Things are looking different this year with the skipping/delay of early fall and the color changes that come with it.
After having an intense wildfire season in Montana this year, we suddenly went from having hot summer weather in the first half of September, to having late fall weather in the second half. I'm not sure what happened to early fall... it must have gotten lost out there somewhere. If you should happen to come across it, I'd be grateful if you would send it our way, as I've been missing it.
Anyway... we'd been hoping and praying for rain or snow in the mountains to put out our fires, and we were blessed with an answer to our prayers a little over a week ago. Rain, snow, cold... we got it. As I had been keeping an eye on our weather forecast, I mentioned to my son that we were expecting snow in the mountains at about 6000 feet and above in a few days. Josh loves backcountry skiing and always gets excited anytime you talk about snow coming. So, his reaction was, "We should go up St. Mary's this weekend since there will be snow on top." That became the plan, until....
| Until, a day or two later when I mentioned we were supposed to have a low of 30 degrees in the valley Saturday night, which made him say, "Instead of St. Mary's, we should backpack to Little Rock Creek Lake this weekend." (In addition to snow, Josh also really likes cold, and it was sure to be colder in the mountains.) So... after snow arrived in the mountains the day and night before, we set out for the lake with a 30% chance of rain Saturday morning. We started out on dry ground above and southwest of Lake Como. The snow covered trees on the mountainsides and cliffs made the views extra beautiful all around. |  Backpack weight: 35-40 lbs. -- Hiking distance: about 10 miles roundtrip. |
Overlooking the Rock Creek drainage at the west end of Lake Como (which was drained down to mostly mud at that end).
The snow and frost covered trees on the cliffs were absolutely gorgeous. Winter wonderland!
The mist made things a bit surreal and incredibly captivating. The views slowed my pace as I took plenty of photos!
We hit our first snow of the season. It got a little deeper as we continued to gain elevation.
Although we hiked in snow on the trail part of the way, it didn't get too bad overall. We wore gaiters to keep it out of our shoes as it got deeper, and we went a little slower on the portions with slippery rocks. And although it didn't rain, we did get a pretty good shower as the temps rose enough to melt the snow out of the trees over the top of us.
My fellow backpackers on this trip: one son and three daughters. We had the trail and lake to ourselves for the weekend.
I believe this is one of the Como Peaks to the south. Love the view!
Almost there! Such awesome views all around -- definitely worth the effort!
 Looking eastward back towards the valley below from which we had come. | A couple of us stayed with the backpacks near the east end of the lake while the others took an excursion around the lake to scout out the best camping spot. Emily and I wandered around taking in all the breathtaking views and shooting lots of pictures. The others came back and said they had discovered fairly fresh bear, coyote, and elk or moose tracks around the lake. While we didn't have any people to share the lake with, the tracks were a good reminder that we didn't have the lake completely to ourselves. |
One of many rock outcrops along the north wall.
The ominous looking mist over the rock outcrops added more interest to our experience (and to my photos).
I love the thundering and splashing sounds of waterfalls, and the mist in the air that they create.
 The upper falls. |  The lower falls. |
A portion of our view to the south.
 Log jam at the outlet of the lake. |  Snow makes logs beautiful, but extra tricky to cross. |
-- At our destination about five miles in. First time I've been to this mountain lake. --
Beautiful cliff wall running along the north side of the lake.
I love reflections of mountains on water.
It wasn't very sunny and clear at the lake, but the views were still amazing. Things continually changed as clouds shifted over the mountains, the sun tried to glow through the clouds a little bit here and there, and the mist moved over the lake.
Hiking around the lake came to a brief halt while we watched the evening mist dance around on its glass-like stage.
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Such awesome views ... it took me a while to get around the lake to our campsite!
| We set up camp at the west end of the lake, and enjoyed beautiful views in every direction. The lake was to the east, El Capitan to the west, and the Como Peaks to the south. After setting up the tents, I took more photos and then joined the others up in the trees to hang out and make supper on a decent sized slab rock in a little opening from the dripping trees. Camping on snow isn't my favorite type of backpacking trip, but the snow sure adds to the scenic factor of the mountain views. Daytime temps were somewhat warm, but we figured it probably got down to about 20-25 degrees Fahrenheit during the night. A little bit chilly. ;) |  |
View to the east from our campsite. I love the mist on the lake.
Evening view of El Capitan from our campsite.
You can tell when the sun goes down behind the mountains by the sudden drop in temperature. Time to add layers.
-- day two --
Mornings are quite brisk, as we generally hit our low around 5am or so. With the sun comes the warmth.
 Waking up to a beautiful view of El Capitan. |  Time to dry out stuff that got wet the day before. |
A glorious view of El Capitan from Little Rock Creek Lake in the Bitterroot Mountains.
We had a fabulous time. This backpack trip certainly gets two thumbs up. :)
Heading back out. Little Rock Creek Lake will definitely be on my list of places to come back to again.
Since we had lost track of time while hanging out (so easy to do in the mountains), it was well after 3pm by the time we got packed up and had left the lake. So I tucked my camera away and hustled along on the way back. No dilly, no dally ... just keep moving.
We were treated to a lovely view of Lake Como as we came to the end of our hike.
| It was evening when we got back to the trailhead, and time to go home and have pizza for supper. My favorite thing to do after backpacking trips. :) I hope you enjoyed coming along with me on my mountain adventure. I'd love it if you would leave me a comment below and/or hit the facebook button to let me know you liked it. Enjoy your day! :) |  |
