From Trails 2 Tales

This will easily go down as one of my most favorite places to backpack, ever. And that’s saying a lot coming from someone who lives in Colorado and frequently backpacks in the Rocky Mountains. Montana is stunning!! Breathtaking!! As beautiful as Colorado but with more water. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity.

Custer Gallatin National Forest is in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness near Red Lodge, Montana. It is a highly ecologically diverse forest and home to Granite Peak, the tallest mountain in Montana.

What’s covered here:

1. Itinerary
2. Day 1
3. Day 2
4. Day 3
5. Day 4
6. Packing List

Itinerary

Day 1: East Rosebud Trailhead to Rainbow Lake: 8 miles, 1,500 feet of elevation gain, ending altitude of 7,750 feet 

Day 2: Rainbow Lake to Fossil Lake: 8 miles, 2,250 feet of elevation gain, ending altitude of 10,000 feet

Day 3: Fossil Lake to Lake Mariane: 5.3 miles, 1,300 feet of elevation loss, 764 feet of elevation gain, ending altitude of 9,750 feet

Day 4: Lake Mariane to Clark’s Fork Trailhead:  6 miles, 1,750 feet of elevation loss, end at 8,000 feet of altitude

Day 1

After driving from Colorado to Montana, and stopping for dinner in Red Lodge, we stayed at East Rosebud Campground. The campground here was very nice with many tent sites and clean bathrooms. The next morning, we started our trip, leaving from the East Rosebud trailhead. The trails here are quite rugged and steep, with large loose rock. You’ll pass by Elk Lake with its bridge crossing and Rimrock Lake on the way to Rainbow Lake. Both of these lakes sit nestled in the canyon as it narrows through this area. The campsites at Rainbow Lake are large and flat with some tree cover.

Day 2

Day two entailed a lot of elevation gain as we traveled from Rainbow Lake to Fossil Lake. Again, we passed by many lakes along the way, as well as waterfalls. There are plenty of opportunities along this trail to take off your shoes and cool your feet in the water. When we reached Fossil lake, we opted not to camp there as it felt very exposed. It was above treeline and there did not appear to be any obvious or great places to camp. Instead we continued another half mile to a more protected area east of Fizzle Lake. We saw other campsites in this area as well and the sunset here made for absolutely gorgeous photos (as seen in the first photo on this page, above).

Day 3

On day 3 we got a break from uphill hiking for the first half of the day as we hiked downhill past Ouzel Lake and almost met up with Russel Lake. Jus tnorth of Russel Lake, we turned east and headed up the Mariane Lake trail. It was a steep uphill climb as we gained about 400 feet in less than half a mile over class 3 terrain, but we were rewarded greatly when we came upon Lake Mariane and Wand Lake. Throughout the steep uphill section, I found myself really thinking we were in bear terrain, which I hadn’t really felt quite as strongly on the previous days. This area felt a bit more wild and less traveled, the trail was harder to navigate, and we did come across a pile of fresh bear scat. But this was also one of my favorite campsites throughout this trip. There were plenty of places for dispersed camping here, with beautiful views of the lakes everywhere.

Day 4

On day 4, we retraced our steps along the Mariane Lake Trail, then followed the Russell Creek Trail south to Clarks Fork Trailhead. This was a fairly flat hike for the last four miles. Upon reaching the trailhead, we located the car of the person we had arranged a car swap with. This is one way to get around having to drive two cars when your hike doesn’t involve starting and ending at the same place. Only choose this option if you feel comfortable with the person you will be swapping with. You can have a conversation over the phone in advance and ask for the person to send over a picture of their drivers license, car insurance and registration.

Packing List

1. Backpack (Gregory Women’s 55L)
2. Sleeping Bag (15 deg REI sleeping bag)
3. Tent (Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL3)  
4. Sleeping pad (REI Flash)
5. Pillow (Cocoon Inflatable Air Core Pillow)
6. Rain cover for backpack
7. Ultralight chair (Helinox Chair Zero)
8. Extra stuff sacks
9. Headlamp
10. Knife/pocket knife
11. Sunscreen
12. Toiletries
13. Bug spray (All Terrain Under Armor)
14. Bear spray (Counter Assault Bear Deterrent Spray)
15. First aid kit (Adventure Medical Kit)
16. Rechargeable battery pack 
17. Sun hat 
18. Sunglasses
19. Warm hat/beanie
20. Down coat
21. Rain coat (Arc’teryx Beta SL Hybrid)
22. Portable games
23. All-purpose biodegradable soap
24. Bowl
25. Utensils
26. Cup/mug
27. Water filtration system (Platypus 4L Gravity Filter)
28. Hydration reservoir (Platypus 2L)
29. Underwear (one for each day, plus one)
30. Sports Bras (2-3)
31. Compression socks (2) (Sockwell)
32. Pants (2 pair)
33. Shirts (2-3, 2 lighter pair, one warmer)
34. Gloves
35. Neck protection (Buff Multifunctional Headwear)
36. Microfiber towel
37. Handkerchiefs
38. Hiking boots: Women’s Oboz Bridger Mid B-Dry Waterproof
39. Sandals

* Not pictured: bear canister, compass, map, cooking stove, utensils. Base weight (not including food or water): 31 lb, Food weight: 4 lb

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