Low-Hanging Fruit.
When I started this blog in November 2016 my goal was to add at least one new post per month. That was doable during those early years as I checked off many of the classic adventures in the Helena area. However, as the years passed by it has become more difficult to find new places to write about without traveling far from Helena. I was hoping to climb Hilgard Peak in the Madison Range this past week, but a friend suggested that we do Lolo Peak near Missoula instead. Lolo had not been on my radar, but it turned out to be a really fun day. Blog-worthy for sure!

It’s a Missoula thing.
It was my friend Tristan’s idea. He grew up in Missoula and has always wanted to climb Lolo Peak in the Bitterroot Range, about half an hour drive southwest of the Zootown. Our friend Kacey joined us, adding another level of fun to the day. We left Helena around 6 am and started hiking from the Carlton Lake Trailhead shortly before 9 am.

Pseudo summit.
The nice trail climbs steadily for 3.7 miles through an area that burned in 2017, before dropping down to the dam at Carlton Lake (4.6 miles from trailhead). Walking through the burn might be taxing on a hot day, but the temperature was pleasant. We enjoyed views of distant mountains and valleys, and marveled at the abundant wildflowers and other fire followers along the way. After lunching on the earthen dam at Carlton Lake, we started the most challenging 1.5 miles of the hike – bushwhacking from the lake up to the ridge, and then following it to the false north summit. We poked around the southeast corner of the lake and found a climbers trail, which we followed most of the way to a saddle (see photo tour for our OnX route). Another climbers trail along the north side of the ridge led us to the false summit.

Into the alpine zone.
The bushwhacking was difficult but not terrible, and our prize for reaching the false summit was an easy mile-long walk to the true summit of Lolo Peak with great views in every direction. A hiker we met on the way up suggested that we walk a few hundred yards south beyond the summit to a point overlooking the One Horse basin (Thanks GP!). Standing on the cliffs above South One Horse Lake and seeing the craggy peaks of the Bitterroot Range in the background was the highlight of the day.

Obvious choice.
We started back at 2 pm and reached Tristan’s vehicle at 5 pm (14 miles round trip, 3,900 feet of gain, 9 hours) Our next stop was the Lolo Peak Brewery where we enjoyed dinner and some great beer. We were back in Helena a few minutes before my 10 pm curfew. Be sure to check out the photo tour (link below) – We got some good ones!

FYI
Although it doesn’t feature the Lolo Peak hike 100 Classic Hikes: Montana by Douglas Lorain is one of the best resources around for finding hikes and backpacking trips all over Montana.

Below: This map marks hikes that have been featured on bigskywalker.com so far, including several in Glacier Park – Select full screen to expand, zoom in for more detail, or click on a marker for a link to the post.

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