Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness: Clay Butte to Flat Rock Lake Loop
Hey Everyone,
It's that time of year, Labor Day Weekend, where we usually head into the mountains for a trip of epic proportions. Last year, we hiked out to Thorofare Ranger Station in Yellowstone. This year we planned to head back into the Absaorka-Beartooth Wilderness in Custer Gallatin National Forest although it would start and end from the Clay Butte Lookout Trailhead in Shoshone National Forest. We planned for five days of backpacking, two of which would mostly be off trail. On day two, two of our friends planned to take an alternative route in so they could hike with us on days 3-5.
The Wx window looked great and the fireweed was already starting to turn red. We stopped in Cooke City for some coffee before setting off from the trailhead around noon.
Day 1: Clay Butte Lookout to Granite Lake
The start of the trail was a lot of downhill to the south shore of Granite Lake. That was welcomed since our packs were especially heavy with five days worth of food. There was a slight tinge of haze in the sky, but Pilot and Index peaks were out in their full glory.
When we made it to the south shore of Granite Lake, we had a small water crossing that was about knee deep. Toklat, who isn't a huge fan of water at times, dove right in after me and crossed with no issue. Near our crossing was a giant group site with a bear box. If it wasn't so close to the road it would probably be a fun place to hang out for the weekend with little effort to get in there.
After the crossing we hiked along the west shore of the lake through some meadows that looked like they would be extremely buggy in the spring and summer. By this time they were mostly dry and easy to cross. Eventually the trail moved away from the lake and up some steep granite terrain.
At the top of the climb we were greeted with another great view of Granite Lake just as the light was starting to get nice. We stopped for snacks before the final push to our first camp spot of the trip.
Since we've never been in this area before, we didn't know exactly where we could camp, but we had good ideas based on studying satellite imagery. So when we walked into Granite Lake we were pumped to find a primo campsite with a hang pole right near a rocky beach.
Day 2: Granite Lake to Jorden Lake
We woke up early to make coffee and breakfast along the lake and enjoy the sunrise. It was a bit chilly, but we didn't get any frost over night.
After breakfast we hiked north along the inlet and up the drainage to Lake Elaine. It was extremely slow going, since the "trail" was steep and overgrown with lots of downed trees.
As we gained the pass, we could look back and see Granite Lake in the distance.
At Lake Elaine we took the time to grab a snack and enjoy the views.
From the foot of the lake, the trail followed the west shore of Lake Elaine until it climbed another pass towards Farley Lake.
It was lunch time when we arrive to Farley Lake. We filtered water and relaxed for a long break. It's a good thing we decided to stop, because we took a wrong turn at the junction. I realized it when we were eating, so we only added like 15-20 minutes to the day.
From Farley Lake there was a final high pass until we arrived at our destination of Jorden Lake.
As we approached Jorden Lake, we dropped down to the outlet and crossed one final hill before we arrive at our campsite.
Again, we didn't really know where we would camp, but we found another spectacular camp spot. This time we had our own private cascade behind our lakefront site.
Our friends were supposed to arrive around 6pm, but by the time we crawled into the tent around 8:30 they still hadn't arrived.
Before we went to bed that night, we discovered a hole in our sleeping pad. We were able to patch it with some duct tape, but it would prove to be an issue for the remainder of the trip. The benefit? Waking up in the middle of the night because you're cold only to realize that the Milky Way is out in its full glory.
Day 3: Jorden Lake to Flat Rock Lake, off-trail
When I woke up the following morning I noticed that we had a new tent next to ours. Turns out that our fiends showed up only a few minutes after we crawled into the tent.
After a nice breakfast along the lake, we poured over our maps one last time before we started our off-trail climb.
When we arrived at the first of many lakes of the day, I couldn't help but just saying "wow!" over and over again. The morning was still cool and the wind had yet to pick up, so the reflections in the water were beautiful.
Our first "reroute" on the day came at Anchor Lake. When you look at a map, sometimes it looks like the route "goes" when it doesn't. All it takes is an 8ft ledge or fallen tree to prevent you from going a certain way. That kind of stuff doesn't show up on a map. But that's the fun of a route versus a trail. On the flip side, route finding can be mentally taxing. Always having to pay attention to each step instead of being able to engage "autopilot" on a trail.
At Big Butte Lake, we stopped for a snack and to scout another reroute. The weather was perfect without a cloud in the sky.
We arrived at our first pass on the day. At the junction we had the option to continue north or east. We wanted to get all of the elevation out of the way first, so we continued north along a series of unnamed paternoster lakes.
As we wrapped around the lake we could look down the east drainage to Gravel and Till lakes.
It was extremely slow going, due to both the terrain and the views. But we took our time and plugged along.
After lunch, we reached the final pass on the day around 3pm. From here we would start our descent towards Flat Rock Lake.
Lots of steep downhill through unstable boulderfields.
After eight or so hours from when we started, we arrived at our final descent to Flat Rock Lake.
Our plan was to camp on the east side of the lake, but since we arrived so late all the flat spots around the lake were already taken. So when we walked past a couple flat spots near the west inlet creek, we made a team decision to set up camp. This was the best decision of the trip. Not only was our view from camp next to another cascade, but our view of the lake from a nearby rock outcrop was spectacular.
Day 4: Flat Rock Lake to Thiel Lake, partially off trail
The following morning we woke up to some slight haze in the air, but it was still gorgeous. We ate breakfast, packed up and headed towards Martin Lake for the night.
The route today looked to be mostly downhill, until we would meet up with the trail near Green Lake. From there we would gain a couple hills before we reached our destination.
The valley just below Flat Rock Lake is spectacular. There's a giant river bar surrounded by tundra at like 9,000' elevation. The water levels were very manageable this time of year, and I'm sure that the water in the spring makes this route much more difficult.
There were a few of those hidden cliffs I mentioned earlier, so the route wasn't super apparent at first. But after a few backtracks we eventually down climbed a steep hill and made our way to Alp Lake.
From here, we planned to meet up a with a social trail that we found on satellite imagery. Here, just like many of the lakes with boulderfields, we had to keep from stepping on all the pika scurrying around.
At the outlet of Alp Lake we found the social trail. It wasn't always super apparent, but it was a little refreshing mentally to know that we wouldn't wander up to a cliff and have to reroute. Once we made it to Castle Lake, we stopped for lunch and our buddy pulled out his rod and reel to see if he could catch some trout.
After a nice break we were back at it. More slow going, but we were following a route at least.
Eventually, we made it back to the trail, where we dropped down into Green Lake. From here we climbed back up a short but steep ridge to Trail and Kidney Lakes. After the climb, we stopped at Trail Lake to filter some water and do some more fishing.
From Trail Lake it was only a short distance to our destination. Since we arrived fairly early in the day, we decided to push onto the next lake which would add another 2-3 miles on the day. But it would also ensure that we would be closer to the car for the following day on the hike out.
As we hiked past Kidney Lake, I kept turning around to check out the views behind us. When we got to the pass I stopped for pictures. When I turned around, BAM! Spectacular mountain views of where we had been hiking the past few days in the distance.
This was our final pass on the day and would be hiking past a few unnamed lakes on the way to Thiel. But before we would arrive, we had hike down one final "hill," as it was described by one of the few hikers we passed on the trip. It turns out it was steep, like the trail down to Brink of the Lower Falls in Yellowstone, but without pavement and with giant rocks.
As we arrived at Thiel, the obvious spots along the lake were already taken. We kept along the trail until we noticed a small social trail into the trees on the south side of the lake. As we followed it into the trees, we were greeted to another camp spot with great views. Of all the lakes, this was the least "user friendly" since there wasn't a rocky beach, but we were able to get water without getting stuck in the mud. We had the best sunset of the trip here to boot, although a bit hazy.
Day 5: Thiel Lake to Clay Butte TH
The final day we woke up and hit the trail early. Before we hiked in on Day 1, we read about the possibility of weather on the afternoon of Monday (today). So after a quick breakfast, we were hiking back to the car. This point of the trip with much lighter packs.
We had a small river crossing and a couple new sections of trail, but eventually we were back on the same route that we hiked in to Granite Lake.
We were cooking at this point, taking full advantage of the flat trail and the fact that we didn't have to stare at our feet.
The last challenge was the short-n-sweet hill that we had to climb back to the car.
Trip details: 5 days, 4 nights. 30 miles, ~5,700' elevation. ~10 miles off-trail
We've done a handful of trips in the Beartooths, and they were all awesome. This trip was the best that we've done so far. Successfully hiking off trail for this trip will open up a bunch of new opportunities for us as we plan for more trips in the future.
