Ellis Peak - Montana Mountain Project

Ellis Peak, the top of the Tendoy Mountains

In the midst of massive valleys rich in early Montana Territory history, the Tendoy Mountains rise up as a bit of an anomaly. They aren't as tall as the nearby Beaverhead Mountains or as rugged as the East Pioneers. But they are taller than simply "hills". Sage brush and other high desert vegetation reaches to the upper slopes above 9,000', but is interspersed with high alpine flowers.

At 9,669' Ellis Peak is the high point in the Tendoy Range. It sits on the Northeast edge of the short mountain chain where it is truncated by Medicine Lodge Creek. Ellis is topped by a tower to provide modern amenities to the surrounding ranch lands, except cell service. This corner of Montana, west of I-15, is glorious in its absence of cell coverage.

The Tendoys have an extensive network of two track roads spiderwebbing the interior, but I opted for the direct approach from Medicine Lodge Road. With the storm cycle raging during the weekend of my visit I wanted to capitalize on the small weather window I had.

The two track heading up the mountain.

The "trail" to the top is a two-track mining road that has been repurposed to access the electronic site. You can't explore the Tendoys without frequently stumbling over the mining history of the area. Between the Tendoys and the East Pioneers lies the town of Bannack, the first territorial capital of Montana. Bannack began in 1862 after gold was discovered on Grasshopper Creek and quickly grew to a population of 10,000. Despite serving as the territorial capital in 1864, much of the town was not constructed for long term living. The nature of the gold deposit, limited to the rich crust that forms between limestone and granite rock beds, played out rather quickly. Placer miners tried to quickly hit it big and move on to the next strike. The sheriff, Henry Plummer, also allegedly lead a group of highwayman that routinely robbed stages all the way down to Salt Lake City. Although a group of vigilantes quickly took care of him and his crew, the lawlessness (and a rich gold strike in Alder Gulch) didn't increase Bannack's chance of survival as a thriving metropolis.

Typical high alpine flowers hiding in the sage brush

Driving in on Medicine Lodge road meant that I followed the stage route, and before that the travel route of many Native American tribes, that brought supplies north from Salt Lake City. Today the valley is still lightly populated with sprawling ranches and cows dotting the landscape.

I parked 1/4 mile up the two track road on BLM land. Depending on your vehicle you could drive all the way to the summit (it's very steep), but I wanted to optimize my hiking time after spending time in the car.

The valley initially feels like typical high desert. Sage brush dots the sparsely vegetated hillside. It was green because of the recent snowmelt and Spring rain, but during the summer and fall this area is shades of yellow and brown. After the initial recognition of high desert, I noticed some things that didn't quite fit. A few flower species that I typically only see above treeline, lush vegetation not always next to the creek, and a few badger sized holes that aren't as common in a true desert. Clearly the Tendoys were not a typical exposed high desert mountain.

Ellis Peak from the false summit

The first bit of the route is gradual as it curls into a drainage and up to the old mine sites that are visible from miles around. But then it ramps up, straight up. I was glad I had panting dogs with me so that I had an excuse to stop. Plus with every foot in elevation I gained the view of the Beaverheads behind me grew more spectacular. I kept having flashbacks to various sections of the CDT and looked at the map frequently to align my memories with the landscape appearing before me.

About 1,600' above the car I reached the false summit. Fortunately I knew this was coming so it wasn't too heartbreaking to see another 1000' of steep climbing after descending to a small saddle. From the false summit the viewshed includes the rest of the rolling summits of the Tendoys. They look gentle and inviting, especially with lush Spring greenery, but after the steep climb I knew that was deceiving. Just because it's not a jagged skyline doesn't mean the travel is easy.

Rainstorms over the Lima Peaks from the top of Ellis Peak

In the saddle I got a whiff of some sort of ungulate. Probably a deer to go along with the deer droppings that our younger dog kept trying to eat. Bighorn sheep are being re-reintroduced into the range though so I was trying to keep an eye out for that. Beginning in 2015 extra sheep tags were sold by Montana FWP to exterminate the local herd. Disease plagued the herd and officials we worried that would spread to other populations. So over a couple years the population was hunted off before being reintroduced. The hunted population had been introduced in 1985 and battled sickness for most of that time.

Why would you stand to drink water?

I did not see the origin of the smell, however, and focused on the last steep climb. Eventually the top of the tower appeared and then the attached building. I didn't spend much time on the top of Ellis Peak. A few walls of rain peppered the surrounding valleys and I was sure one of them would hit me. Plus the forecast of afternoon thunderstorms didn't sound inviting while I was standing on the highest point next to a tall metal tower.

Looking directly west at the Beaverheads was clear, however, and I took a few minutes to appreciate their glory. On a clear day I'd be able to see the East and West Pioneers, Tobacco Roots, Rubies, Madisons, Gravelly's, Blacktail Range, Snowcrests, West Centennials, Lima Peaks, and full Beaverheads. I mostly saw smudges in the distant rain, but caught glimpses of ranges here and there.

Appreciating the break

Since I couldn't see surrounding mountains I spent more time focusing on the valleys than I normally do on a summit. I visually traced Medicine Lodge creek from its source to its confluence with Grasshopper Creek, then followed the rough cut of Grasshopper Creek to the Beaverhead River. I knew that Lemhi Pass was west of me and that somewhere along the creek emerging from the pass one of the men on the Lewis and Clark party could first jump across the Missouri.

I love mountain vistas, but after hiking the CDT through the Beaverheads and going to the high points of most of the surrounding ranges in the viewshed (only the Blacktail and Snowcrests I have not at this point), the history and stories that exist in the valleys kept jumping to mind. Connecting the drainages helped mentally connect the stories. Ellis Peak is 35/64 summits in my Montana Mountain Project and I'm starting to realize that, although they are all separate ranges, the high points are all connected in stories and time.

With thoughts of vigilantes, misspelled words (Bannack was named after the Bannock tribe, but a typo in the filing of the town with the government permanently changed that), buffalo hunting trails, ranching, and placer gold mining, I turned and tried to beat the rain back down the mountain.

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