Electric Peak - Montana Mountain Project

Sara working up the shoulder to the
first point of Electric Peak

Summer 2017 was smoky in Montana. There is no denying it. By September Sara and I were so sick of burning eyeballs and were willing to drive any distance to have a chance to get out of it. Fortunately the Montana Mountain Project took us to the only clear air in the state.

Electric Peak rises high above the Yellowstone River as it meanders through Gardiner, MT. The peak is the high point of the Gallatin Range, and at 10,969' it easily catches the eye of the few tourists who aren't too busy causing traffic jams at every glimpse of elk or deer that cross the road in Yellowstone National Park.

We first attempted to head up the mountain a few hours after running in the Big Bear Stampede. We made it 1/4 mile, called it quits, and drove into the Park to go up Mount Washburn instead. Some days you just don't feel it.

Starting in the Desert

The next morning, though, we were committed. We left Gardiner, drove past the elk on the high school football field and made it to the trailhead at Beattie's Gulch. We began working our way through the desert-like valley floor towards the first of the hills as the sun first started to warm the valley. The early bit of the route followed the Yellowstone National Park (YNP) boundary and we were constantly ducking in and out of the Park.

On the topo maps there is an "Electric Peak trail". On the ground there occasionally is. The first few miles we were able to follow the route until we entered the forested East facing slope of the Gallatins. From here we had the option of taking a switch-backing road that was in surprisingly good shape, or follow rough game trails straight uphill. We went straight uphill.

After a couple thousand feet of calf screaming climbing we popped back onto the road and took the last switchback up to a group of cabins. If memory serves correctly, there was a sign here calling this group the Eagle's Nest or Aerie or something like that. We'll roll with Eagle's Nest. Although we knew were weren't really far from human interference (the highway could still be seen way way below us) after following game trails it's always a little bit surprising to come across very well maintained structures in the woods. We also decided this would be a great place to spend some time in the winter, or summer: a cabin on a ridgeline, not bad. I'm hoping I can actually remember what the place was called so we can see if it's on Airbnb.

Negotiating the burn

At this point we picked up vague trail through an old burn area and were able to follow through stands of pines to a broad open shoulder that led to the peak. In addition to entirely changing the landscape and making the trail difficult to follow, the fire also burned a YNP patrol cabin. According to the USGS map, Deaf Jim Patrol Cabin sat on this ridge only 1/2 mile South of the Eagle's Nest. According to the Secret Yellowstone Website, Deaf Jim Cabin sits on the Eastern shore of Yellowstone Lake (i.e. a hundred miles from this ridge). There is a Deaf Jim Knob right next to Electric Peak though, as well as a Little Joe Lake, which was the name of the 2001 fire that burned the cabin, so I'm going to assume that Deaf Jim Cabin was on the ridge to Electric Peak. Sara and I did walk across an old foundation at one point just below a spring full of elk tracks. All of what we saw on the ground matched the USGS map (aside from the elk tracks). We hadn't done much research on the area before starting out and the history major in me is always making up stories for what we find on the ground. The more you know...

Mellow terrain

From the broad shoulder it was an "easy" walk up. There was no trail but it was all just short alpine grass. It looked easy, but with the altitude, degree of slope, and a race in our legs from the day before it took a bit more effort than I like to admit. From here we could clearly see the top of Electric Peak though and it's a fun one to stare at.

Electric Peak got it's name about how you would guess. In 1872 a group of surveyors (basically a bunch of dudes who got paid to climb mountains and name stuff) led by Henry Gannett (yes, the same Gannet that the highest point in Wyoming is named after, see what I mean? Just climbing stuff) attempted to climb the peak in order to accurately assess the summit elevation. This group, part of the Hayden Survey, was discouraged from summiting on their first attempt due to a lightening storm that moved through and caused the hair on their arms and head to stand on end. Hence, Electric Peak. They waited a day, then climbed the peak with no issue.

Guardian of the ridge

I did do enough research to be aware of this story when Sara and I began our trip so I was a bit apprehensive about the clouds hanging around the top when we started. Fortunately they cleared up a bit by the time we got to the top of the shoulder and moved onto the true ridge.

From here things got fun. We scrambled our way over the first little point, then had to politely ask a bighorn sheep to move off the ridge so we could slide by. One last scramble put us on top 5,500' above where we started. On the last approach we had seen a silhouette on the top, but by the time we got there we had the summit to ourselves. Just us, some rocks and a geocaching Tupperware containing a lego man, a few scraps of paper, and the obligatory condom.

On top of Electric Peak

Montana was smoky, but it was easy to forget that from the top of Electric Peak. We could see into the distant Madisons, Absorakas, and Beartooths. We could see Mount Washburn that we went up the day before. But most of all we could just see. After weeks of being smothered by smoke we appreciated being able to see multiple miles at a time. Electric Peak would be worth the drive under normal conditions, but that weekend it was probably the best decision we could have made.

PS - On the way back down we stumbled across a very new, very well manicured wood sign reading "Maitreya Mtn Retreat, 3 miles." There were two arrows pointing down to the West. There was no trail leading away from the sign. No flagging. No cairns. Just the arrows. Naturally we Googled the retreat when we got home. Although it was apparently originally built by WWII veterans, it is now part of the Royal Teton Ranch and a place where members of the Summit Lighthouse go to hear the Rosaries of Mary. Summit Lighthouse is "an international spiritual organization" that was founded in 1958 by a guy named, wait for it, Mark Prophet. Maitreya Mountain also sounds like the Mount Sinai of the Summit Lighthouse group, but I'm not sure on that. If you're bored, google Royal Teton Ranch. It'll be fun!

Happy Trails,

Forrest