My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Ace.....that sucks.....it's been one real hot, dry summer here.....I've never seen it this bad before.....others I know that have lived here for decades say the same.....



After a couple of weeks of hanging out at the cabin, well, we were ready to go again. I almost felt like I had unfinished business in the mountains.....along the Beartooth Scenic Byway.....so we returned.....to tackle yet another mountain or two.....



Big thunderstorms with high winds met us near Red Lodge, Montana.....



Once the thunderstorms passed over, we were met with near perfect weather for the entire trip. We spent the first night once again in a gravel lot under the red rock cliffs along the Beartooth Scenic Byway.....just south of Red Lodge, Montana.....



The following morning we were up bright and early.....like 4 a.m. as we had huge (for me) plans for the day.....



We drove the Jeep.....south.....along the Beartooth Scenic Byway.....



.....until we connected with a Forest Service road. Still in Montana at this point.....we drove west on various Forest Service roads.....driving into Wyoming, and then circling back into Montana.....until we finally came to the end of road at the Glacier Lake Trailhead.....



The first mile or two of trail was as good as trails can get.....



And the scenery.....looking down at Rock Creek and the surrounding mountains were just spectacular.....



Eventually we reached a wooden bridge that crossed the creek.....an important landmark in our quest to summit another peak.....



I think it was because the hiking was so easy on the Glacier Lake Trail that I forgot that we needed to depart the trail at this point.....and so it was that we continued on the Glacier Lake Trail, going in the wrong direction for a good 30 minutes, and then having to backtrack to that same wooden bridge.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The next "trail" that we took, which really wasn't a trail at all, at least initially.....



.....was named the Moon Lake Trail. We hiked through dense chest high brush, climbed over fallen logs, and stumbled into water filled low points. The "trail" followed the meanders of the Moon Creek.....we climbed & bushwacked our way higher.....



If we were going to cross paths with a Grizzly on this day, my gut told me that it would have been here along the Moon Creek Trail.....fortunately that did not happen.....



When we finally busted out of the dense brush, we saw the faint remants of the "trail".....



What a welcome sight that wide open expanse was for me.....probably the dogs as well.....



We didn't hike on the faint remants of that "trail" for more than a quarter mile.....



We departed the"trail" and now we headed straight up for yet another obstacle on the way to the peaks' summit.....a ridgeline that we had to cross.....



At this point we'd been hiking & climbing for most of the morning.....maybe achieving only 1,200' or so of elevation gain. In the distance, we could see our objective.....still pretty far away.....



From that ridgeline we dropped back down, and I tried to figure out the best route to climb this mountain.....



In the picture above & below, it looks like a fairly simple grade on a smooth surface.....it was not that in any way.....it was actually the exact opposite.....

 

[ITTOG]

You picked a beautiful state to live. Thanks for sharing with us.

I look forward to the summit picture.

 

[Ace Brown]

You will have earned that peak.


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[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

ITTOG.....I'm certainly lucky to be able to spend the winter of my life in Montana.....

Ace.....it was yet one more great day in the mountains.....


The Hellroaring Plateau.....that's the name of this beautiful place in the Beartooth Mountains.....



It was somewhere on that plateau that we finally took our first rest of the day at around 11 a.m......after devouring a protein bar and a jug of water (the dogs had treats).....we pressed on.....



To our right and maybe 500 feet below us.....we passed by Sliderock  Lake. To our left and maybe a 1,000 feet below us was Shelf Lake (not visible from our route due to the sheer drop off).....





As we hiked further along the Hellroaring Plateau, the more challenging the route became.....massive boulder fields covered the entire route to the base of the mountain.....and it was the same all the way to the summit.....



Directly ahead we could see this beautiful mountain spire far, far away.....



I found myself struggling with Trapper due to her inability to jump (hip issues). I was literally hauling her from one massive stone to another. It was taking us forever.....



Tanner on the other hand is and was like a mountain goat.....he won't hesitate to jump across a six foot span.....often sending me into a panic.....



It wasn't until 2:00 p.m. that we reached the summit of Mount Rearguard (12,156').....one of only (27) 12,000' peaks in Montana.....



Mount Rearguard (12,156') is the highest peak that we've climbed since my heart & hip surgeries in 2023 so that made it a very special climb. And it was also my birthday.....so it felt kind of special to sit on that mountaintop with my two best friends.....I was and am an incredibly grateful man to have been given this second chance to do the things that I love the most.....

 

[Ace Brown]

Happy birthday Jerry.


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[the deputy]

Happy Belated Birthday! Wishing you many, many more!

Beautiful area you hiked and climbed.

 

[Mekcanix]

Happy Birthday Jerry!!!!!! Sounds like the best way to spend a Birthday to me

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

x4, what a great way to honor the special day. Happy Birthday!

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Ace, the deputy, Mekcanix & PNWY.....thanks.....birthdays suck.....not having birthdays sucks even more.....



This was one of those summits where you really want to spend the time that's needed to take it all in. I recall hearing the occasional chirps of the Marmots, and the songs of the many songbirds, while we sat and ate our late lunch. Other than those occasional sounds, it was only the sounds of silence.....



I took as much time as I thought was safe & that was actually possible.....while there was only a 15 % chance of precipitation.....the skies were beginning to look ominous.....



I took pictures gathering a full 360 degree view.....it looked somewhat or exactly like this.....







I started to hear thunder to the northwest of us and my biggest fear was starting to materialize.....I did not want to downclimb on wet, slippery rocks.....it was steep as you can see in the next picture that I took looking back towards the summit.....



I don't recall when I twisted my right knee during this climb.....I do recall that it hurt as we downclimbed.....we were probably three quarters of the way down the steepest section of the climbing when it began to rain & sleet.....





This is why I love this stuff so much.....the physical challenge.....sometimes it can even be risky.....testing my will to persevere.....this is really the fun stuff.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The hike back to the Jeep was mostly uneventful.....no Grizzlies attacked us while passing through the dense forest.....







Surprisingly we didn't see any wildlife other than the Marmots & the songbirds.....a few clumps of white fur attached to clumps of dried grass was about it as far as big game was concerned.....





The storm clouds passed us over and blue skies returned.....









After ten hours on the Hellroaring Plateau.....well, I was definitely ready to call it a day. This mountain.....this hike.....this climb.....made for one great day in the mountains.....

 

[the deputy]

"no Grizzlies attacked us while passing through the dense forest...."

This tends to make for a better day...for sure.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

the deputy.....once I returned to the cabin, I reviewed my maps one more time (I'm thinking about a third trip there) and realized that I'd actually made an error in my route finding. Had I stayed the course and not returned to the bridge, I would have actually intersected with, and hiked the Moon Lake Trail. The "trail" that I actually took is referred to as the Climbers Trail. I should have never been in that dense brush.....oh well.....





So here I was.....a couple hundred miles from home with a knee that was causing me significant pain, and in need of a new plan. We took a few rest days.....and then finally did a half day hike to Twin Lakes.....



The beauty of this hike, considering the circumstances, was it's location.....a short hike from the Beartooth Scenic Byway .....and from our campsite along said byway.....



We dropped down roughly 600' and hiked maybe a mile or two to the first lakes shoreline.....







With perfect skies overhead and perfect temperatures for exploring.....it seemed as though we had stepped into Heaven.....





I kept the dogs on leash cause this was still bear country.....even being so close to the byway.....bears have no boundaries.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Between the lakes we passed through an old growth forest where most of the trees had died and I couldn't help but wonder why they had died ? Was it simply age ? Was it just their time ?



As we approached the second lake I noticed a bald eagle overhead.....what a beautiful unexpected sight that was.....



The dogs waded in the water and I could tell that they were just dying to be set free.....but not yet. I noticed in the shallow waters these tiny schools of fish.....I wondered too what these could be ? (probably Fisher205 can answer that question).....





We tried to circumnavigate both of the lakes but this just seemed impossible, especially considering that I was hiking with a bum knee.....







Finally I gave in to the dogs wishes and let them have what I like to call "dog time".....I set them free.....





And that's how we spent a half day at Twin  Lakes.....along the Beartooth Scenic Byway.....

 

[Riversdad]

Between the lakes we passed through an old growth forest where most of the trees had died and I couldn't help but wonder why they had died ? Was it simply age ? Was it just their time ?

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As we approached the second lake I noticed a bald eagle overhead.....what a beautiful unexpected sight that was.....

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The dogs waded in the water and I could tell that they were just dying to be set free.....but not yet. I noticed in the shallow waters these tiny schools of fish.....I wondered too what these could be ? (probably Fisher205 can answer that question).....

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We tried to circumnavigate both of the lakes but this just seemed impossible, especially considering that I was hiking with a bum knee.....

View attachment 852770

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Finally I gave in to the dogs wishes and let them have what I like to call "dog time".....I set them free.....

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And that's how we spent a half day at Twin  Lakes.....along the Beartooth Scenic Byway.....

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Stunning pictures of a beautiful place. Thanks again for taking us along.
You keep giving me places I have to visit.