Stretching 68 miles across the borders of Montana and Wyoming, the Beartooth Highway climbs to an elevation of nearly 11,000 feet through a series of switchbacks that start out in the forest and climb up into the alpine zone. To say this is a scenic drive might be a bit of an understatement.
We’ve been to Montana plenty of times. But we haven’t really focused on seeing a good portion of the state. Our first big bite in 2026 was to travel through some of the backcountry starting north and heading south in the western portion of the state. We took a day to drive nearly to Canada, and then settled in for a few days at a picturesque lake before making our way back south for the first half of July. July started out cool and rainy, much better than it ended, hot and smoky. The clouds and rain that started out our trip seem so distant now in the oppressive August heat and choking smoke, it seems like a distant memory. Our views of the mountain above the lake were obscured on arrival, but we could tell this was going to be a great place to spend a few days.
A good portion of the last few months have been spent attempting to fill our freezer with fish, restocking the wood pile for winter, and getting the garden going. June has brought both snowstorms and 90 degree temps. After all that we headed up into the headwaters of the Clearwater for a few days of backpacking up Kelly Creek.
