Sunset Peak - Montana Mountain Project

The Snowcrest Trail with Sunset Peak on the Horizon

Deep in the heart of nowhere Southwest Montana lies an incredible mountain range, the Snowcrests. Few people outside of hunters are familiar with this range, but, as a friend commented on Facebook, "in October and November it feels like half the hunters in the Western U.S. are there." 

The Snowcrests are wild. With few people frequenting the area for a majority of the year and a Wilderness Study Area and Wildlife Management Area protecting much of the Eastern flank of the mountains, the prolific wildlife is understandable. On the long drive from Dillon up the East Fork of Blacktail Deer Creek we witnessed this first hand. As we consulted the map we happened to glance up and saw a moose just lollygagging along the sage brush embankment above the creek. 

East Fork of Blacktail Deer Creek

To get to the campground at the end of the road we drove through the East Fork of Blacktail Deer Creek Wilderness Study area. This small WSA is divided by the road, but still covers an incredibly diverse ecosystem. The western edge includes broad sage brush filled plateaus with the namesake creek and its surrounding ecosystem providing a deep green scar on the light blue-green valley floor. Then it transitions upward through lodgepole pine forests to an alpine, above treeline setting with all the gorgeous little flowers and mountain goats to accompany it. The WSA ends at the pinnacle of the Snowcrest Range, Sunset Peak, at 10,581'. 

Ever since reading The Adventures of a Math Geek's blogpost on the Snowcrest Range I have really wanted to run the loop he described around the headwaters of the East Fork of Blacktail Deer Creek. I had never been there, but from topo maps and satellite images I imagined it to be an incredible day in the mountains. After nearly five years we were making it happen.

Flowers on Antone Peak

But not without hiccups. Our weekend plans for three days of adventure evolved in the face of lightning and ultimately I ended up running the loop solo the last day of the long weekend. I was able to add on Sunset Peak to cap off a great day while Sara slept in and entertained the dogs (don't worry, Sara and Leah ran the loop the day before and had a wonderful run out together while I wandered with the canines).

My morning began with a pleasant jaunt up East Fork of Blacktail Deer Creek (I keep saying the whole name of the creek because I like how very specific the name is and it seems wrong to shorten such a specifically named thing). The creek meanders heavily in the basin below the high peaks and the slow moving water makes for great willow habitat. Habitat which also hides all sorts of moose, bears, and other things you don't want to surprise on a sunrise run. The early light was wonderful and the valley was quiet with the exception of my "HEEEYYOOO"'s. I really did not want to surprise a bear. 

The wide, rolling ridgeline playground

After a mile or so I turned south, crossed the creek and began up Rough Creek. My volume and frequency of bear calls increased as the drainage narrowed, but again the creek was gorgeous and the trail was surprisingly good. As I feared (but really hoped for) I caught sight of a bear as I rounded a corner. The bear was startled by the combination of seeing me and probably hearing my ever present "Hey Bear" at the same time. It whirled and ran up trail about the same time I saw it. Creepily I saw no prints or disturbance in the trail, despite it sprinting up the path. This bear sighting marked the end of my 2020 bare-bear curse: I hadn't seen a bear to this point, which was becoming rather frustrating.

After a few miles I reached Antone Pass and began the steep climb up to the summit of Antone Peak. Antone marks the start of the ridgeline portion of this loop if you go counter-clockwise. The Spring flowers on the slopes up to the summit were incredible and only got better throughout the day. On Antone though they were extra special in the morning light, and because I didn't realize how ubiquitous they were yet. 

A suggested trail junction - no path to be found

The next 10-12 miles were simply spectacular. Wide open ridges, views for days, green, flowers, mountains, gah! I was feeling pretty good and moving well, although moving well up there isn't particularly fast. The "trail", when there is one, is a slightly more beat down section of flowers and grass following large cairns spaced every quarter to half mile. Officially this trail is part of the Snowcrest Trail No. 4. It's roughly a 40 mile trail covering most of the Snowcrests from North to South and spends a lot of time above treeline. Now I desperately want to go back and run, hike, or backpack the entirety of this route. 

Eventually I made my way to Stonehouse Mountain then Honeymoon Park, which smelled very strongly of fleeing elk herd. Aside from the glimpse of spinning bear, I didn't see anything all day, but smelled a variety of hiding ungulates.

View from the saddle between Sunset Peak and Olson Peak

After I dropped to Honeymoon Pass I left the loop. Instead of returning to camp via the East Fork of Blacktail Deer Creek, I climbed up to the saddle between Olson and Sunset Peaks. The route is pretty open with only a few spots treed enough for me to feel the need for a "Hey Bear." I was also aided by an old mining road cut that added a little distance, but saved my calves for the steep climb ahead. 

There is scant mining history in the Snowcrest Range, a rarity for Montana, but one of the spots few mined is right where I was headed. The road cut led to common mining detritus and what appeared to be a filled in shaft. An educated guess puts it as a phosphate prospect, since that's what was mined on the adjacent Sawtooth and Hogback Mountains, but I can't say that for sure. Currently 85% of mined phosphate in the world is used in fertilizers. Maybe the phosphate in the soil is why the lower down slopes had the healthiest looking forget-me-nots that I have ever seen. 

On the summit of Sunset Peak-High point in the Snowcrest Range

After pausing at the saddle to restore my calorie and fortitude reserves, I began the last push to the summit of Sunset Mountain. To make climbs mentally manageable I often break them down into segments I run all the time. A 700' climb becomes an 'M' (the vertical gain to the 'M' in Missoula), 1,500' becomes a Jumbo (Mount Jumbo in Missoula), and 2,000' becomes a Sentinel (again, a typical run in Missoula). Looking towards the top of Sunset Peak from the saddle seemed daunting with large rocks jumbled together and looking jagged and steep. But I thought of it as "I only have an 'M' to go, and it suddenly seemed doable. By this point I was not moving as easily as I had been early in the day, but by keeping steps short and momentum up one 'M' quickly became half an 'M' and then I was on top. 

The view was incredible. At this point in the Montana Mountain Project I have explored many of the ranges I can see in Western Montana. Identifying all the ranges and peaks in a viewshed is always a pleasure now since each identification brings with it a memory from that particular trip. On a clear day it's even better. 

The ridge back to camp

My original plan was to descend the East slope (I'm not going to call it a shoulder or a ridge; it was basically the raised hump between two chutes), down to the East Fork of Blacktail Deer Creek trail. It was steep, but open and would be a quick descent. But because of the shape of the creek in relation to the ridge (picture a bow: the ridge is the straight line of the string, where the creek is the bow portion of the bow) every quarter mile I went down the ridge cut at least twice that distance off the trail.  

So I scampered (don't let scamper connote any sort of gracefulness here) from rock to rock down the ridge. At every clear line down off the ridge I paused and then told myself the next spot would be better. The problem was I did this until there was no next clear line and I ended up bushwhacking down a very steep, rocky, pokey-bush slope until I hit the trail. I don't imagine any human had done that route in maybe forever. 

After a quick couple miles back down the East Fork of Blacktail Deer Creek I was back in camp. This loop was everything I could have hoped for as part of the Montana Mountain Project. I was able to piece together a large enough portion of the range to experience a wide variety of what it had to offer, and it makes me want to go back. There is the Snowcrest Trail that needs doing, and Hogback Mountain, and Snowcrest Mountain, and that lake basin that looked inviting....