{"id":1120,"date":"2015-07-09T15:27:07","date_gmt":"2015-07-09T21:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=1120"},"modified":"2019-03-16T12:11:55","modified_gmt":"2019-03-16T18:11:55","slug":"lonesome-mountain-in-the-beartooth-mountains-of-montana-8-3-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=1120","title":{"rendered":"Lonesome Mountain in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana (8-3-14)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The highest peak Lupe has ever climbed to date is Lonesome Mountain<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (11,399 ft.)<\/strong> <\/span>in the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0returned to\u00a0the area for two more treks, one to Two Bits Lake <\/strong><\/a><\/span>and another to Sky Pilot Lake<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0during Lupe’s 2013 summer Dingo Vacation.\u00a0 There are other higher ridges and peaks around, but Lonesome Mountain stands separate and alone in all its glory.\u00a0 SPHP always thought it looked potentially climbable from the S\u00a0by an adventurous little Carolina Dog.<\/em><\/p>\n

This long day hike starts at the Island Lake Trailhead\u00a0near the Island Lake campground on the N side of the Beartooth Highway No. 212 in NW\u00a0Wyoming.\u00a0 The Island Lake campground is approximately 2 miles E of the Top of the World Store & Motel<\/a><\/span><\/strong> or roughly 15 miles E of Hwy 212’s junction with the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, Hwy 296.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Then the real work begins.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP left the\u00a0Little Belt mountains of Montana\u00a0on the morning of August 2, 2014,\u00a0after climbing\u00a0King’s\u00a0Hill.\u00a0 The plan was to head for the Beartooth Mountains in NW Wyoming and southern Montana.\u00a0 Lupe took Hwy 89 down to White Sulphur Springs and eventually all the way S to I-90.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 It all looked very Old West and mostly still unspoiled.<\/p>\n

SPHP stopped at a city park along the N bank of the Yellowstone River after getting food and gas in Columbus, MT.\u00a0 Lupe drank out of the Yellowstone River and cooled off in it.\u00a0 She also managed to find something very stinky to roll in to hide her scent.\u00a0 SPHP objected to her proudly worn new scent.\u00a0 Lupe had to get back in the river again to wash it off.\u00a0 From Columbus, Lupe took Hwy 78 to Red Lodge, MT and then Hwy 212 up and over fabulous Beartooth Pass (elevation 10,947′).<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP hung around enjoying the beauty of the location while waiting to see if\u00a0the site\u00a0would open up.\u00a0 After a few hours, it did!\u00a0 SPHP ran for the G6, turned the key –\u00a0and nothing happened.\u00a0 The battery was dead!\u00a0 It started to rain.\u00a0 The windows were open and couldn’t be closed.\u00a0 An error message on the G6 said “Service Traction”.\u00a0 This helpful message went unmentioned in the owner’s manual.<\/p>\n

Eventually\u00a0two people appeared and were kind enough to give the G6 a jump.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP headed for Cody, WY over the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway in rain, lightning, thunder\u00a0and hail.\u00a0 A double rainbow cheerily appeared on the E side of the pass.\u00a0\u00a0It was late on Saturday evening when Lupe reached Cody.\u00a0 SPHP found a Wal-Mart.\u00a0 Wal-Mart was a\u00a0great 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 It fired right up!\u00a0 Maybe the battery wasn’t really bad.<\/p>\n

The night was spent in the G6 in the Wal-Mart parking lot.\u00a0 SPHP dreamed wild and vivid dreams, but Lupe slept soundly.\u00a0 Or maybe she always has wild and vivid dreams.\u00a0 Sometimes she twitches.\u00a0 It was already very late, after 8 AM, by the time SPHP regained consciousness on Sunday morning.\u00a0 The G6 started right up again!\u00a0 Nevertheless, SPHP talked to a gentleman in the Wal-Mart automotive center.\u00a0 They couldn’t diagnose\u00a0or fix complicated problems, but they could install a new battery.\u00a0 The gentleman suggested waiting until Monday to take the G6 to a repair shop.<\/p>\n

SPHP had a better idea.\u00a0 Why not drive all the way back to the Beartooths and make the most of the day?\u00a0 The secret was to park the G6\u00a0so it would be easy to get another jump if the battery pooped out again.\u00a0 Lupe was going to climb Lonesome Mountain!\u00a0 It was 10:13 AM, clear, calm and a perfect 61\u00b0F when Lupe and SPHP left the quirky G6 at the Island Lake trailhead in the Beartooths.\u00a0 The mosquitoes were bad and SPHP was slathered with unhealthy DEET.<\/p>\n

Lots of people were around on the trail, which headed N on the W side of Island Lake.\u00a0 A guy from Michigan said it was supposed to rain at 3 PM.\u00a0 This was concerning.\u00a0 There were already some clouds on the western horizon.\u00a0 One lady reported having seen a grizzly bear and two cubs just 10 minutes before Lupe and\u00a0SPHP came along.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe wasn’t\u00a0even past Island Lake yet.\u00a0 The fishermen SPHP talked to were all having good success catching fish – mostly cutthroat trout.<\/p>\n

\"Lonesome<\/a>
Lonesome Mountain from near Becker Lake.\u00a0 Lupe climbed up near the left side.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The\u00a0trail passed through gorgeous territory.\u00a0\u00a0This may be the best hike Lupe and SPHP have ever been on outside of the Canadian Rockies.\u00a0 There were beautiful wildflowers everywhere.\u00a0 The mountain scenery was impressive.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP passed\u00a0a succession of splendid alpine lakes – Island Lake, Night Lake, Flake Lake, Mutt & Jeff Lakes, and Becker Lake.\u00a0 There was only one trail intersection to watch for,\u00a0which was a right turn\u00a02.5 miles from the start (at the S end of Island Lake) onto the trail that goes between Mutt & Jeff\u00a0Lakes. \u00a0The only bad thing was the mosquitoes.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0really couldn’t stop anywhere for more than a few minutes before they\u00a0came swarming in.<\/p>\n

N of Becker Lake, Lupe and SPHP left Wyoming and entered Montana.\u00a0 There was no sign.\u00a0 At the S end of Albino Lake at 10,000 feet\u00a0it was time to leave the trail.\u00a0 Lonesome Mountain loomed high above Albino Lake just to the W.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP turned SW and headed for the big ridge that projects SSE from Lonesome Mountain.\u00a0 Once up on the ridge, Lupe discovered lots of hidden ponds and deep snow banks.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP turned NNW and headed for the summit of Lonesome Mountain scrambling up and down over big granite ridges.<\/p>\n

\"Albino<\/a>
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.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
Eventually the climb turned into just a scramble over huge boulder fields all the rest of the way to the top of Lonesome Mountain.\u00a0 Lupe is an excellent scrambler and could have been at the top of the mountain\u00a0long before SPHP\u00a0got there.\u00a0 The weather started deteriorating all around as\u00a0Lupe and SPHP\u00a0scrambled ever higher on the mountain.\u00a0 SPHP’s\u00a0progress over the big boulders was painfully slow.\u00a0 Lupe was always appearing nearby looking like a true explorer surveying the world from the heights of various boulders.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

As\u00a0SPHP finally\u00a0got close to the top of Lonesome Mountain, the rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance.\u00a0 A big rainstorm was in progress some miles to the S.\u00a0 Fortunately, SPHP did not see any cloud to ground lightning.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP finally reached the top of Lonesome Mountain.\u00a0 The view was spectacular.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP could see lots of lakes and mountains\u00a0that\u00a0SPHP hadn’t ever seen before except on maps.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on Lonesome Mountain 8-3-14<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking S from Lonesome Mountain. Island Lake is the largest distant\u00a0lake toward the center.\u00a0 Night Sky Lake is right next to\u00a0Island Lake\u00a0but closer and smaller.\u00a0 Part of Becker Lake is seen much closer on the left. Beauty Lake is the largest and most distant lake on the right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Beartooth<\/a>
Beartooth Butte from Lonesome Mountain. The long skinny lake is Lonesome Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The view to the NNE of Lonesome Mountain. A portion of Jasper Lake is seen at the lower left.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A woman on the trail between Albino and Becker Lakes had told SPHP\u00a0she tried to climb Lonesome Mountain earlier this day, but ran out of time.\u00a0 She told\u00a0SPHP that the summit in view was a false summit.\u00a0 Lupe and\u00a0SPHP had\u00a0climbed the false summit.\u00a0 Quite a distance to the NW, SPHP could see another summit separated from where\u00a0Lupe was by\u00a0a big drop-off\u00a0and then a saddle consisting of another boulder field.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The NW high point of Lonesome Mountain is seen in the distance and may be nominally higher than the high point Lupe climbed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a way it really didn’t matter – the true summit looked to be at essentially the same elevation as the false summit.\u00a0 A check of\u00a0SPHP’s maps showed both summits within the same elevation contours.\u00a0 The difference in height between the two summits can only be a matter of 0-20 feet.\u00a0 (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.\u00a0 SPHP’s Alpine Quadrangle of the Absaroka-Beartooth mountains shows a height of 10,409′ to the NW.)<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on Lonesome Mountain 8-3-14<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.\u00a0 However,\u00a0although\u00a0current conditions were\u00a0just cool with a light breeze, Lonesome Mountain was now surrounded by threatening weather.<\/p>\n

To the S there was a big storm going on.\u00a0 Dark clouds hung just over the huge ridge to the NE.\u00a0 Back at Island Lake where\u00a0Lupe had come from,\u00a0SPHP could see it was raining hard.\u00a0 Off to the W an ominous line of dark clouds and showers was approaching.\u00a0 A cloudburst was going on to the SW.\u00a0\u00a0SPHP was pretty certain\u00a0rain was going to\u00a0hit within 30 minutes.\u00a0 Rain wouldn’t be too bothersome, and even\u00a0hail might be avoidable under the shelter of a big boulder, but lightning would be potentially deadly.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
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!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SPHP snapped\u00a0 a few quick photos and told Lupe\u00a0it was time\u00a0to get down off Lonesome Mountain ASAP.\u00a0 So began the scramble down.\u00a0 It took quite a long time, but not as long as going up.\u00a0\u00a0SPHP thought about going down by Lonesome Lake, which could be seen clearly to the SW.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP have never been\u00a0there before.\u00a0 That whole area looked full of lakes easy to reach.\u00a0 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.\u00a0\u00a0SPHP knew Lupe\u00a0was going to be late enough getting back to the G6 as it was.<\/p>\n

About 20 minutes after\u00a0Lupe started down, it did start to rain, but it never rained hard.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0only got sprinkled on, and even that only lasted maybe 20 minutes.\u00a0 Eventually the skies to the W cleared.\u00a0 The storm to the S still rumbled.\u00a0 There was some cloud to ground lightning, but it was far away.\u00a0 It became apparent\u00a0Lupe and SPHP\u00a0were not going to get caught in any significant storm.<\/p>\n

It took Lupe and\u00a0SPHP a long time to work\u00a0their way back down to Albino Lake.\u00a0 The were-puppy liked to attack\u00a0SPHP on the big snow banks that had to be traversed, but\u00a0SPHP was\u00a0now\u00a0in too much of a hurry to play the were-puppy game.\u00a0 On one snow bank\u00a0SPHP suddenly noticed\u00a0a dark pink, almost red color\u00a0on Lupe’s white vest and paws.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe wanted to play the were-puppy game on the snow banks on Lonesome Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Initially SPHP\u00a0thought maybe\u00a0Lupe was injured and bleeding from some mishap in the boulder fields, but\u00a0upon examination it proved to be just some of the pink coloration that is common on the old snow banks here.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe certainly acted like she felt not only fine, but terrific!\u00a0 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.\u00a0 She had an absolutely wonderful time.<\/p>\n

\"Nope,<\/a>
Nope, not blood. Just pink stuff from the snow on the puppy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP rejoined the trail at\u00a0Albino Lake.\u00a0\u00a0They went long distances on the trail without seeing anyone.\u00a0 The last sunlight\u00a0to shine on Lupe\u00a0was at Becker Lake.\u00a0 Other day hikers had already returned to the trailhead.\u00a0 Backpackers had already reached their camping destinations.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0met just a very few people, but otherwise the trail was empty.\u00a0 It grew so dark it was hard to see the trail, but\u00a0SPHP didn’t use the flashlight until the final major stream crossing at the outlet from Island Lake.\u00a0 The campground was totally dark and quiet.<\/p>\n

Lupe\u00a0arrived at the G6 at 10:09 PM.\u00a0 It was 44 degrees F.\u00a0 SPHP fed Lupe some Taste of the Wild and Alpo.\u00a0 She was tired.\u00a0 SPHP was tired too.\u00a0 Thankfully, the G6 started up.\u00a0 SPHP drove in the darkness back to\u00a0Lupe’s favorite spot on the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River for another night in the G6.\u00a0 At nearly 12 hours, this hike proved to be\u00a0Lupe’s last really long day hike of\u00a0her 2014 Dingo Vacation to the Canadian Rockies & Beartooth Mountains.\u00a0 Climbing Lonesome Mountain had been a wonderful time.\u00a0 Lupe agreed it sure beat spending the day cooped up in the G6 in the Wal-Mart parking lot!<\/p>\n

\"Beartooth<\/a>
Beartooth Butte<\/a><\/strong><\/span> (10,514 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> from Lonesome Mountain 8-3-14<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prior Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2014 Canadian Rockies & Beartooths Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span> or Master Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The highest peak Lupe has ever climbed to date is Lonesome Mountain (11,399 ft.) in the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0returned to\u00a0the area for two more treks, one to Two … Continue reading Lonesome Mountain in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana (8-3-14)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[105,182,106,26,181,104,417],"class_list":["post-1120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2014-canadian-rockiesbeartooths","tag-american-dingo","tag-beartooth-mountains","tag-carolina-dog","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-lonesome-mountain","tag-lupe","tag-montana"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/P1050423.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1120"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20825,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1120\/revisions\/20825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}