Backpacking Montana & Idaho's Bitterroot Mountains : Big Creek to Bear Creek Route

Not worth it. Many routes much better in these mountains than this, in my opinion.

[@jenb.6440]

Absolutely beautiful video; perfect shots and timing and story telling; I always enjoy your work; thank you for sharing!! We were in the same area, the Pinnacles, we camped at the Falls and I was petrified of bears so this video was particularly supportive of my extreme fear!!

[@brookeshaffer4377]

Still a quality video.Thanks for hanging in there👍

[@birddogfarms6981]

Andrew, I just got home from my annual western swing and my usual awesome time in the Selway~Bitterroot wilderness was met with the same trail conditions as you experienced. I set up camp at Hoodoo Lake at Elk Summit and took off down the Moose creek trail. Holy crap, what a mess. Forest service dudes told me it had been 4 years since trail crew came through. This is a MAJOR trail in this Wilderness. It eventually can take you all the way to the Moose Creek Ranger station, the one that most folks access from the opposite end, off of Race Creek. I was headed to Maple Lake on this trip and, like you said, it was so brushy and grassy the only way I knew I was on trail was that my feet weren't stomping down grass. So I went from an insane number of blow downs on Moose creek trail and then "bushwhacking" on the Maple lake trail. When I crossed Maple creek, the trail opened up, with fresh cuts on blowdowns and some kind of effort to push back on the overgrowth. Fresh tracks and manure everywhere. It seems the Outfitters were taking matters into their own hands. Hunting season is near! Unfortunately I had to eventually return to Elk Summit and deal with the sh*t trails going back. The cold plunge in Hoodoo lake never felt so good! Tom

[@NorthwestWanderer]

This is really good info, I was curious about that way that deep in. Thanks for the info! Probably gonna hold off on that then haha

[@birddogfarms6981]

@@NorthwestWanderer I shot a lot of video on my GoPro. If I ever step up and purchase some editing software, I might actually post something showing the trail conditions (and some really sweet views, of course). BTW, Jess from HYOH-WU just posted a vid of our hike into Moran Basin in the Cabinet's. Only 12 minutes.

[@pilowespo]

Love the Bitterrots! This route has been on my list. Thanks for sharing. Sounds like middle part was horrible. Sucks even worse when it's hot. The vegetation gets thick down in those canyons for sure. Enjoyed the video. Hike on!

[@butchlewis2136]

Thanks for sharing.

[@jonvenden4284]

Andrew I wanted to let you know if you want to go to a bigger tent for you and Lacy that Moosejaw has one of their Moosejaw dollar sales. If you never bought from them how this works is you buy something. Right now they will give 30% off but the money is actually a store credit to apply to your next purchase. The Nemo Dagger is 4lbs 2 oz tent but on the roominess and durability would be on line with what you're looking at. The Big Agnes Copper Spur is a 3 lb tent but the fabric is a little thicker than your Hornet so the durability won't be its strong suit. Dan Becker channel has done a review on the Dagger a few weeks back if you want to actually see what it looks like. The weight can be divided between you and Lacy and the weight would put you at 2 lbs per a person. If you kept the Hornet then you could use it for solo trips or with Lacy when weight reduction was important. Then with the store credit if Lacy would like to get an osprey pack you could use the money to help fund that. My advise is don't spend the store credit until the product arrives and you inspect it and decide that you won't have to return it. If you return it then you lose the store credit and if you made purchase on that store credit now it will have to be paid in full. I know your not into reviews but there is one place I would recommend. That is The Outdoor Gear Lab. They use the gear for the season then review the following spring. Most of the reviewers are professional guides. What this does is keep you in the loop of what the gear looks like so you can make smarter decisions on what you want. Because it was voted as the best doesn't mean it will be best for you but something down in fifth position might work better for you.

[@markyoung3044]

beaiful lake wow

[@jasonkamm5537]

You do really nice videos! If a person were only able to do 1 trip into the Bitterroots, what would it be?

[@NorthwestWanderer]

Of everything I done, IMO Chaffin Creek to the basin above Chaffin Lake

[@MtHockey]

The Idaho side of this so-called point to point hike is brutal. I got my butt kicked big time doing it as a much younger man. Some experienced local hikers know a route that takes you from Packbox Pass along the Bitterroot divide, to Bryan Lake, without having to drop way down into ID, and to then have to climb and crawl back up to the MT/ID border to Bryan Lake. I have dropped down into the S. Fork of Big Crk Lake from Packbox Pass, with the plan to hike out the S. Fork trail back to the junction to the Big Crk trail junction that you passed on the way up to Big Creek Lake. Don't do it! S. Fork trail is not maintained, and it took us almost all day to crawl and climb over downed timber to get to the Big Crk trail junction. It was horrible.