THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT Day 3
Day Three:
When we woke up, on the morning of September 24th, Doug and I knew it was time to head home, back to Billings. This was Tuesday, and we were expecting our friend, Becky to arrive the next day. I even told the desk clerk at the Motel 6 that we would be back the next day. Little did we know what changes twenty-four hours could make. It was at the Hardee’s in Great Falls that I found out why they were no longer serving the Country Fried Steak Biscuit. On the road, early, we retraced our steps from the 22nd.
Turning south on US 89, we found ourselves back on the Kings Hill Scenic Byway headed toward White Sulfur Springs. The portion of the Kings Hill Scenic Byway that lies within the boundaries of the Lewis and Clark National Forest and traverses the Little Belt Mountains receives little traffic, does not afford views of spectacularly rugged mountains but is a very peaceful drive, particularly in the fall when aspen are transitioning toward their autumnal crescendo of color.
The four tallest peaks, Neihart Baldy, Long Mountain, Yogo Peak and Big Baldy Mountain, tallest of the Little Belt mountains at 9,177 feet, are in the area to the east of US 89 between the town of Neihart and Kings Hill Pass, an eight and a half mile journey to the south. Coming down off the pass, we made good time, and a little over half-an-hour later, saw us pulling into White Sulphur Springs.
Coming in from the east, as we did on US 12, two days before, did not allow us to see this quaint town. The settlement of less than 1,000 citizens (934 as of 2018) sits at an elevation of 5,043 feet. It is perhaps, best known as being the birthplace of novelist Ivan Doig and actor Dirk Benedict. For those of you who remember the original television series Battlestar Galactica, Benedict played the Starbuck character during it’s one-year run in 1978-79. He then went on to play the scrounger called the “the Faceman” Templeton Peck in the A-Team.
From White Sulphur Springs, one can view three different mountain ranges. North by north-east, the Little Belt range rises to over 8,000 feet, although coming in from the east, as we did on our first day, they did not appear to be anything more than rolling hills. It was only after traversing the Kings Hill Scenic Byway that we saw the quiet majesty in these eminences. The highpoint of the drive was the 7,393-foot Kings Hill Pass with nearby Porphyry Peak standing tall at 8,192 feet to the west of this turnpike and the 8,008-foot Kings Hill to the left, or east of US 89. The Showdown Ski Resort is at the base of Porphyry Peak. The Montana state record for snowfall, of thirty-three feet in one winter, was at Showdown.
To the west of the county seat of Meagher County, named after famed Irish Brigade commander Thomas Francis Meagher, lay the Big Belt Mountains. Mt. Edith (9,507 feet) and Mt. Baldy both top out at over 9,400 feet are the tallest of these unassuming peaks. To the east and southeast of US 12 lay the Castle Mountain range led by Elk Peak, at 8,566 feet and Wapiti Peak (8,552 feet).
It is about forty-three miles from White Sulphur Springs to the small waypoint named Wilsall, and it is an easy forty-minute drive. That is, if you don’t stop along the way. I say that, because there are a couple of places that I always stop along this route.
The first of these is at mile marker 31, US 89 south. It is in the Shield’s River Valley, which follows the Shields River, north to south, starting in the Crazy Mountains and traveling west before turning south and entering the Yellowstone River at Livingston, Montana. The 4 Diamond Ranch Road is a perfect pull off as you travel south toward I-90. Looking straight ahead, one sees the mighty Absaroka Mountains, which form the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park. This range stretches approximately 150 miles across the Montana-Wyoming border. These majestic 12,000-foot peaks, and there are over forty of them, with Francs Peak in Wyoming, being the tallest at 13,153 feet, make driving the fifty-five miles down Paradise Valley to the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park a must-see journey.
To the left, or east, of US 89 are one of my favorites, the Crazy Mountains, but from a different viewpoint. Although they are not as tall, Crazy Peak only reaches 11,214 feet into the sky, the Crazies are every bit as wondrous to the eyes. And to the west, the mountains named after famed-mountain man Jim Bridger climb to well over 9,000 feet. The Bridger Mountains have five peaks that top out over 9,000 feet with Sacagawea being the tallest at 9,596 feet. This mountain was named after the Shoshoni woman, who helped guide the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition during the early nineteenth century (1804-1806).
A few miles further south, and about one mile before reaching the town of Wilsall, stands the sculpture “Welcome to the Shields” created by local artist Gary Derby. The statue nicknamed “Thunder Jack” was dedicated in 2006. It is a highly detailed bronze statue of a mountain man and was built and placed there as a tribute to the mountain men of bygone eras such as Jim Bridger, John Colter, Hugh Glass and for those of you who saw the movie, Jeremiah Johnson starring Robert Redford; John “Liver-Eating” Johnson who was the basis for the Redford character. Facing east, with the Crazy Mountains in the background, this makes for a very photogenic location.
From here, it’s about half an hour until you reach the interstate, and then it’s a straight shot back home in Billings. There are some good places to pull over to the shoulder and snap a few last-minute shots of the Absarokas. One of them is a spot between mile marker nine and ten.
As my brother says, “in every article pertaining to travel on the northern Rockies, make a point of emphasis to stop at every available rest area and, accordingly make pitstops in the small towns sprinkled widely throughout the area.” Otherwise, the “call of nature” may occur at inopportune moments.
