The weather forecast looked a little ominous, scattered rain showers dotting the weather map. We had been getting a fair amount of lightning in the evening, which made me rethink our weekend plans. I didn’t want to miss out on this hike, regardless of the weather. We had been planning to go up to Pine Creek Lake for a couple months and this was most likely our only chance to do so. So I decided to go for it. Our friends came over and we made our way for Paradise Valley, just an hours drive, at least under normal traffic conditions. Montana road construction takes a major impact on interstate travel and there happened to be a big project underway east of town. We had gotten off work early to ensure that we could miss the out of town traffic rush, but unfortunately forgot to check on traffic. After nearly an hour of stop and go, we made it through the construction zone. The rest of the trip went fast by comparison.
We pulled into the parking area for the Pine Creek trail-head. The lot was full, but mostly with people out for the easy part of the hike, a one mile hike with only 300 feet of elevation gain the the Pine Creek falls, whereas our journey would take us five miles with 5,000 feet of elevation gain to Pine Creek lake. The first mile went by the quickest as it was the easiest. Jess and I set a brisk pace as we wanted to get to our camping spot before nightfall. We met a few people on their way back from the waterfall so by the time we arrived at the falls, there were only a couple of people hanging around.
Beyond the waterfall, the trail took a steeper path and switch-backed its way up the valley. We continued to climb, switchback after switchback and eventually came across the half-way point, a stream crossing that tests your balance as you step from log to log or rock to rock. At about this point, the weather decided to shift and a light drizzle came, which at fist felt pretty good. The drizzle eventually turned into rain, which required us to pull out our rain jackets. At this point I was a little worried, not for safety’s sake, but for the fact that neither Jess or I had anything to protect our sleeping bags from the moisture, as they were on the outside of our packs. We continued on and just before the final steep section of switchbacks, the rain stopped and the clouds broke to reveal a beautiful evening sky to our west.
The sky was darkening quickly so we decided to camp at Jewel lake, a small lake just a couple hundred feet down from Pine Creek lake. By the time we made our camp site, head lamps were being pulled out so we could set up our tents. We were fortunate enough to borrow a tent from some friends that took almost no time to set up, except for the fact that I kept on misplacing stakes, something that was compounding in diffuclty with added winds, lowering temperatures and a light drizzle that ensured that things would not stay in hand. Eventually the tent was set up and staked and I was able to join my wife (who chickened out about 10 minutes prior, and was inside the tent) where she had set out our things and gotten our sleeping bags arranged. I changed out of my wet clothes and enjoyed some snacks, still shivering from the wet cold I escaped from. We turned in for the night, crawling into our (damp in some spots and soaked in others) sleeping bags. I didn’t fall asleep for hours, still trying to get warm and continually finding more wet spots to avoid. Finally sleep overtook me, at least for a while.
I awoke suddenly as rain and wind swept over the tent. The rain passed in intermittent bursts, while the wind blew over us, making more noise than an actual disturbance. We had fortunately bedded down in a sheltered area, so the wind’s affects were more psychological than physical. At some point, the wind died down and with it the rain. Sleep once again was able to resume.
The great thing about camping in the summer is that you definitely don’t need an alarm. The sun lit up our tent and signaled to us it was time to get up. Stepping outside the tent presented a much different view than that of the night prior. The gradually brightening sky shown blue and the sound of the little waterfall at the end of the lake carried over to us. We took some time to wake up, wandering around our little campsite, our friends getting some breakfast going with their camp stove. After eating we took everything that was soaked from the night before and hung them throughout the trees to dry.
We took a stroll up to the main lake, just a 100 yards or so away and walked around it’s perimeter, something that Jess and I weren’t able to do the last time we visited. The lake was a beautiful blue, transparent at points, enough to see giant boulders dotting the bottom of the lake. At the end of this lake there was yet another waterfall, gently cascading from the glaciers that remained above. After taking our fill of the scenery, we headed back to camp.
We ate some more food and packed up our things. We spent a couple moments filtering out some more water for the trip down. We had decided that we would stop by a little diner after finishing our hike, a worthy reward for such an endeavor. The trip down was about as perfect as it gets, sunny, dry and quicker than the ascent. We made it down in about two hours and 45 minutes. Jess and I have made it a habit to bring flip flops with us, a great treat after 5,000 feet of elevation pounding at the soles of your feet. We quickly loaded the car and made for The Pop Stand, the little diner we picked for our victory meal. The food was delicious, but then again, what wouldn’t be after having a staple of cliff bars and dehydrated meals.
Please enjoy the pictures below!
