Montana Road Trip: Coolidge, Helena and Argo Mine

ttora4runner

ttora4runner

Expedition Leader
Over the 4th of July weekend I traveled up though Montana visiting Beaverhead National Forest, Helena and Whitefish mountain biking and exploring along the way since I have shoulder surgery coming up at the end of July which is going to take me our of biking for a while. So I decided to get out and get some exploring out of the way.

Saturday I headed out and visited Beaverhead National Forest and the old townsite of Coolidge (easy gravel road) - the townsite is quickly deteriorating.











A part of the old schoolhouse




This is the best preserved building in the area.




 
ttora4runner

ttora4runner

Expedition Leader
After exploring the town I visited a few other locations in the area before calling it a day.

Along the main road though the forest.












Sunday I headed out to Helena, Montana to get some mountain biking in at the SW corner of the city before heading out to Hells Canyon Campground east of the city.

Started raining on me shortly after this photo was taken and I made a b-line down off the ridge.


If I read the map right this is the remains of Argo Mine up Hell's Canyon (kind of neat area). The only structure I could find was to my left up on the hill but I wasn't going to bush whack my way though the weeds wearing my bike shorts.


Monday I was up in Whitefish (pretty drive on the way up) to get some more biking. No Photos from that portion of the trip but along the trails I meet up with a group of riders who found another biker that had wrecked and knocked himself out. The guy was awake when I got there but was dazed and confused. I asked the group if I could help out at all but they had already called the paramedics and they were on their way. I heard the sirens a little ways down the trail.

Tuesday I was up early to try and beat the traffic of the day to get home which I really didn't hit till reaching the Idaho Falls area. In the end it was a great trip just wish I had more time to explore and get some fishing on those lakes I passed by.
 
F

Foy

Explorer
Vista Point along the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Parkway

You missed a good opportunity to wet a line at Vista Point. Every time I've fished those meanders in the meadow in the foreground I've caught brookies by the pound and most often a few arctic grayling. The mountain on the right in the distance, looking like sort of a half-dome, is Comet Mountain. One of your pictures from Coolidge shows the shorn-off side of it. You can drive to an adit at 9,600' (above timberline) on Comet's north side and scree-hop another 600' to the 10,212' summit and look over a 1,400' cliff to two tarns below. Unreal views from up there.

At this point in time, I've driven 4 different trucks to the high point on Comet Mtn, beginning with our Scout in '82 and most recently in 2011 with the Superduty. In the middle was a rental Dodge Durango from the Missoula airport rental fleet, may she rest in peace.

Our first time in that area was in July 1982 while car-camping in our '79 IH Scout II. The Parkway ended at Mono Creek and a fairly knarly gravel road climbed out of the Wise River drainage and up to the large park at the Crystal Park diggings, then descended steeply to Maverick Mountain before the pavement picked up again. We overnighted at Elkhorn Hot Springs and had a steak dinner at their lodge for $9.95/person.


Thanks for the TR and the pics. I've got to get back out there next year.

Foy
 
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