DE VII - Big Skies Trip Report

[Hun]

Day 9 - Rock Creek Road

6/26 Monday
We awoke to a cool, brisk morning, had scrambled eggs for breakfast and then it was hugs all around for F., D., and G.'s departure to find Alaska. We backtracked with G., and K. up Bear Gulch Road (single lane steep incline) to Garnet Ghost Town and walked along the interpretative trail among the placer gold mines.





Some mine shafts as deep as 100 feet still remain although they are now completely water-filled. Halfway through the hike, we entered a spruce forest with trees towering some 80 to 100 feet high.







After the 20-minute hike, which took us one hour and one half, we headed west to find passage through the mountain. We were stopped by a locked gate atop Union peak and decided it was a good place to break out the picnic baskets and have some lunch. Heading down another route looking for passage we were stopped yet again by a locked gate so we resorted to making our way to Highway 200 west to Bonner outside of Missoula. We fueled up in Bonner and found Interstate 90 eastbound for a short drive to find Rock Creek Road. Rock Creek Road follows Rock Creek, infamous for trout fishing, through a valley in Lolo National Forest. Rock Creek is a wide, shallow creek with fast moving water. It was dotted with fly fisherman along the 30 mile stretch we travelled.







We stopped for the night at Stoneycreek, camping on the edge of Rock Creek.



I whipped up a dish of black beans and rice with chicken while Scott changed the oil in the truck (it was time, afterall!). We took early showers and built the campfire to enjoy before the storm rolled in which chased us to bed early.



So with the sound of the nearby rushing creek, the thunder rolling in, and the rain on our teardrop we drifted off to sleep. (52138, nearly 100 miles)

 

[gwittman]

Here is a representation of the typical method of removal of material from mines around Garnet. Can you imaging a one man operation that had to fill his basket, up to 100 ft down, and then climbed out to pull it up to unload then climb all the way back down to start all over again. Plus they were constantly fighting the water that was trying to fill their mines. They worked hard for what they got.

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Here is a glimpse of Rock Creek which is said to be among the best for trout fishing in Montana. It was flowing very well with all the snow melt run off.

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This is the remains of the residence of the last resident to leave the ghost town of Granite.

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Here is a current resident.

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The view from the upper Granite mining operation was pretty nice. Although, I understand they pretty much stripped all the trees from the entire Granite area. I am glad nature is so good at recovering.

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This is a view of a nice currently operating ranch with a mountain in the background. This was on the way back out of a very remote place where we camped. A couple long time locals came through to do some exploring with their side be side. They ask how we managed to find our way back there. They didn't know about our secret weapon (Hun) who could seek out any good remote site with her scouting senses and maps.

 

[Scott B.]

I really enjoy century-old machinery



View from camp

 

[Hun]

Day 10 - Granite Ghost Town, try and find it!

6/27 Tuesday
We woke up to the sound of rain and so dozed off again. The second time we woke up, the rain had essentially stopped so we brewed coffee and had a breakfast of raspberry granola with fresh blueberries. We made our way out of Stoneycreek campground heading east toward the town of Philipsburg on the hunt for Granite Ghost Town tucked in the hills southeast of town. 3 GPSs and the map books often don't agree, but on the second try we found the unmarked dirt road heading east out**of town up into the hills. Granite Mine was a productive silver mine in the late 1800s until the US government changed from silver to gold standard. We first passed a few log structures and then found ourselves on Main Street.



We nearly missed the Visitor Center tucked behind our rig.



The remains of a 3-story mining union hall proved the town was something in its day.



We strolled on down the street and came upon Mae's log cabin. Mae was the last resident of this boom town sometime in the 1930s. We also found the foundation of the town church, and the mine superintendent's home fully intact, and obviously refurbished.





Further up the road we found the stamp mill with a female moose wandering through the remains and then the mine shaft identifiable by the head frame still standing.





The town, spread throughout the hills had grown to a size of 3000 inhabitants and upon the US government decree to change to the gold standard, 3000 people vacated town in 24 hours time! We left the ghost town arriving back in Phillipsburg, a National Historic Landmark itself. We had eyed a barbecue joint, Upnsmokin BBQ House and couldn't wait to try the pork and brisket. The restaurant was in a restored historic building and the food hit the spot. Keith even treated us all to lunch and that made it especially delicious! After lunch, we walked around the block to the Granite County Museum and Cultural Center. The museum had photos from the late 1800s showing the ghost towns in all their glory. It gave us a full picture of what we had seen on our walk through the town remains. Coming out of the museum, we had to stop at the Sweet Shoppe. I treated everyone to chocolates of their choosing. I mean, how do you come upon a chocolate shoppe and not try the handmade specialties!



We left town heading south on Route 1 and then west on Route 38. We turned off on G-70 to Ross Fork Road to find a campsite for the night. We camped neared Moose Meadows in a quiet spot tucked away with just the sound of a rushing river in the distance.





A storm threatened but blew south of us so we lit the campfire, taste-tested the chocolates, and visited until nightfall. (52200, 62 miles)

 

[Foy]

Rock Creek memories!

We've spent many a night along Rock Creek, first at The Dalles campground car camping in our 1977 Honda Civic, then 4 different full weeks at Hogback Homestead Cabin, several nights at the Stony Creek FS cabin, and most recently 5 nights at Bitterroot Flats campground in our pop-up camper, where we observed my 60th birthday in 2015. Lots and lots of fine memories in that canyon. And more to come!

Thanks for the report and the pics. We can't be there this summer, but are looking forward to 2018! Bannack Days, the Big Hole, Twin Lakes, Comet Mountain, Philipsburg, and Rock Creek will all see us!

Foy

 

[Foy]

Rock Creek Road closed due to fires

Just learned that Rock Creek Road is closed from just south of I-90 all the way to MT 348 (the road to Philipsburg). The Sapphire Complex of fires, mostly from The Dalles north to about the MP 5 area, has been burning since July 13.

Foy

 

[Scott B.]

Here we are, parked on main street, in front of a building built in the 1800's.



A lot of detail went into the construction of this building.





The remains of a front entry way.



The local church foundation.





A secondary, wagon-wide street.



The south end of a north-bound moose.



The remains of a vault (not the local bank.) The gray colored rock in the foreground was the foundation for the building. Originally, this was a 2-story building.

 

[Scott B.]

The very large stamp mill.





Nice view from the "office".





Nice view from camp, too.

Shortly after this photo was taken, some locals drove by, heading west (left, in the picture) to the lake - about 7 miles from here. They were surprised to hear where we were from. One asked, "How did you find this place?!" A map, I replied...

 

[Hun]

Day 11 - Skalkalo Falls

6/28 Wednesday
It was cold, see-your-breath cold, when we woke up at camp on Moose Creek Road. I brewed coffee and sipped on it while watching Scott fix a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese and hash browns with sausage. As the clouds cleared and the sun got higher, the temperature warmed and we packed up and headed out retracing our path along Moose Creek Road.



We saw numerous Beaver Slides, the haystacker invented in 1909 and still widely in use in Montana today. Montana's hay production serves as supply to many states.**At Montana 38, Skalkalo Road we headed west. The route took us winding through the Sapphire Mountains and brought us to Skalkalo WaterFall, a 150' drop of rushing water that was routed under the highway to continue on down the mountain.



After a few photos around the falls, we continued our journey westward arriving in Hamilton. Google led us to Moose Creek BBQ and Gary treated us all to lunch. From Hamilton, we headed south on MT 93 just to the Idaho state line and turned east on Route 43 to Big Hole National Battlefield. The Nev Perce Indians consider the grounds sacred after bloodshed in 1877 when they were overcome by the US 7th Calvary, the same Calvary that came to Custer's aid in the battle of Little Bighorn.





We left the battlefield filled with sorrow for the loss of life and plight of Native American tribes.



We continued eastbound on Route 43 turning south on Route 278 arriving at Bannack Ghost Town for camp and an evening of rest before exploring the town the next day.



We found an open campsite along the creek and watched deer wade through the water nearby as we grilled kielbasa and onions for dinner.





Storm clouds threatened but drifted south of us sparing us inclement weather.



The evening turned cool so we lit the campfire and settled in for visiting and fire watching. I didn't have G. here with us at the campfire to be the first to turn in so I said goodnight, took an almost warm shower and drifted off to sleep to the sound of the guys talking round the fire. (155 miles)

 

[VicMackey]

Great story. Its funny, I "look" for Moose intentionally all the time. Never saw one. You appear to be tripping over them.

 

[Scott B.]

Camp on Moose Creek Road







A beaver slide





Skalkalo WaterFall



Nez Perce battleground





Bannack Ghost Town camp

 

[Hun]

Day 12 - Ghosting from Bannack to Virginia City

6/29 Thursday
We awoke to bluebirds pecking at our rear view mirrors. The air was cool but not cold, a perfect morning for fresh blueberry pancakes. The pancakes disappeared quickly and easily, nearly as fast as they were cooked. We closed up camp and walked the short mile to Bannack one-street Ghost Town.





When gold was discovered in the hills in the 1860s, Bannack grew to a town of 3,000 and was Montana Territory's first capital. The 50 or so preserved buildings were open to walk through and a history pamphlet provided the stories for the building uses over the years.







My favorite building was the Hotel Meade with a grand sweeping staircase in the front entry.





Having toured the town, we hiked back to our trucks and departed Bannack State Park heading east on MT 278, and then a short hop north on MT 91 and we found ourselves at yet another Montana BBQ, this one Sparky's Garage Bar and Grill, a barbecue joint with a 1950's garage decor. After lunch and fueling the trucks, we continued northeast on MT 41 turning southeast on MT 287 to Virginia City. Virginia City was a mining town of over 30,000 inhabitants at the turn of the 20th century. Many buildings are intact and operating as souvenir shops, photography studios and restaurants.



The old courthouse built as early as 1890, survived a fire, and after two major restorations including the latest in 2015, is still in use today. The photos of presiding judges since 1890 to present day are a testament to our judicial system through the centuries. We concluded our meandering through the town, and headed back west out of town retracing our route to turn south**in Alders on MT 357. We followed the road to the Ruby Reservoir and turned east on Barton Gulch Road to find a site for camp tucked in the canyon of Greenhorn Mountain Range.





This was to be our last night in Montana for in the morning we were to conclude our Big Skies Expedition and head our separate ways. We grilled the rest of the kielbasa and onions, enjoyed a relaxing after-dinner visit, and when the temperature dropped as much as I could stand, called it a night and crawled in under the covers. (52455, 100 miles)

 

[Foy]

Western MT today

Thanks for the trip report and all of the pics of some of my favorite places on this planet, including Rock Creek, Bannack, and the terrain in between.

Good that you went through when you did: On July 16 lightning started a series of fires which have closed all of Rock Creek road in between I-90 and MT-348 (the road to Philipsburg) since about July 28. As of yesterday, one of the fires had reached Rock Creek Road on both sides of the Hogback Homestead Cabin, itself the focus of "structure protection" efforts on the parts of the firefighters. Other fires further south in the drainage have affected Moose Creek.

These unfortunate events point to the wisdom of trip planning such that late June/early July are the "sweet spots" on the calendar. Late enough that many of the high elevations have melted off and are accessible; early enough that the wildfires haven't closed large swaths of territory yet.

Foy

 

[VicMackey]

Hotel Meade sure is cool looking!

 

[Foy]

The Hotel Meade

Hotel Meade sure is cool looking!

Hotel Meade began its life in Bannack in 1875, a decade after the Territorial Capital moved to Virginia City, MT. It was built as the Beaverhead County Courthouse. In 1881, however, Dillon (with the railroad) became the county seat. A Dr. Meade purchased the old courthouse in Bannack and converted it to the Hotel Meade in 1890.

Nowadays visitors can enjoy a sourdough pancake breakfast in the Hotel Meade on the Saturday and Sunday mornings of the annual Bannack Days celebration, always in the 3rd weekend of July.

Foy