in a nutshell:
This hike (or climb) is strictly for experienced, well-conditioned hikers.
Starting point & elevation: West Rosebud Lake, Mystic Lake Trailhead. Elev. 6,000'ft.
We hiked about 12miles the first day, gaining over 5,000ft in elevation. Once we hiked to Mystic Lake, we took the Phantom Creek Trail 17 — (3.5 miles to this junction from starting point). From there, we hiked UP the mountain side, counting 29 switchbacks. It's an intense climb, but really beautiful.
We hiked about 12miles the first day, gaining over 5,000ft in elevation. Once we hiked to Mystic Lake, we took the Phantom Creek Trail 17 — (3.5 miles to this junction from starting point). From there, we hiked UP the mountain side, counting 29 switchbacks. It's an intense climb, but really beautiful.
Upon reaching Froze-To-Death-Plateau, you have hiked about 5.5 miles from the starting point. The elevation is now over 10,000'ft. Once on the plateau - you have to hike about 5-6 more miles to the base camp. You will hike / scramble / hop over boulder fields and marshy tundra, following a scattered trail of rock cairns.
Base Camp destination: a rocky boulder field, with man-stacked rock walls on the west edge of Tempest Mountain, elevation 11,700ft. (We didn't camp at the actual basecamp; we camped further away from Tempest, nestled up against some large boulders that provided more shelter from the wind and storm.)
But you can set up camp at whatever spot appeals to you, and hope the weather holds through the night — So you can summit Granite the next morning. Granite Peak is about 1.5 miles from the base camp area. The elevation of Granite Peak, the highest point in Montana is 12,808'ft.
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Base Camp destination: a rocky boulder field, with man-stacked rock walls on the west edge of Tempest Mountain, elevation 11,700ft. (We didn't camp at the actual basecamp; we camped further away from Tempest, nestled up against some large boulders that provided more shelter from the wind and storm.)
But you can set up camp at whatever spot appeals to you, and hope the weather holds through the night — So you can summit Granite the next morning. Granite Peak is about 1.5 miles from the base camp area. The elevation of Granite Peak, the highest point in Montana is 12,808'ft.
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| Boulder fields on the plateau … covered by hail. |
My notes & observations:
Myself, Jonathan and Jessica went on this hiking trip.
Afoot and lighthearted, we set to the open road — at 6:20am, arriving to the trail-head at 7:45am.
While we were hiking up, we were the only souls on the mountain.
WHEN TO GO: The best time to hike Granite is late July — early September.
We went on Thursday-Friday, September 3-4, and had the mountain to ourselves. Hiking down on Friday afternoon, we passed 10 or 11 other hikers, Granite bound. I would totally recommend hiking DURING the week. All those hikers would have a hard time figuring out where they would want to pitch their tents, as "camp sites" with wind shelters were limited. Other then scattered large boulders and ground-level rock, there isn't much privacy on the plateau.
(Camp site: see photo directly below.)
Afoot and lighthearted, we set to the open road — at 6:20am, arriving to the trail-head at 7:45am.
While we were hiking up, we were the only souls on the mountain.
WHEN TO GO: The best time to hike Granite is late July — early September.
We went on Thursday-Friday, September 3-4, and had the mountain to ourselves. Hiking down on Friday afternoon, we passed 10 or 11 other hikers, Granite bound. I would totally recommend hiking DURING the week. All those hikers would have a hard time figuring out where they would want to pitch their tents, as "camp sites" with wind shelters were limited. Other then scattered large boulders and ground-level rock, there isn't much privacy on the plateau.
(Camp site: see photo directly below.)
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HIKING UP: Total time took us 9hrs of uphill hiking… covering over 12 miles. While hiking on Phantom Creek Trail we were wearing T-shirts and shorts. It was hot. We drank a lot of water. My backpack weighed a bit over 30lbs. I had a 2 person tent, my harness, climbing gear etc,… plus 2 large water bottles, extra clothes, sleeping mat, bag (my sleeping bag is good down to 21'F degrees), it kept me warm during the crazy storm-filled night. Pack as light as possible. Ever ounce makes a huge difference!
Note: We actually ended up deciding we didn't need all the rope we were carrying, and stashed some of it under a rock on the way up. (We got it later when we came down the next day.) If we try summiting Granite again, we are not going to bring quite so much climbing gear. We over packed with ropes, harnesses, carabiners, etc. We plan to scramble/boulder up to the top, and hopefully without much rope. BUT depending on the year, and how much snow the Beartooth Mountains got, there could be a dangerous and large snow wall you have to cross along the ridge-line of Granite. Ropes and safety measures are a necessity, if that is the case!
Note: We actually ended up deciding we didn't need all the rope we were carrying, and stashed some of it under a rock on the way up. (We got it later when we came down the next day.) If we try summiting Granite again, we are not going to bring quite so much climbing gear. We over packed with ropes, harnesses, carabiners, etc. We plan to scramble/boulder up to the top, and hopefully without much rope. BUT depending on the year, and how much snow the Beartooth Mountains got, there could be a dangerous and large snow wall you have to cross along the ridge-line of Granite. Ropes and safety measures are a necessity, if that is the case!
ELEVATION GAIN: I have done a lot of hiking at 10,000ft or higher, so I am accustom to thin air.
My fellow hikers (while being avid hikers), had not done much high elevation hiking. They got altitude sickness, upon reaching elevations around 10,000ft. Upset stomachs, nausea, and no appetite. Our highest elevation point was around 11,000ft, since we did not summit.
CAIRNS: At times the rock cairns are quite small and difficult to locate.
We took "scenic route" to our base camp site, and added about a mile to the hike, because we accidentally missed a cairn. Total ascending time took 9hrs. (Including many breaks, lunch too.) But overall, wasn't too bad. The plateau seemed to drag on more then the 29 switchbacks did.
My fellow hikers (while being avid hikers), had not done much high elevation hiking. They got altitude sickness, upon reaching elevations around 10,000ft. Upset stomachs, nausea, and no appetite. Our highest elevation point was around 11,000ft, since we did not summit.
CAIRNS: At times the rock cairns are quite small and difficult to locate.
We took "scenic route" to our base camp site, and added about a mile to the hike, because we accidentally missed a cairn. Total ascending time took 9hrs. (Including many breaks, lunch too.) But overall, wasn't too bad. The plateau seemed to drag on more then the 29 switchbacks did.
WATER: Top off your water bottles at Mystic Lake before climbing up to the Plateau.
There was one small stream along the lowest sets of switchbacks.
MAKE SURE you have a good filter. In places, water on Froze-To-Death plateau is contaminated by E. coli (human waste). The ground is very rocky, and it is nearly impossible to dig cat holes. In places while I was hiking, I could smell poop. Super gross! A lot of hikers don't care or even bother to try digging a hole. Some hikers choose carry out their waste, which is a hassle, but is very nice and helps preserve the environment!
There are several small & shallow water courses (nearly submerged snow-melt springs) on the Plateau. You will have to hop over the narrow springs or skirt around the marshy-swamp like places while hiking on the Plateau. Make sure you take water from FLOWING sources when on the plateau. The basecamp spots are DRY campsites.
There was one small stream along the lowest sets of switchbacks.
MAKE SURE you have a good filter. In places, water on Froze-To-Death plateau is contaminated by E. coli (human waste). The ground is very rocky, and it is nearly impossible to dig cat holes. In places while I was hiking, I could smell poop. Super gross! A lot of hikers don't care or even bother to try digging a hole. Some hikers choose carry out their waste, which is a hassle, but is very nice and helps preserve the environment!
There are several small & shallow water courses (nearly submerged snow-melt springs) on the Plateau. You will have to hop over the narrow springs or skirt around the marshy-swamp like places while hiking on the Plateau. Make sure you take water from FLOWING sources when on the plateau. The basecamp spots are DRY campsites.
WEATHER PROBLEMS: You WILL get rained on while hiking no matter what. I've done a lot of overnight hiking in the Beartooths (I've hiked nearly 100 miles this summer!!), and know well enough by now, that no matter what the forecast says, it will rain and maybe even snow on you. While hiking across Froze-To-Death-Plateau there was a thunderstorm, sleet, rain and large hail. The temperature held steady at 40 degrees during the day. It was very windy. Bring proper rain-gear!
TENTS: During the night while camping, it stormed for hours. Thunder shook the mountains. Lighting flashed through the night. In the morning, there was an inch of snow and ice was coating everything. It got down to 28'F degrees. We didn't sleep much. It felt (sounded?) like our tents would flap away, even though they were properly anchored.
PLANT LIFE: Hiking to Mystic, and along the switchbacks there is an abundance of plant life and trees. Once on the plateau, there is nothing but hardy grasses and lichens growing. I did, however, see some flowers blooming on the plateau at around 10,400ft. I identified it as the late blooming tundra-loving-cold-weather flower: the Arctic Gentian.
SUMMIT?: We didn't make it to the summit, due to the ice, wind, and snow from the storm, and we could see more bad weather was rolling in. But we were in view of Granite, just over 2 miles away. We had a summiting plan, a rough idea of a route picked out - I talked to several people who have summited Granite, to get a idea of what works best. I had reference photos and notes about the climb to the top. We had climbing gear, a harness, ropes, etc. Though we mostly planned to "free climb" to the top.
HIKING OUT: Hiking down the next day took 4.5hrs. (Much faster then when we hiked up!)
We went about 11mi, and fortunately hiked below and missed most of the bad weather. The sky was black by 12pm, and it was starting to rain as we were leaving the Plateau.
We went about 11mi, and fortunately hiked below and missed most of the bad weather. The sky was black by 12pm, and it was starting to rain as we were leaving the Plateau.
NEXT TIME: We try this hike, we want to hike up to the Plateau and camp the first night at around 10,000ft, so that we can adjust to the altitude. On the 2nd day: hike leisurely across the plateau to basecamp, on Tempest Mountain. Then the 3rd day: attempt/climb Granite, and hike out.
Below are photos from the hike.
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| Mystic Lake, seen from about the half-way point, while hiking up to the Plateau. I will add that I've hiked to Mystic lake 10 or more times over the past several years. It is one of my favorite day hikes. To Mystic hike round trip is 6 miles. The lake is beautiful. Lots of good camping spots around the lake, and though I don't fish; I know the fishing is good. |
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| Taking a break by one of many cairns… |
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| Cold wind, thunder, hail and very slick boulder-fields on Froze-To-Death-Plateau. |
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| False summit. But at the "top" of where we were camping. This was as good as it got! |
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| I was standing atop large rocks to get an "aerial" view of camp. Nothing but pikas, some mountain goats & hardy lichens live in this rocky place. No grass. |
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| View out my tent door. |
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| At 5am it was 28 degrees, and there was an inch of snow and ice on everything. The rocks were slick. It didn't get light outside till just after 6am. When I took this photo, and ventured out of the tent into wind, it was blowing at around 10-15mph, which seemed calm after an extremely windy night. During the night, I'd guess it was blowing around 45mph. |
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| Hiking back down. Mystic Lake obscured by cloud, view from atop Froze-To-Death-Plateau. Storm clouds in the distance. |
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| Selfie with Jonathan and Jessica! |
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| Froze-To-Death Lake down below. Storms coming in the distance. Photo cred: Jonathan |
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| Once we got down to Mystic, we were walking IN the clouds we saw from above, just an hour or two earlier. We could hear the water lapping against the rocks we were walking on. |
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| Descending the mountain, on the return trip, we hiked into a thick fog-like cloud. |
"LIFE is getting up an hour early,
to LIVE an hour more"
MORE THOUGHTS:When you consider things like mountains and stars, our earthly woes don't seem to matter very much… Being on top of Froze-To-Death-Plateau was an incredible experience. The mountains were huge and the stars were awesome. I felt so alone, so free, so alive, so light, so high, and so small! God is SO good, huge and powerful - He shakes the mountains with thunder. He provides for the mountain goat and pika. His creation is amazing.
When I go anywhere, or do anything, I try to be enthusiastic about LIFE! Even when your just at home, or at work, or wherever — You are alive and that is amazing! I think it's important to enthusiastic, no matter what you or doing, or where ya are. Living in the moment is being aware of the moment we are in. If our minds are in the past or working about the future, we are not truly alive in the present.
While hiking, I found myself increasingly living "in the moment". Hiking is so care-free, exhilarating, and exhausting. The world is such a vast interesting place - I'm truly thankful for good heath and the ability to explore, and I am immensely blessed by my friends who like to explore with me!
"Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done." -C.S.Lewis
No matter where or what I'm doing, I'm always trying to rely solely on God: Start with Jesus, stay with Jesus, finish with Jesus, EACH day. Grow in Him, love Him, serve Him, do all things for His glory.…
Keep the wonder.
He much become greater, I must become less. (John 3:30)
Happy Hiking,
-GB
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Guided summit climbs to Granite with http://www.beartoothguides.com
(I'm acquainted with a couple of the guides - they are really good at what they do!! Check them out.)
The "AFALCON Guide" book for the hiking the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness has insightful information on hiking Granite (& countless other hikes) is within its many pages…
Additional info can be found by stopping by & talking to people at the Sylvyn Peak Store.
Sylvan Peak, Ent.
9 South Broadway
P.C. Box 463
Red Lodge, MT 59068
