Journey to the icy heart of the Big Snowies
When they went to bed, everything was calm in the woods.
Campers settled into their sleeping bags along the banks of the dried up East Fork of Rock Creek. The Big Snowy Mountains rested peacefully beside them.
Then sometime in the night something shifted. Unbeknownst to the campers, tension was building around them. The mountains were sprinkled with drops of unrest. Like a cold spouse, unease in the canyon ripped the blanket of sleep from the campers below.
Groggy and unsure of the frustration building around them, they tried to brush off the cold gesture and nestle deeper into their sleeping bags. But the Big Snowies aren't to be ignored. The nylon walls around the campers began to shiver. Then, the sky lit up and a deep, rumbling wave of thunder rolled down the canyon walls.
The spectacle was spine-chilling and spectacular.
Despite being in Eastern Montana, an area not known for its mountains – let alone its violent mountain storms – the thunder and lightening continued its midnight spectacle before settling back into sleep.
The Big Snowy Mountains are an island range just south of Lewistown with its tallest point, Great House Peak, rising to 8,681 feet.
Beyond the storm, the mountains themselves are a bit unexpected. True to their island range name, they jut out of the flat prairie with spectacular green ridges and clear water.
The area is a geographic marvel. The Big Snowies are one of only a handful of "psuedo-cirques" in the world. A cirque is a steep hollow point at the end of a valley or carved into a mountain side. A cirque is typically formed by glacial erosion. However, the psuedo-cirques of the Big Snowies were believed to be formed by landslides of heavy limestone resting on smooth shale rocklayers.
The mountains are part of a 98,000-acre Wilderness Study Area – one of 44 in Montana and one of seven managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
There is more to the Big Snowies than meets the eye. The true distinctive qualities that make it a gem for the area lie beneath the surface, painted in smooth strokes of ice.
The Ice Caves of the Big Snowies are the pinnacle of the arduous hike it takes to reach the rolling peaks of the range. The Ice Caves Loop is an approximately 12.3 -mile hike with a 2,143-foot elevation gain in the first three miles.
Dave Byerly, Lewistown resident and the Montana Wilderness Association's go-to expert on the range says not to be discouraged by the climb.
"Hiking is always easier when there are big views," Byerly said.
The Big Snowies aren't wanting for big views.
As the campers rose from their tents, electrified with anxious energy from the night. They huddled near their cars and scrounged up protein-rich foods for their day's journey.
Then, they loaded into a caravan to meet at the Ice Caves trailhead near the closed Crystal Lake Campground.
The hike was led by Montana Wilderness Association member Sadie Russell as part of its "Discover Wild Montana" wilderness walks program. This summer, there are more than 100 free guided hikes available for members and non-members. The goal is to get people out into the state's wild places and discover areas they might not have explored otherwise.
That was very much the case in early July as the staggering group of 24 anxious hikers gathered around the trailhead, adjusted their trekking poles and situated their packs and water on their backs.
Robin Morris, a hiker who traveled more than three hours to attend the hike, said the Ice Caves have been on her bucket list for years, she just had never made the trip to actually see them.
Even Gerry and Chuck Jennings, active members of the MWA and avid outdoorsmen, remarked that they haven't made it back to the caves since their first and only trip more than 30 years ago.
The group set off on the steep terrain, paying mind to exposed tree roots and rocks as they began their ascent. The first two miles led the group through the lush forest along beds of elusive white Lady Slippers, bluebells and vibrant orange Mountain Lilies.
The trail, in large part, was originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the early 1930s during the Great Depression.
Beyond the faint chirping of birds and the rustle of a soft breeze over the landscape, the hikers felt alone in the wilderness. But they weren't as alone as they seemed.
The Big Snowies are home to some big game.
"There's a great population of elk and one of the largest populations of black bear," Ron Wiseman, Judith Mussellshell district ranger, said. "One of the largest – if not the largest – black bears ever harvested was found here."
But what Wiseman is most excited about is the rumored return of the mountain goat.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks made an effort to reintroduce mountain goats into the area some years ago, but the mountain lions picked most of them off. Wiseman said his office receives a call every few years about someone spotting a single goat in the mountains.
"It's been years since we've heard of even one mountain goat," Wiseman said. "This year people were taking pictures around Greathouse Peak and saw eight."
Wiseman encourages anyone who sees or photographs a mountain goat (or eight) to call into the ranger station with the details.
In a single file line, the group rounded a seemingly infinite switch back and suddenly the mountain opened up. They rounded their final climbing curve, signifying their presence atop the ridge and collapsed into the slate rock piles to scarf down a quick lunch and look out over the whole state of Montana.
To the north, the Judith and the Moccasin Mountain ranges rose from either side of Lewistown.
"One hundred years ago up until just a few decades ago, there was gold in them there hills – as they say," Byerly said. "At one time there were thousands of miners up there. In the old photos, the Judiths didn't have trees. The Snowies, for whatever reason, never had gold. It's not logging country either because they're too steep. The area was consequently protected."
It turns out the only thing the Big Snowies are good for is recreation.
After some jerky and a few big gulps of water, the crew carried on. The Ice Caves were still another 2 miles across the ridge.
The landscape completely changed.
The forest gave way to loose shale that eventually turned into a mountain-top prairie with sparse trees. Though the great climbing gods were forgiving for the MWA hikers, the ridge top can experience unrelenting sun and gusting winds.
But the cooler weather, winds and cloud cover has its drawbacks.
On a clear day, hikers atop the ridge can see from Canada to Wyoming. It's possible to see the Bulls (near Billings), Absarokas (near Billings), Crazies (near Bozeman), Beartooths (near Red Lodge), Castles (near White Sulphur Springs), Big Belts (near Helena), Little Belts (near Neihart), Sweet Grass Hills (near Sunburst), Highwoods (near Great Falls), Bear Paws (near Rocky Boy's Reservation), North Moccasins (near Lewistown), South Moccasins (near Lewistown), Judiths (near Lewistown) and the Little Rockies (near Lodge Pole).
On this day, the hikers could barely see into Wyoming. Such a shame.
The group walked the spine of the ridge for two more miles before reaching a junction in the trail that would lead them down to the cave.
Then finally, they stood at the cave's mouth and felt the cool air permeating out of the opening in the rock face. A long tongue of snow stretched down into the darkness.
The group made their way in, skirting along the exposed dirt to either side of the ice and clinging to the walls for support. A tall pillar of ice stretched from floor to ceiling on the left side of the 100-foot wide cave. A pristine swath of white ice coated the entire cave floor.
The temperature inside the cave is about 40 degrees cooler than the air outside. That's part of what keeps the ice frozen all year long.
According to research conducted by Jim Foster and Rod Benson for Earth Science Picture of the Day, a nonprofit research corporation for cross-disciplinary study of science and technology, air density is the primary factor in maintaining ice in the cave.
Cold air is heavier than warm air, so when it flows into the cave it sinks to the bottom. Because the air must descend into the cave, it is too heavy to rise back out and instead keeps the area cool as water seeps through the porous limestone and freezes into ice.
While some explored the cave, others looked around for fossils along the trail. Rocks with embedded prints of different shells and barnacles were collected and showed off among the hikers.
The ice of the Ice Caves signify the true value of the mountains. The water that misses the caves but still purifyies itself in the Madison-Limestone eventually makes its way down and becomes the headwaters of Big Spring, Lewistown and the surrounding area's water source.
The spring pumps up to 64,000 gallons a minute or about 90 million gallons of water a day.
Though the Ice Caves seem like the pinnacle of the hike, they are only one of the highlights of the trail. From the junction where hikers can turn off to head down to the cave, there are still seven miles to go to complete the hike.
The trail takes hikers along the ridge spines to the breathtaking vista of West Peak before winding them down through the forest, making a quick stop at Grandview Point before returning to the trailhead at the top of Crystal Lake.
When the cars were finally in sight, the hikers raised their poles to the sky and yelled. At last, their long journey was over. They collapsed into campchairs in the parking lot, cracked beers and beverages and told war stories from their eight-hour trek.
Some opted to enjoy the cooling waters of Crystal Lake before its waters disappear into the limestone beneath the surface.
"Crystal Lake is kind of goofy," Wiseman said. "It doesn't matter whether it's snowy, wet, dry – like this year we had very little snow compared to last year – by about mid-August, the water goes from 100 percent to five percent."
To explore the Big Snowy Mountains and to venture to the Ice Caves, visit U.S. Forest Service website and download the Crystal Lake Area Trails map.
To complete the Ice Caves loop
Begin at the Ice Caves Trailhead on the south side of Crystal Lake. Follow trail 493 until it juctions with trail 490. Follow trail 490 (will be marked with stone cairns) across the ridge until the Ice Caves junction is reached. Detour one mile roundtrip to the Ice Caves before returning to the junction and following trail 490 to West Peak. From West Peak, take trail 403. You will encounter an optional (but recommended) detour to Grandview Point. Continue following trail 403 until it junctions with trail 495. This trail will lead to the trailhead but is slightly overgrown in some areas. Trees carved with lowercase "i" symbols indicate the correct path if you become unsure.
Follow Tribune Outdoors reporter Sarah Dettmer on Twitter @GFTrib_SDettmer