MT to IA / Clark Reservoir & Pilot Butte
Canadian Rockies Road Trip, Days 23-27 | Driving from Montana to Iowa | Clark Reservoir, MT | Pilot Butte, WY | Laramie National Forest, WY | June 2023
We started off our morning by driving up a nearby mountain, heading towards Lost Horse Observation Point. The road was a little rough, but we managed to make it to the lookout, and thankfully there was enough cell reception so I could call in to my meeting. The pull out had great mountain views to the South and East and Jess hung out with Charlotte outside until I was finished. This whole situation is exactly what a remote worker’s dreams are made of.
After the meeting, we drove back down the mountain and returned to US-93 heading further South. We took this to the Continental Divide, briefly crossed into Idaho (getting a new county), then back into Montana (getting another new county). We stopped at a x-country ski trailhead to walk a bit of the Continental Divide Trail, find some letterboxes, and have our afternoon snacks.
We then continued further East into Montana along MT-43 entering into the “Big Hole” which immediately prompted several questions on topographic naming conventions. Specifically, the differences between Holes and Parks to describe large flat meadowed areas in the high Rockies (think Estes Park and Jackson Hole as two examples). The best answer we could come up with is that it comes to a difference between Colorado (where Park is more prevalent) and the Northern Rockies (where Hole is more prevalent), but we can’t find anything definitive yet.
But debating the finer points of topographic naming conventions was not the reason we took this road. Rather it was to visit the somber site of Big Hole National Battlefield, a site part of the larger Nez Perce National Historic Park. The larger park commemorates many of the key sites and the route that Chief Joseph and several bands of the Nez Perce took as they fled the US Army from Oregon to Northern Montana across some of the most rugged terrain in America. In 2021, we listened to an Audio book, “Thunder in the Mountains” by Daniel Sharfstein, which gives a fair account and representation of the whole ordeal.
But here at Big Hole, the Nez Perce, believing that their recent victory in Idaho had left the US Cavalry far behind, were ambushed by a second wing of the US Army in a dawn attack. The Nez Perce were able to rally and counter-attack giving the greater part of the camp chance to escape, but both sides suffered greatly. The Nez Perce would flee to Yellowstone, still pursued by the Army.
We stopped at the visitor center to find it closed, but we were able to walk around to read the history placards and see the battlefield in the distance. Unfortunately, dogs aren’t allowed on the battlefield trail and it was especially buggy when we visited, so we were satisfied with viewing from a distance.
From Big Hole, we continued further East and South across some very scenic, if remote, meadows, valleys, and mountains ultimately linking up with I-15 near Dillon, MT. We took the interstate South only a few miles to Clark Reservoir, a Bureau of Reclamation site with a ton of established campgrounds.
It’s worth noting how much of today’s route followed the Lewis and Clark Expeditions. They crossed between MT and ID at the same location we did and on their return trip, Clark followed a path along the Big Hole River, very similar to ours, even camping along the Beaverhead River where the reservoir now stands and where we camped tonight!
After we set up the van, it was still early afternoon and I felt like wandering across the plains. I picked a nearby peak, told Jess which one I was going to, then set off. The land was mostly BLM, but with some open cattle grazing interspersed, so I stayed on dirt roads as long as I could, scoping out the peak, before heading up. The ascent up was steep, but the lack of thick vegetation made it tolerably easy. At the top was a tall rock cairn and views out across the reservoir and up the valley to nearby Lemhi Pass as well as the much taller peaks than the one I had picked. Satisfied, I descended a different way than I had come up and cut cross country back to the camp, barely missing some storm clouds.
The next day we started out in rain and headed South on the interstate, crossing the Continental Divide back into Idaho and ultimately to Idaho Falls. We then followed the Snake River towards its headwaters, crossing into Wyoming near Alpine. There’s definitely a lot of things we could have done around this area, but we simply didn’t have the time. We did make one stop along the Snake River at a white water rafting site called “The Lunch Counter”. For us it was more of a spectacle spot than anything, watching the guided raft tours cruise the rapids and the local surfers try to surf the standing waves. Who knew you could surf in the middle of the continent.
We continued driving East and South, eventually connecting with US-191 – one of our favorite roads – and today did not disappoint. We followed US-191 South along the Wind River Range which looked spooky and epic with dark storm clouds and snow capped peaks high above. Again, a place we could easily spend weeks in, just not this trip.
As we approached I-80, we started connecting with our trip last Spring and decided to boondock on the BLM Land part of the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Drive.
Truthfully, we could have probably camped within the first mile of the scenic drive, but I had selfish motives and wanted to camp nearer to Pilot Butte itself. So Jess and Charlotte graciously endured the washboard roads and we eventually found a short pull off along the road to the Butte itself.
After dinner, Jess again let me wander off on my own to hike to the top of Pilot Butte. There’s just something about walking through open country that I really honestly enjoy. Maybe it’s being able to see where you started and where you’re going and everything in between. The hike was very easy, starting with about two miles of dirt road up to the base of the Butte, then a short ramp up to a Freemason’s Placard and the only technical part of the hike, a 5 foot shimmy onto the top of the butte, then more flat walking.
It may not seem very tall, but Pilot Butte is actually a butte on top of a mesa and has over 300 meters of prominence (my 66th) and unending views. From the top I could easily see Kings Peak in Utah and the faraway Wind River Range.
The next day we followed I-80 back East. We were trying to maintain our 3-6 hour maximum driving days, so we didn’t even make it across the state. Instead, after stopping for lunch and a work call in Laramie, we stopped for the night in the Pine Knoll area of the Medicine Bow National Forest, very near Vedauwoo. It’s been fun building a set of places we can routinely stay at on these longer drives.
Right pic: We bought Charlotte a ramp to go in and out of the van on her own. Sometimes we don’t get it set up fast enough, and she lets us know by standing on it
It rained on and off through the night, and the next day we stayed true to our word and only drove 5-6 hrs to a free county recreation area just off I-80 west of Lincoln, Nebraska. And the rest of the drive we know very well as we were on “home turf”. Driving across Nebraska and Iowa isn’t so bad when we’ve literally made memories in every county of these states. We finally returned to Jess’ parent’s house after 28 days on the road, ready to relax over the long 4th of July weekend before continuing our cross country drive.
Vacation Recap:
- 28 Days Long
- 10 US States
- 4 Canadian Provinces
- 4 National Parks
- Over 5500 Miles Driven
- Camping breakdown: 20 nights in free sites, 8 pay sites in national parks, one national forest, and one private campground
- Reached our furthest point North together
