I was incredibly excited to hit the trail this weekend and kick-off my backpacking season. The weather this week was wet and cold to say the least and provided for some less-than comfortable working conditions in the mountains. So I intensely watched the forecast for the weekend and was pleased to see warm temperatures and sunshine. Friday morning, I packed my gear and by early afternoon I was off towards Burton Peak in the Selkirk mountains.
Burton Peak
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Burton Peak from
the Ranger Station |
Burton Peak sits on the eastern edge of the Selkirk mountains, directly west of the Bonners Ferry Ranger Station. Although snow packs are still high in the deeper reaches of the Selkirks, I could see that only a small patch of it still clung to the rocky peak.
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| Tall stand |
The 2.6 mile hike to the summit begins in a large parking turnout at the end of a long, rough forest service road. As I threw on my pack and left my car, it was warm and the sun was making extended appearances between intermittent cloud cover. The trail gains about 1700 feet as it follows the ridgeline through heavily forested areas of western hemlock,western red cedar, and grand fir which is occasionally interrupted by open stands of huckleberry bushes towered over by lodgepole pine and western larch. Every now and then, a rocky yet heavily wild-flowered meadow sneaks itself into a clearing along the trail and provides a welcome burst of sunlight with treeless views of the Selkirks to the west and the Kootenai Valley, Cabinet mountains, and Purcell mountains to the east. The Forest Service still haven't done much work in the Selkirks due to the snow and because of this the hike was slow due to the 25+ fallen trees across the exposed ridge.
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| Open stand |
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| Ridgetop meadow |
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| Forested meadow |
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| West towards the Selkirks |
As I got closer to the top of the peak, the views to the west in the Selkirks really opened up and although the exaggerated granite peaks looked beautiful with their patches of melting snow, the sky above contained trouble. Dark clouds began to swallow the tallest peaks and brought with them what appeared to be a solid wall of rain that was slowly whitening-out layer after layer of mountain as it crawled east directly towards me. As I looked ahead, I could see the summit of Burton only 0.7 miles further. There were flashes followed by booming-thunder in the clouds directly over myself and the peak.Unfortunately, I could also now see that the small cabin which once served as a lookout sits on top of a very exposed granite knob. Since I was still close to Bonners Ferry, I was able to get a wireless signal and decided to check the current forecast. Sure enough, the ever-changing mountain weather called for thunderstorms from the west until midnight. So I decided to turn back, a decision I hated to make but I know my limits. There would be no camping on Burton Peak that night.
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| The cabin on Burton Peak |
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| Burton Ridge |
Within 5 minutes of turning back, the winds were absolutely howling and soon they brought heavy rain to the ridge. I began to really hustle (run) downhill while being pelted with high-velocity sideways-rain. There was a 10 minute period of mostly cloudy sky, followed by another wave of rain much like the first, that lasted until I reached my car. After 15 minutes of sitting in my car and warming up, the skies cleared once again, however ominous clouds still continued to linger in the west. There was a small fire ring and space for a tent near the parking turnout and although I really wanted to camp out, I was deterred by the strong winds and possibility of more storms on the high-elevation saddle. So I decided to drive down and find somewhere to camp in the valley.
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| East towards Bonners Ferry |
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| West towards the Selkirks |
Meadow Creek at the Moyie River
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| My campsite |
It was 7:00 pm by the time I got back into the valley and had to decide where to next. Knowing that the Forest Service operates a handful of campgrounds within our district and I was running out of daylight, I did some quick research online and determined that the Meadow Creek Campground on the Moyie River would be best. Located in the Purcell Mountains, reviews claim it offered somewhat more secluded sites than other campgrounds. When I arrived about 7:30 pm, I was quickly greeted by the friendly host and given tips on the best available site. Taking her advice, I found a nice tent pad tucked back into the trees, away from the RV's.
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| Moyie River |
It was a little cold that night and rained briefly however I managed to stay dry and mostly-warm. A short trail leads along the Moyie River on the edge of the campground and provided great viewpoints. By late-morning I was packed up and heading back to the Ranger Station.
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| Moyie River |
It is somewhat discouraging to not have completed the hike I had set out to do. I was excited to stay up there for a night or two, exploring the ridge and enjoying the scenery, but the Selkirks receive more precipitation than anywhere else in Idaho and the turbulent spring really hangs on up there. The Forest Service will get to the Burton Ridge trail in the next week or two and hopefully I will be the one to saw it out and finish the hike. I know however that there will be many more opportunities as summer hits these mountains and I look forward to them.
