With the pass closing for the season, Wolverine Whisperer and I returned to the top to hike a loop that simmered in the back of my mind all summer long. The one I began but didn’t quite have time to finish a mere two weeks before our attempt to beat the gate closure.
Wolverine Whisperer hikes along the shores of Losekamp Lake with Sawtooth Mountain looming in the distance.
I sent Wolverine Whisperer a list of three hikes to choose from along with explanations of why they were most important in descending order. Notorious for last minute flipping the coin kind of decisions (both of us), we finally decided to play beat-the-2pm-gate closure to the Beartooth Pass. We opted to hike the loop around the top through Tibbs Butte pass at 10,637 feet in elevation and figured we could safely make it out in time to hop in the truck to head down by 2pm.
The loop is about 13 miles and holds very little gain and loss in elevation since it sits on top of the pass. You travel across prairie grass meadows, through forest, rock hop over creeks and skim beside multiple lakes, and grunt up hillsides rich with views of the Beartooth mountains. I found it exhilarating to experience the opposite view seen from the road—a familiar scene now flipped—and admired the distant cars looking back at us.
As always, I practiced framing shots for photography images to share.
These four photos are a collection of my favorite views along the trail.
Above: Sawtooth Mountain and Losekamp Lake
Above: The backside of the Gardner Headwall
Below: Losekamp Lake
While the scenery was (is!) superb, we also enjoyed having the trail to ourselves. I laughed about hiking to Stockade Lake wishing I had someone to share the views with then immediately backtracking on that thought when hordes of humans began to pass by me. We generally get lucky to not encounter other humans or very few humans during our hikes so you could point out we’ve become spoiled to not have to share trails. We appreciate this factor while understanding and wanting others to also be fortunate enough to experience the same.
Anyhoo, if you get the chance to visit the Beartooth Pass, this loop is a good one to explore. There are two trailheads: Hauser and Gardner. Both named for the lake you immediately see/walk past. We began at Hauser thinking if we got kicked off the Pass we could return via the Wyoming side more easily. A longer drive but added stellar views along the Chief Joseph byway are always worth the extra mileage.
Now that my hiking is slowing down to leave space for other adventures; such as but not limited to taking students to Kalispell for a dance workshop, Nutcracker/Christmas Stroll preparations, horseback riding, reading and hibernating; I may not be sharing as often with you. I hope that leaves you inspired to find your own adventures and share them with me. Who knows though, maybe I’ll back catalog some grand adventures from my past for you like kayaking the San Juans. ??? Anything is possible. In the meantime, enjoy your chance to slow down and eat treats that taste like nostalgia if you can.
I know you’re wondering…yes, we made it down and out with precisely six minutes to spare. *curtsy
Now, enjoy some scenery on our behalf.
