Getting Punished by Lolo Peak

By Scott Poniewaz, 7-19-05

	Caption: Lolo Peak (top) and the battle scar it took to get there (below). Photos by Scott Poniewaz/New West

As the weather pounded my body with 90 degrees of heat and a blistering sun, I kept asking myself what I was doing? And all I could think of was Sir Edmund Hillary’s answer to the question, why do you climb mountains? Hillary, the first man to successfully summit Mt. Everest responded, “Because they’re there.” That quote kept ringing through my mind as I scaled Lolo Peak Tuesday as I questioned my sanity on such a hot summer day.

With the public hearing on the Bitterroot Resort Thurdsday and the fact that I’m going on my fifth year in Missoula and still haven’t climbed it, I figured this week would be a perfect one to summit the peak that looks over the Garden City. The trip though, didn’t go off without a hitch. In the morning as I drove up Mormon Peak Road to the trailhead, I managed to destroy my tire. Typically when I’ve gotten a flat, (usually on Rock Creek Road, a road with many more pot holes) I just get a burst and I stop and I fix it, then I’m on my way. This one ... not so much. I don’t know when it popped, but all of a sudden I heard flapping on my back, driver’s side wheel and it had popped part of the wheel frame off of my Subaru. Just my luck, after I got my car back days ago after I got the bumper fixed from when I was rear-ended in March. As I sat changing the tire, I thought about whether I should continue up the road the next three miles to the trailhead and hike the trail, or if I should turn back and get a new tire, since I only had a tiny spare. Thinking about having to get my column done, I decided I would head up the road and have a day at it.

After a 10 a.m. departure, I finally hit the trailhead at 12:30. From the trailhead to Carlton Ridge it is a total of 14 switchbacks (if I counted correctly), that take you up from a base elevation of 5,800 feet to 8,252 feet at the overlook of the north and south summits of Lolo Peak. The lower stretch of forest is heavy with a lot of fallen wood, but within the next mile and half it opens to become a lush undergrowth with shafts of light breaking through the trees. After awhile, I’m not going to lie, you just start thinking about the top of your 2,400 foot switchback climb of 3.75 miles. The sign at the overlook says that the trail is not maintained beyond there, but it is used enough that it is pretty straightforward except for a few downed trees. Just make sure you stay on the well marked path even if you want to just cut straight down on one of the more vague trails. You might not find the trail again. From here you’ll drop down about 500 feet of elevation on seven more switchbacks to Carlton Lake. If you don’t think you have the energy to climb the next 1,300 feet to the actual summit or don’t have much backcountry travel experience, this might be a good place to stop. I was tempted by the water at this point to just stop and take a swim, but realized I was already running behind from the blown-tire incident. As I headed around the lake with my map in hand, I kept finding and losing wildlife trails around the lake. I decided to take the route that heads around the north side of the lake and follows the ridge nearest to the lake. I think this is the most used route to the summit, because there were some worn spots between the boulders, otherwise, its just where the deer and elk use to get to the next drainage over.

Once I reached the top I came across a small windwall that and noticed a gray box filled with a completely filled notebook and some wrappers that were converted to notes. As I sifted through, they were people from around the country and even as far away as France that had reached the peak. My personal favorite and one I would now have to agree with from Jim Muus of Missoula on July 14, 2003, “Wow, Mt. Sentinel looks like a lump of poo from here. Anyone who still thinks that is a tough hike needs to walk up here and tell me about it.” After reading the New York Times Missoula travel piece last week, I had to chuckle when I imagined the NYC women now trying to get their taste of the West and trudging up with Prada purses over their arms. Since I don't hunt, one of my favorite season's of the year is that of tourist season. The fact that they mention the Oxford also is entertaining, I tend to recommend it to families to entertain myself when an out of towner asks for a good place for burgers.

Part of the reason I also wanted to hike the peak was to see what kind of terrain would be accessible by lift if, in fact, the resort was able to build. If we had the snow, the terrain would be pretty darn good, not to mention you could practically ski into Carlton Lake and the next drainage over has some great areas to launch yourself and straightline bowls. The other thing is that the backcountry that would be accessible from the lifts would be amazing. Really, all Tom Maclay needs to find out now is how to bring more snow to Missoula.

I’ll be honest, I’m still in the middle of this issue. Afterall, I’m from Wisconsin (the "East" for westerners and fly-over zone for easterners) and Big Sky Resort is probably the reason I decided to come out here. There are information gaps that need to be filled on both sides. I’ve listened to both sides and am still listening. I see the possible economic benefits and the environmental disasters, but sometimes I also feel that Missoula is just against any sort of change. As a college student I know how hard it is to get a job and I also know how expensive it is to get a season pass and pay for school. The possible job opportunities it would create would be beneficial for Missoula. The University of Montana is struggling to meet out-of-state attendance minimums, but when there are no opportunities to make money to pay for school and that tuition cost gets to be difficult to afford for those who have to pay more money. But then there's that intrinsic value of wild places, as evidence by the box of notes from climbers found near the top of Lolo Peak.

Missoulians keep saying how money is a tradeoff for such a beautiful place, but what if you could have both? Towns like Victor, Idaho, located at the base of Grand Targhee Resort, are laying framework to keep development from getting out of hand by creating a development plan to keep true to their roots before it is too much to stop (see Idaho Town Hopes to Avoid Vail's Mistakes). In Jackson, just on the other side of Teton Pass, it has become too late. After working there last summer I now know it is a place for tourists and people’s multimillion dollar second homes (also income tax free living). If some of the concerned Missoula citizens begin working with the resort, there might opportunities to direct the project in a way that might be more beneficial for the area.

I didn’t intend to rally people on either side, but as I said, I am still on the fence here. I’m interested to hear what information, feelings and thoughts New Westerners have to offer. I hope people from both sides argue it out on Thursday night and that they do so with poise and sound evidence, rather than knee-jerking on either side.

My long trudge back to the trailhead gave me plenty to think about, but also made it a little bit of a mess, but one thing is for sure: It’s one of the more difficult Missoula hikes I’ve done.!

Getting there:

Take Montana Highway 93 South to Lolo. Take a right turn on Highway 12 towards Lewistown. Go approximately 8.5 miles until the Mormon Peak Road turnoff on your left. Follow that about 8 miles to the trailhead. (I recommend checking your spare tire and making sure you have a jack. Have to throw that in after my trip up there!)

Hiking Directions:

Carlton Lake, MT USGS map and compass are highly recommended for this hike (both available at Pipestone Mountaineering or the Trailhead)

Head up the trail for 0.75 miles until you hit a fork in the trail, continue to the left to Carlton Ridge (3 miles). Once at the ridge, you’ll see a sign that says Overlook and you’ll see the two peaks, the north summit and the south summit. The south summit is the tallest (9,139 feet), the north is the one typically seen from the valley at 9,096 feet. After a break here, keep heading down the trail which is no longer maintained, but well marked. You just have to crawl over a few logs along the way. Don’t veer off looking for shortcuts, or you may wind off not finding the trail again and trudging through brush to get to the lake. Carlton Lake is a great place to camp if you’re interested in that. I would recommend it to give a little more time and energy for a summit attempt. You’ll need a map from here, so I’ll give as good of a description as possible. From where the creek empties out of the lake, follow the shoreline west. As you get going, you’ll find a trail hopefully that is very vague. It should lead you around the lake to a ridge that points in a northeast direction. You’ll follow that ridge to the top ridgeline and continue to the summit. Return the same direction.