterfall or rapid with a nice pool of clear, cold water below it.
The reconnaissance downstream quickly met with the approval of Lupe, Lanis and SPHP. A walk upstream through a wooded area to a field next to the river followed. After being cooped up in the Honda Element a good part of the day, Lupe was so stirred up by the wild river and glorious surroundings, she got a crazed look in her eye. She pranced and growled and demonstrated just how ferociously prepared American Dingoes are for life in the wilderness.
Lanis has an eye for detail and took this shot of some mossy lichens growing on a rotting log near the river.Squirrels, schmirrels! Lupe feeling ready to take on elk, moose, grizzly bears and anything else the Beartooths can throw at her!And then I’ll crack their bones like this!
Returning to the bend in the river, SPHP had a chat with the other campers there, who already occupied the best site right next to the river. They told SPHP about a waterfall worth seeing just a mile or two to the E. The falls were up a short trail on the N side of the Beartooth Hwy. Why not check that out, too? Lupe, Lanis and SPHP hopped back in the Element to go find the waterfall.
As promised, a short, but steep hike up a trail led to a roaring torrent on Crazy Creek. The stream was strewn with logs. The falls were large, but this wasn’t really a classic straight down over an edge type of waterfall. It was too steep to be just rapids either. A better name is Crazy Creek Cascade. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP followed the trail all the way up to the top of the falls.
Crazy Creek Cascade. This waterfall was up a short, but steep climb N of the Beartooth Hwy.Lupe at Crazy Creek just above the big cascade.Lanis at Crazy Creek.
Lupe, Lanis and SPHP played around on the rocks next to Crazy Creek just above the cascade until it started getting dark. Time to head back to the Element, and the great campsite on the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone.
When Lupe returned, the sky was still overcast. In fact, the clouds were darker and denser than before. It looked like it would almost certainly rain overnight. It didn’t seem to make any sense to set up the tent, which would surely leak if it rained hard enough. Lanis was going to have company in the Element tonight. Outside the rain began.
On 7-16-13, the day after Lupe’s long day spent looking for Fossil Lake (and actually reaching Fizzle Lake instead) in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana, Lupe and SPHP spent an easy day in camp on the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River. There weren’t nearly so many “bad bugs” (mosquitoes) at camp, so SPHP started feeling more positive about staying in the Beartooths another couple of days.
SPHP still had it in mind that Lupe ought to at least try to reach Sky Pilot Lake before leaving the Beartooths. Getting there would be a very long day hike. In the morning, SPHP spent some time looking at maps to consider possible alternate routes. In the afternoon, a guy named Mick drove up in his motor home and camped by the river near Lupe’s camp. Mick was originally from England, but had married an American. Now he and his wife live in Boulder, CO.
Mick was very friendly and quite a character. He had a start in the music industry in England, but spent most of his career as a welder in the USA. He had been many places and had lots of stories to tell. Although Mick was traveling alone, he does own a dog. Mick was very kind to Lupe, even giving her treats intended for his dog.
SPHP spent hours visiting with Mick. In the evening, Mick invited SPHP and Lupe in for a tour of his motor home. Lupe got to spend the whole evening in there “roughing it” in the lap of luxury. Mick knows lots of famous people from the music industry. He said he has had a tremendously fun life. He told some pretty wild tales about the music industry, places he had been, and people he knew. His nickname in the music industry was “puker” – not terribly charming, but related to the wild partying lifestyle he shared for a while with the rich and famous.
On 7-17-13, Lupe and SPHP woke up pretty early, refreshed from the easy prior day in camp spent visiting with Mick. Lupe and SPHP were ready to go find Sky Pilot Lake! SPHP intended to start the trek Beartooth Lake campground, so Lupe and SPHP went there first. However, SPHP wasn’t able to find a source of water there. Since the familiar Island Lake campground and trailhead were only a few miles farther E on Beartooth Hwy No. 212, SPHP quickly gave up on a start from Beartooth Lake. At the Island Lake campground, SPHP got water and Lupe was ready to go.
Lupe left the Island Lake trailhead at around 8:15 AM. Even though Lupe had taken the trail from Island Lake twice before (once with Lanis in August, 2012 as far as Beauty and Becker Lakes, and a 2nd time just 3 days earlier on 7-14-13 as far as Two Bits Lake), Lupe and SPHP were perfectly happy to take this trail again. It really is the easiest and most direct route to Sky Pilot Lake from Beartooth Hwy No. 212. Better yet, the entire trail goes through simply gorgeous alpine territory.
At first, Lupe and SPHP made very good time. Lupe and SPHP passed Island Lake, Night Lake, Flake Lake, Mutt & Jeff Lakes, Becker Lake and were all the way to Albino Lake by 11:15 AM. Soon Lupe and SPHP reached Jasper Lake. From Jasper Lake on, the going became much slower. Lupe left the trail at the S end of Jasper Lake, and the ground became progressively rougher with more and more boulder fields. The weather had been cool and overcast, which was great for hiking, but began to clear and became sunny as Lupe and SPHP worked around the E side of Jasper Lake.
Lonesome Mountain from Jasper Lake 7-17-13. Much later in the day, Lupe and SPHP were caught in a storm near this point.
From Jasper Lake, Lupe headed NNW up a rocky ridge towards Two Bits Lake. On the other side of the ridge was a series of little lakes and ponds scattered among the rocks and grassy areas. Once up on the ridge, instead of heading N for Two Bits Lake again (which Lupe had reached just 3 days earlier), this time Lupe stayed farther W. She wound her way around to cross the stream which comes from Two Bits Lake just downstream of Triskele Lake.
Beyond the ridge NNW of Jasper Lake. A sliver of Triskele Lake is seen beyond this pond toward the left side of this photo.Lupe takes a break near the pond before reaching Triskele Lake in the Beartooth Mountains.Lupe investigates something interesting near the stream below Triskele Lake.
Lupe and SPHP were happy. Lupe was now exploring new country. It was all wonderful! Lupe and SPHP climbed NNW up the big ridge beyond Triskele Lake. Lupe kept coming to one false top after another. It was very rough country, but not a dangerous climb.
When Lupe finally reached the top of the ridge, there was a grand view from the SE to the SW all the way around to the NW. There were many high mountains in view. Relatively close by and most dramatic was Lonesome Mountain(11,399 ft.) back to the S. Nearby and for the first time, Lupe and SPHP could now see Donelson and Maryott Lakes below to the WNW.
Lupe up on the ridge NNW of Triskele Lake and W of Two Bits Lake. Lupe is enjoying a view of the SE end of Donelson Lake. Photo looks SW.Donelson Lake and a bit of Maryott Lake beyond. Looks like very interesting territory to explore! Photo looks SW. Beartooth Mountains, Montana.Donelson (closest) and Maryott (farthest) Lakes from higher up. The W arm of Donelson Lake is seen beyond the little ridge at the left side of the photo.
Once up on the ridge, SPHP had expected it to be relatively easy to find High Pass where Lupe needed to go to get to Sky Pilot Lake, but even with the topo map it was hard to figure out exactly which way to go. Lupe and SPHP kept climbing along the ridgeline heading N and scrambling around the boulder fields trying to figure out which way was the easiest way to High Pass. The boulder fields really slowed progress down. SPHP could now see what looked like a line of storms developing to the W, and some big clouds that looked a bit threatening to the N of the high ridge hiding Sky Pilot Lake.
Lonesome Mountain(11,399 ft.) as seen from the ridge W of Two Bits Lake and NNW of Triskele Lake.Our intrepid American Dingo, Lupe, rests above Donelson and Maryott Lakes in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana on 7-17-13.
After much consulting of the maps and gazing at the terrain to the N, SPHP could see 3 possible ways that might lead to High Pass. The closest one was the westernmost. SPHP thought Lupe was too far W for it to be the right one, but although steep, it looked relatively easy to climb.
Since it was taking so long to traverse the endless boulder fields, SPHP didn’t want to go to the E to check out the other possibilities. SPHP decided Lupe would just climb this closest big ridge, which was directly N of the ridge Lupe was on. It took a while to get up there, but Lupe and SPHP finally got to the top.
Lupe reaches the top of the ridge about 0.67 mile NNE of Donelson Lake and just W of High Pass. This was her high point reached at around 11,120 feet. The jagged mountains N of High Pass are now in view.
At the top was a huge view in almost every direction. For the first time Lupe and SPHP could see farther N. SPHP had been right. Lupe’s climb up to this N ridge was W of the best access to High Pass. A few hundred feet below, Lupe and SPHP could see High Pass and High Pass Lake. Some dramatic towering jagged mountains including Sky Pilot Mountain(12,047 ft.) were in view beyond High Pass Lake.
High Pass Lake. SPHP believes the mountain at the L is the SE ridge and a false summit of Sky Pilot Mountain(12,047 ft.). The mountain seen in the center beyond the gap is probably Whitetail Peak(12,551 ft.). Photo looks NNE. Beartooth Mountains, Montana, 7-17-13Lonesome Mountain from the ridge just to the W above High Pass. In the far distance beyond Lonesome Mountain to the L a small portion of Island Lake is seen. The far side of the lake is where Lupe started this long day hike! Photo looks S.
By now the storm clouds to the W & N looked closer. SPHP realized there wasn’t a lot of time to dawdle. High Pass is 10,800+ feet and Lupe had climbed several hundred feet higher than that. Lupe was probably somewhere around 11,120+ feet. Lupe and SPHP worked on down the other side of the ridge into High Pass. Despite the need to hurry, it was slow going. Once down in the pass, the going was much easier. Lupe and SPHP headed N past High Pass Lake up to a small ridge. SPHP hoped to see Sky Pilot Lake from this ridge, but was disappointed when it was not visible from there.
There was one more ridge to the N, a bit lower, but which was hiding some land in a big cirque. SPHP thought Sky Pilot Lake might be just beyond that ridge. SPHP certainly hoped it would be. SPHP could see that there was a gigantic canyon ahead heading off to the NE. Lupe shouldn’t go very far down into the gigantic canyon to find Sky Pilot Lake, given the developing weather conditions. This last ridge was as far as SPHP was willing to go. So Lupe went down to the lower ridge. The first thing that Lupe saw was the upper end of the big cirque beyond the ridge.
The big cirque as viewed from the final (lower) ridge. Snow, yes, but not looking like a glacier to SPHP no matter what the topo map showed!
The topo map showed a glacier in the big cirque. Although there was a considerable amount of snow, it really didn’t look like much. It certainly didn’t look like there was a glacier any more. More disappointingly, Sky Pilot Lake was not visible. Lupe and SPHP headed a bit further to the NNE up to the end of the ridge. There, nearby, but hundreds of feet below Lupe, was Sky Pilot Lake! Lupe had succeeded in finding it!
Lupe rests on the final ridge above beautiful Sky Pilot Lake in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana 7-17-13Sky Pilot Lake (10,478 ft.) shines beautifully in the sunlight. Whitetail Peak(12,551 ft.) is shrouded by clouds to the N.
Sky Pilot Lake was a very beautiful lake! It shimmered with a gorgeous blue-green color when the sun shone on it. SPHP wished it hadn’t taken so long to get here, because it would have been great to go down to the shore of the lake and see it from there. However, it was getting late and the weather looked increasingly ominous. It clouded up, but then blue sky came out again. Lupe and SPHP sat high up near the end of the little ridge looking at the great view of Sky Pilot Lake. Lupe rested and had some Taste of the Wild and water.
The SE arm of Sky Pilot Mountain, which is a false summit.Looking E from the ridge SW of Sky Pilot Lake and N of High Pass. The mountain at L may be the W side of Beartooth Mountain(12,351 ft.).SE arm and false summit of Sky Pilot Mountain (L) and Whitetail Peak (center).
Lupe and SPHP had been there maybe 20 minutes or more when Lupe started hearing thunder in the distance. Reluctantly, SPHP decided Lupe had better get going. After a last glance at Sky Pilot Lake, as fast as SPHP could manage, Lupe and SPHP scrambled back over to High Pass and High Pass Lake. Soon it completely clouded up and started to sprinkle. SPHP had raingear in the backpack, but did not stop to put it on.
Lupe got over High Pass and had just barely started down the S side of the pass when the storm hit with driving rain. Soon there was hail, too. The hail was only pea-sized, but still stung a bit. SPHP saw an especially big rock nearby with a little bit of an overhang. Lupe and SPHP headed for it. Arriving at the big rock, SPHP got Lupe under the overhang and out of the hail. There was room for SPHP’s head under there too, but that was it. At least the backpack provided some protection, too. Still, it was a good thing the hail didn’t get any bigger, or SPHP would have been pounded. Lupe and SPHP hid there under the overhang for a few minutes while it hailed and SPHP got drenched.
The hail let up pretty soon. Lupe and SPHP got going again. It was still raining, but not as hard. More concerning, lightning was now not too far away, and there was frequent thunder. The lightning was really the scariest thing. Lupe needed to lose elevation as fast as possible. Lupe and SPHP were way too high up and easy targets. As far as SPHP could see to the W (and SPHP could see a long way from here!), there were more storm clouds.
Lupe and SPHP scrambled onward. Sometimes it rained harder again, but mostly it was relatively light. Thankfully, it didn’t hail again. From the sound of the thunder, lightning was close, but still a little ways away. Lupe and SPHP made it all the way down through the biggest boulder fields and crossed the stream below Triskele Lake again. Lupe and SPHP were utterly alone. The scenery seemed even more beautiful, dramatic and wild in the storm. Once past the stream, Lupe and SPHP headed up and over the ridge to the S and down to Jasper Lake.
Lupe and SPHP were heading around the E side of Jasper Lake when the storm hit hard again. It poured rain and hailed again, but the hail was so tiny it didn’t do anything. This time though, the lightning was now close. It flashed all around and thunder roared, echoing in the mountains. Lupe and SPHP crouched down beside a big boulder not far from the shore of Jasper Lake. There Lupe waited for the storm to pass. It was an amazing view. The surface of Jasper Lake danced with raindrops while lightning struck Lonesome Mountain on the other side of the lake.
After 10 or 15 minutes, the rain let up quite a bit. The lightning and thunder moved away to the E. Lupe and SPHP got going again. Lupe and SPHP got up over the ridge S of Jasper Lake and started heading for Albino Lake. Although occasionally thunder and lightning threatened again, it was never as bad as at Jasper Lake and never again caused Lupe to seek cover. It rained, but not hard. Eventually the rain diminished to become just a light sprinkle. At times it quit entirely. The clouds broke up and the half moon was out.
Lupe had fun exploring. There no more mishaps the rest of the way to the G6. It got so dark, SPHP had to start using the flashlight before Lupe was even back to Mutt & Jeff Lakes. For hours, Lupe continued to see lightning in the darkness far to the SE. SPHP was tired, but still felt amazingly good. Lupe seemed to feel the same way. Lupe made it back to the G6 back at the Island Lake trailhead at 11:42 PM. It was 50°F.
By 12:30 PM, Lupe and SPHP were back at camp at the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River. It looked like it had really rained hard there. SPHP was tempted to sleep in the G6, but Lupe wanted to go in her “tiny house” (tent). So SPHP got rid of the water in the tiny house and put things in order. Sometime around 1:00 AM, Lupe and SPHP sacked out in the tiny house.
At nearly 15.5 hours, this was Lupe and SPHP’s longest day hike in the Beartooths on her 2013 Dingo Vacation, and the most spectacular. It had also been the most dangerous, when Lupe and SPHP got caught in the storm up in High Pass at around 10,800 feet elevation. Sometime it would be fun to explore the high country around Donelson and Maryott Lakes. SPHP was very happy Lupe did get to see Sky Pilot Lake, which was very pretty and remote. The peaks nearby and the gigantic canyon to the NE below Sky Pilot Lake were most impressive too.
A year later, Lupe returned to the Beartooth Mountains as part of her 2014 Dingo Vacation. On 8-3-14 she climbed Lonesome Mountain, which she had passed by this day on the way to Sky Pilot Lake.
Whitetail Peak beyond Sky Pilot Lake, Beartooth Mountains, Montana 7-17-13
