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| Hiking | 8.91 Miles |
3,921 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.91 Miles | 4 Hrs 55 Mns | | 2.04 mph |
| 3,921 ft AEG | 33 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This was our intro into the Bitterroots and it really impressed. CJ and I are up in this area as part of a 19 day binge hiking and backpacking spree of the Bitterroots, Bob Marshall and the Sawtooths.
We slept at the trailhead after splitting the drive from AZ into a long night and a half a day. The area surrounding the Bitterroots is nothing short of spectacular and the drive to the trailhead alone got our hearts racing. The sun sets late here so we did not get as much sleep as we would have liked, but we were still able to be on the trail by 6:30 a.m.
The trail up is a bit of a leg burner, but is in excellent shape and very scenic. There were some nice views of the dramatic Boulder Creek drainage to the south and the impressive from afar Boulder Creek Falls in the first mile and the the trail meanders very steeply through an idyllic forest of large white pine and larch. We started to hit snow near the top of the tree line and ended up encountering some pretty extensive and deep snow fields by the time we hit the tundra. The snow, however, was not a difficult obstacle and it merely slowed the going a little. The posted track is the byproduct of the snow as it includes a few detours around snow and some short cuts across snow. The return route is much closer to the intended trail. The ridgeline route we ended up taking to the summit was a slabby playground, but still dog friendly. The actual trail takes you on a more meandering approach far below the predominant ridgeline and then up to the summit. The views from the summit were incredible and it got me very excited to know I would be exploring these mountains for the next ten days. After a quick break and a snack we were headed back down. The return was quick and uneventful. |
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