Lace up the boots and sign up for a wilderness walk
By Missoula Current
Beginning in May and lasting into the fall, the Montana Wilderness Association will offer more than 100 free day hikes, overnight trips, and trail building projects across some of the state's most magnificent backcountry.
Beginning on May 1, the general public can view the entire Wilderness Walks schedule and sign up Wilderness Walk online. The schedule is also available in MWA’s Discover Wild Montana publication - a benefit for MWA members.
Members are given a two-week period to sign up for a Wilderness Walk before registration opens to the public.
"This is a great year for Wilderness Walks in the Missoula area,” says Zack Porter, MWA’s western Montana field director. “We have several hikes into places that the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act would designate as wilderness and many others happening around WildFest, which is taking place this year in Missoula.”
WildFest is MWA’s annual celebration of Montana’s wild places. It happens this year on Sept. 8 at the Northern Rockies Heritage Center and Sept. 9 at Fort Missoula Regional Park.
In addition to Wilderness Walks, MWA is also offering the public the opportunity to volunteer this summer on nine different volunteer trail projects happening mostly along the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, from the Beaverhead Mountains to the Badger-Two Medicine.
Since the program’s beginnings in July of 1962, when MWA founders Ken and Florence Baldwin led 40 hikers on the first Wilderness Walk to Table Mountain in the Spanish Peaks, the intention of the program has remained the same – to build grassroots support for wilderness and public lands by uniting a community around Montana’s special places.
Now in its 55th season, MWA’s Wilderness Walks program continues to offer hikers of all ages and experience levels an opportunity to participate in traditional recreation opportunities while enjoying Montana’s quiet beauty and remaining wild places.
Below is a detailed list of all 2017 Wilderness Walks hosted by MWA’s Shining Mountains Chapter and located in the Missoula area. For more information, contact Amanda Hagerty at (406) 443-7350 (ext. 108) or at ahagerty@wildmontana.org.
Wilderness Walks hosted by the Shining Mountains Chapter in the Missoula area include:
South Fork Lolo Creek
Monday, May 15
Location: Lolo
Leaders: Adam Merlino and Joshua Akins
This walk goes through the proposed South Fork Lolo Creek Wilderness addition and to the northern end of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. It begins with a gentle streamside ascent along the beautiful and wild South Fork of Lolo Creek and ends with a rock overlook of the creek, with a view toward the upper reaches of Lantern Ridge and Bass Peak.
7 miles, moderately strenuous
South Fork Lolo Creek
Saturday, June 10
Location: Lolo
Leaders: Steve Seninger and Daphne Herling
This walk goes through the proposed South Fork Lolo Creek Wilderness addition to and to the northern end of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. The hike begins with a gentle streamside ascent along the beautiful and wild South Fork of Lolo Creek and ends with a rock overlook of the creek with a view toward the upper reaches of Lantern Ridge and Bass Peak.
6 miles, moderately strenuous
Bass Creek
Saturday, June 17
Location: Florence
Leaders: Adam Merlino and Joshua Atkins
Join us on an adventure to Bass Creek in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, along the way stopping at a waterfall and doing some backpack fishing.
10 miles, moderately strenuous
Sunday Mountain
Sunday, June 24
Location: Seeley Lake
Leaders: Lee Boman and Gene Schade
Come hike what may be the quickest route to the crest of the Swan Range, a landscape that would be added to the Bob Marshall Wilderness with passage of the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act. In terms of views and wildflowers, it may also be the most vivid ways to appreciate the Swan Range and the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
6 miles, strenuous
Kid Lake
Sunday, July 9
Location: Missoula
Leaders: Chris Ryan and Pat Ryan
Learn about the history of the Great Burn and discuss opportunities for keeping the area wild for future generations with a hike to a beautiful subalpine lake on the Montana-Idaho state line in the Great Burn Proposed Wilderness Area.
6 miles, moderate
Blodgett Canyon Waterfall
Saturday, July 15
Location: Hamilton
Leaders: Adam Merlino and Joshua Akins
Blodgett Canyon is nestled in the Bitterroot Mountains, where some excellent hiking, fishing, and backpacking can be found almost anytime of the year. This hike features a waterfall and is good for all skill levels.
8 miles, moderate
Great Burn
Sunday, July 16
Location: Missoula
Leaders: Nick Littman and Nick Triolo
Run the ridgelines of the Great Burn. This self-supported trail run will traverse the scenic high country of the Great Burn Proposed Wilderness along the state line before looping down to the Heart Lake Trailhead. There will be an option for a five-mile add-on down to Goose Lake and back.
10 miles, strenuous
Cedar Cathedral Fire
Thursday, July 27
Location: Alberton
Leaders: Bert Lindler and Jay Gore
Hike up the West Fork of Fish Creek in the Great Burn Recommended Wilderness, which burned in 2015. Witness the recovery after the fire and and conclude your walk among a grove of giant cedar trees spared by this fire and many previous ones.
6 miles, moderate
Saint Mary Peak
Saturday, July 29
Location: Stevensville
Leaders: Shawn McKinney and Julee Shamhart
Join the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation for a hike up to the crest of the Bitterroot Range to explore the ecology of amazing whitebark ecosystems. Discussion on ecological interactions, threats, and efforts to restore whitebark ecosystems will take place. The views are worth the elevation gain.
7 miles, strenuous
Dome Shaped Mountain
Saturday, August 5 - Sunday, August 6
Location: Stevensville
Leaders: Adam Merlino and Joshua Akins
Join this great ridgeline hike in the Bitterroot National Forest. Hike from Gold Creek camp to Dome Shaped Mountain and back.
20 miles, strenuous
Kootenai Creek
Saturday, September 9
Location: Florence
Leaders: Mary Langenderfer and Marilyn Wolff
This is a classic Bitterroot Mountain canyon with spectacular scenery, including a raging creek, moss-covered walls, and rocky, steep cliffs, which can be enjoyed all year long.
8 miles, moderately strenuous
Maclay Flats
Saturday, September 9
Location: Missoula
Leaders: Julie Ellison and Katy Koster
Join a scavenger hunt for nature's treasure along the trail to the Bitterroot River. Fall is in the air, and many treasures still abound in nature. This hike is not about the destination but about slowing down to notice all the little details that make nature diverse and amazing. The trail is wheelchair accessible, flat, and circular.
1.5 miles, easy
Heart Lake
Saturday, September 9
Location: Superior
Leader: Steve Schombel
This short leads to one of the most beautiful lakes in the Great Burn Proposed Wilderness Area. Surrounded by high ridges and rocky peaks, Heart Lake, our turnaround point, is a great place to relax and have lunch.
4.5 miles, moderate
Hoodoo Pass to Heart Lake
Saturday, September 9
Location: Superior
Leaders: Chuck Irestone and Peter Lessica
Starting at Hoodoo Pass on the Stateline Trail, hike past Dalton, Pearl, and Heart Lakes and finish at the Heart Lake Trailhead. A local wildflower expert will point out and discuss the late season wildflowers abundant along the route.
10 miles, extremely strenuous
Sunday Mountain
Saturday, September 9
Location: Seeley Lake
Leaders: Lee Boman and Gene Schade
Come hike what may be the quickest route to the crest of the Swan Range, a landscape that would be added to the Bob Marshall Wilderness with passage of the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act. In terms of views and wildflowers, it may also be the most vivid ways to appreciate the Swan Range and the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
6 miles, strenuous
Clearwater Lake
Saturday, September 9
Location: Seeley Lake
Leader: Patti Bartlett
Join Seeley Lake teachers and students for a guided hike to the first of six lakes in the Clearwater River Chain-of-Lakes. The views of the Swan Front or the perfectly clear yet colorful lake are unforgettable. This area is adjacent to Bob Marshall Wilderness additions proposed in the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act.
2.6 miles, easy