My Montana summer

[kcowyo]

Being snowbound right now is giving me time to get caught up on some more previous trip reports. The following is just a portion of a 6 week adventure I was fortunate enough to take through the Rocky Mountains. I travelled through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico in the perfect travelling months of August and September. It was another grand trip that I am still feeling the effects from, even today.

Here is my report of sorts....

I live just south of Yellowstone National Park, near the corners of WY, MT and ID. It's a wonderful area to begin a trip and it's no accident that I live here. The raw, rugged mountains and wilderness I saw in movies and read about in books as a child growing up in North Carolina, lured me to this region. It's been 14 years now that I have made this area my home and no matter where I travel, it's always a joy to return here.

Our neighboring state of Montana, is another jewel of the Rockies. The geography, the history, the rivers, the climate, the people, the wildlife and the aura of Montana cannot be described accurately. At least not by me. It must be experienced in person to truly feel the magic of Montana. But I hope you will endulge me as I try to convey to you, that magic.

So let's go to Montana....


My plan was to travel along the western border of Montana, on as many dirt trails as possible, to Glacier National Park on the US-Canadian border. I wanted to visit small towns like Ennis, Virginia City, Bannack, Wisdom, Seely Lake and Hungry Horse. I had alloted a week to make the ten hour trip from my home to Glacier NP via the many backroads that straddle the MT & ID border and it actually took 8 days. It was a solo venture. No passenger, no other trucks, no one else's timetable to worry about.

Rather than get bogged down in a lot of verbage and details, I want to share pictures of the area. If a picture is worth a thousand words, than posting pics will save me a lot of time typing. I'd be happy to answer any questions about the area or my my specific route for the curious. But as I said earlier, it would be impossible to accurately describe this trip in words. So instead, this is what I saw....


Day One - The Gravelly Range and the Madison River near Ennis

 

[kcowyo]

Day One continued....

 

[kcowyo]

Day Two - leaving Ennis, headed to Black Butte

 

[craig333]

Thats it. I'm doing my taxes right now so I can get the funds to hit the road. Beautiful country there.

 

[kcowyo]

Day Two continued....

 

[kcowyo]

Black Butte to Clark Canyon Reservoir -

This section was an accident as I missed a turn I meant to take near Black Butte. No complaints here. The days total was 100 continuous miles on the trail over the Gravelly Range Mtns. It concluded with some great colors at sunset as I rolled out of the mountains into a valley around the town of Monida.

I was low on gas and trying to outrun a nasty looking storm while losing daylight in an area I hadn't planned on visiting. To add to the drama, I remember listening to music from the movie "War of the Worlds". The drumming, suspenseful music while I barrelled down an unknown dirt road looking for some sign of civilization and fuel, really topped off a great day on the trail. It was days like this more than any other that proved what a great combination the FWC and truck are.

Who says you can't take it with you when you go?

 

[oly884]

Gravelies = awesome! I love that area, and I'm only about an hour and a half from where you started.

 

[kcowyo]

I've got much more to add. All totalled I spent 3 weeks in Montana on this trip. I'll try and be brief and not overload DirtyDog's server with pics and long winded musings. But I have all of these pics and somebody should see them besides just me.

I've gotta go do some stuff right now. Be back with more later -

- KC

 

[SunMan]

You are right, photos like that should definitely be shared and I'm digging what I've seen so far...looking forward to seeing the rest of them. Nothing like a solo road mission with no time tables...keep 'em comin' amigo!

 

[chnlisle]

Wonderful shots. Great work. Thanks

 

[lqhikers]

Great pictures! made me dig out my maps to see how close we were 4 years ago when we rode the motorcycle though Yellowstone to Strugis S.D.WE spent 5 days going 1 day in Sturgis and 4 days going back to Idaho.!Drive slow and enjoy "its the journey" Les, lqhikers

 

[buzzman]

kcowyo,
Great pictures! Thanks for sharing. What brand/kind of maps do you like to use on trips like this? Send more pictures.

 

[kcowyo]

I primarily used the Montana Gazetteer from DeLorme. I also have Topo USA 6.0 software installed on my laptop. I'm also fond of Topo & Recreation maps from GTR Mapping, so I always keep a few of those with me in the truck. I prefer the Gazetteer and paper maps over a GPS and following digital maps on a computer.

Someday I may be proficient enough with a GPS and mapping software to track these trips and record waypoints, etc. But for now, I still enjoy laying out my paper maps and seeing where I've been and where I want to go. Speaking of which.....


Bannack to Painted Rocks Reservoir...

 

[kcowyo]

More....

 

[kcowyo]

I spent 2 days in Missoula with a friend. We hit a downtown music and micro-brew fest. Great music and food, lots of people. After 4 days by myself on the trail, it was nice to see people and buildings again. But after 2 days that got old, so I continued north towards Seeley Lake, Swan Lake and Hungry Horse.

 

[kcowyo]

The town of Hungry Horse isn't much to look at. There's a few stores, some touristy stuff but most people just pass through on their way into Glacier National Park. I arrived on a Friday evening and I knew enough not to go into Glacier on a weekend in August. The crowds and traffic would be ridiculous.

So I spent the weekend driving the 100 mile loop around the Hungry Horse Reservoir just outside the east entrance to the park. What a stunning area. Tremendous views, beautiful water, tons of campsites and more potholes than the road into Baghdad. I enjoyed my quiet, peaceful weekend here just as much as I enjoyed the visit to Glacier NP.


Hungry Horse Reservoir -

....more still to come

 

[DLN]

kc,

Faaantastic. Your photos and descriptions are the best. I'm looking forward to rest of the report. Thanks for posting.

 

[erod]

KC, as always...AWESOME!

 

[kcowyo]

Following my weekend around the Hungry Horse Reservoir, I headed into the west entrance of Glacier National Park. There had been a large fire just days before on the east side of the park. Over 30,000 acres burned and many small fires were still smoldering in the area. Very smokey, couldn't see much.

I drove over the much vaunted Going to the Sun Road. The scenery was spectacular, even through the haze. The switchbacks and narrow road keeps you on your toes. The traffic keeps you moving as if in a herd. Due to the traffic, smoke and lack of waterfalls, I chose to move on rather quickly.

Leaving via the east entrance I cruised up the Chief Mountain Highway to within a few miles of Canada. I turned back south, visited the area called Many Glacier and sought out camp. The area was very isolated, even with the nearby park. I wound up driving back to the town of West Glacier and made camp close by.

My impressions of Glacier NP were similar to my first impressions of Yosemite NP. "Wow, this is beautiful. Now get me away from all of these people!"

 

[kcowyo]

A little discouraged by my visit to Glacier and with numerous fires burning nearby and in Idaho, I needed to find somewhere I could sit still for a few days and give the gas card a break. I was in nearly perfect country with huge mountains and plenty of lakes, I just needed to find a spot away from everyone where I could relax.

I began pouring over my maps looking for someplace. In the northwest corner of the park is a small village and two lakes. Bowman Lake, less than ten miles from the small village of Polebridge. And further up the road another 20 miles is Kintla Lake. Past that, Canada. To Polebridge was 30 miles of washboard hell at the end of the road. With no fires in the area I chose to head north to Polebridge and beyond, to Kintla Lake.

There wasn't much to speak of in the town. A few fishing cabins, a small Mercantile and a one room cabin named the Northern Lights Saloon. I passed through with little interest, headed for Kintla Lake. Stopping on the way to air down the tires or air up the airbags, I met Mike. Mike had a white Tundra and newish FWC Hawk. We talked for a few about campers and airbags. He suggested a campsite at the lake were he stayed at the night before.

Turns out my hunch was right. Getting to Kintla Lake was no easy task but it was worth every mile.