Trip Images |
A view from the peak I climbed above the Lake looking back down the trail.
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A view off the trail on the way up not far from were we found the bear print.
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Bank of the first smaller lake (Lake Gertrude) before reaching Timberline Lake.
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Trip Report
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Day Hike to Timberline Lake in Beartooth Mountains
September 2006
Red Lodge , MT
posted by BigSkyHillBilly
My friend Gale and I had a great time on this hike. The end of September was a perfect time to go. This was my first hike in Montana, as I had just moved here to Montana from Tennessee. I had a lot to learn about hiking in bear country. Lucky for me Gale grew up around here and is an experienced hiker from these parts. She told me she always carries a large canister of pepper spray to protect against bears, she gave me my own to carry. There are many more things I learned from her about hiking in bear country that will not be discussed in this trip report. Make sure you do your home work and talk to people who know before you do any activities in bear country.
To get to the trail head drive south on the highway that runs thru Red Lodge and turn right following signs to the ski slopes. Stay on that road for several miles. You will pass a few small lakes and camp grounds. Look to the left and find the trail head.
The hike was 8 to 10 mi round trip. The hike is uphill the whole way to the lake. The downside of the hike is there is only one trail in, which means you see the same stuff on the way out only in reverse. We hit the trail about 9 am and made it back about an hour before sunset.
About 3/4 of the way up we found a perfect adult black bear paw print in the snow on the trail and told ourselves that we would take a picture of it on the way back down. That was a mistake because when we got back the snow was melted and the print was gone.
We stopped and had a snack when we reached Lake Gertrude. I ate a banana and started to toss the peel, but decided to ask Gale about it first. She told me not to because it would attract bears and then bears would start to associate the trail with finding food and start hanging around on the trail. I guess they are very curious creatures and are attracted to anything out of the norm.
Once we made it to Timberline Lake Gale started to fish and I decided to scale the peak on the south side of the lake. It looked easy, but I soon found out the snow was much deeper than I had anticipated (over knee deep) and the grade kept increasing as I went. Not having the right gear made it difficult. I went on the hike thinking I would stay on trail and next to the lake, but I could not resist climbing once I got up there. The boots I was wearing were not snow boots, on the climb my feet got cold and wet. I had no gloves either so after using my bare hands to grip snow cover rocks they kept getting numb and I would have to stop and put them in my pockets to warm them. Now I know that in September in those mountains the snow can already be past your knees at the higher altitudes. The view was magnificent and well worth the effort.
Once back down I found Gale fishing, and lay on the bank and watched her as she patiently tried different colors of lures until she found the right one. Yellow was the color of the day and she caught three or four small Brookies and released them. She asked me if I wanted to give it try and I declined because I was enjoying the warmth of the sun way to much and had a full belly from the trail mix and venison sausage I had just eaten, and was still trying thaw out from my climb.
When Gale was done fishing we decided to head back, it was a nice relaxing trip back since to was pretty much all down hill. As mention earlier we were very disappointed to find the bear track melted we returned. We verbally kicked ourselves in the ass most of trip back for not taking a picture of that track on the way up. Once we finally made it back to the truck we went in to Redlodge and ate at a really good Mexican restaurant called Bogart’s. Great food and a few microbrews to choose was the perfect way to end the trip.
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