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Description
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View from
11,000 feet
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View of Mount Cowen in the Absoraka Mountains
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Boulder River Valley
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The Boulder River and Absoraka-Beartooth Mountains can be seen as a
backdrop to the recent Robert Redford movie "A River Runs Through
It" starring Brad Pitt. This attests to the beauty of this vast
range. The
Absaroka-Beartooth Mountain range is located 15 miles south of Big
Timber up the Boulder River Valley past McLeod. Bordering
Yellowstone National Park to the south, the Absaroka-Beartooths cover
920,310 acres and is Montanas second largest roadless
non-wilderness. This region is the highest contiguous land
mass above 10,000 feet in the United States and contains 69 of the top
100 peaks in Montana. 29 peaks in the rise above 12,000 feet
with Granite Peak being the highest point in all of Montana at 12,799
feet. These mountains serve as a pristine, undisturbed watershed for
the Boulder River which flows into the Yellowstone river at Big
Timber. In the valleys and canyons below the 9,000 foot tree
line, Lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir,
whitebark pine, and douglas fir are the main conifers found in the
Absoraka-Beartooths. Wildflowers also abound in the valley
meadows throughout the summer and into the fall.
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peaks, the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains offer panoramic views
of alpine lakes, cirques, moraines, tundra plateaus,
and coniferous forests and alpine medows
set in deep glaciated mountain canyons.
1,000 deep blue alpine lakes, three-hundred-foot
waterfalls plunging to snowbound cirque lakes, countless
cascades, and remnant glaciers on high north slopes treat hikers,
hunters, skiiers, and campers to the beauty of this vast
wilderness.
The Beartooths are made up of a Precambrian base that, at 4 billion years,
is among the oldest known rock on Earth. The
Absarokas, composed of stratified volcanic and
softer sedimentary rock of a much younger age, has eroded some of the peaks into gentler, more
rounded mountains. Mt. Cowan is the
highest peak in the Absarokas at 11,206 feet as compared to
the 12,799 Granite Peak in the Beartooths.
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View from atop Beartooth Pass
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of its unique characteristics of the Beartooths,
386 plant species have been discovered - the richest flora of any mountain range in North
America. Dwarf wild flowers, lichens, and shrubs
have adapted to the high mountain climate over millions of
years to thrive in pockets of micro-climates. The vegetation
is low to the ground takes advantage of pockets of warmth and
moisture in the rocks. The Absarokas
also have unique and rare plant species including bear grass, ferns, and the state's only
population of high-bush cranberry. Buttercups, Shooting Stars and
other wildflowers follow the retreating snowbanks each spring,
so as you climb up into the altitude, you are bound to see
wildflowers between the months of June and August.
This country is extremely fragile -
especially the higher altitudes where growth is slower. Care
must be taken to not leave any impact on the land.
Pollution from human waste is a threat as is a
"human browse line" created by hikers and campers
looking for firewood that took a hundred years to grow in the
6 to 12 week growing season. To
safeguard water quality and wilderness values, camping is
banned within 200 feet of lakes and streams and party size
is limited to no more than fifteen people..
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The Boulder River is the dividing line
between the Absaroka Range on the west and the Beartooth
Mountains. These two mountain ranges, although adjacent to
each other, are distinctly different ecosystems with different
geology, topography, plant species. This makes the Boulder
Valley a beautiful ecosystem edge adding intrigue and diversity to the
area.
Once a plains
grazer, grizzly bears holds the Absaroka-Beartooths as one of its last strongholds
in Montana and gives the area a feeling of true
wildness. Here bears can live relatively undisturbed by human contact.
Besides
grizzly bear, moose, bighorn sheep, elk, deer, golden eagles, falcons,
mountain goats, and hawks call this area home as well as many other
animals.
Popular activities
that residents and visitors enjoy include hiking, backpacking, mountaineering,
horseback riding, cross-country skiing, and fishing.
History
of the Absoraka-Beartooth Mountains
During the 1870's explorers
called the range "Yellowstone Range" or "Upper
Yellowstone Mountains" In 1885, USGS geologist Arnold Hague
placed the name Absaroka Range on his new maps. In the Hidatsa
language, "Absaroka" was the name that Crows used to refer
to themselves. It has been interpreted to mean "children of
the large beaked bird," "forked-tail bird," "bird
people," or "sparrowhawk people."
The Crow inhabited
much of south-central Montana prior to the white man's entrance into
the area. The Beartooths were named
after a jagged mountain peak in the range which looks like a
bear's tooth.
In 1932 this area was set
aside to protect its natural state, seeing the fragile nature of the
high alpine ecosystem. Montanas U.S. Senator Lee Metcalf (D-Montana)
introduced a bill to make the Absaroka-Beartooth a National Wilderness
Area and in 1975 President Jimmy Carter signed the legislation.
Access
to the Absoraka-Beartooth Mountains
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Absoraka-Beartooth Wilderness area has a system of 850 miles
of Forest Service Trails for
recreational enthusiasts to access this area by foot, horse,
or ski. A good gravel road up the Boulder River with
many campsites along the way offer hikers, hunters, fishermen,
photographers, and outdoor enthusiasts a chance to enjoy the
beauty of this area. Take the Boulder River Road south from
Big Timber where you will pass by McLeod and its famous
"Road Kill Cafe". About 20 miles up the
pavement ends and a well maintained gravel road will take you
up through the valley and to several trailheads and
campgrounds. |
View of the Boulder Valley .
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Description
