13 August 2025
I have had a couple weeks off of work. Taken care of some house tasks and chores. I had not really been on the radio much and was starting to get the itch for a little hike. Time to find a SOTA summit to hike.
I had been wanting to explore the Big Belt Mountains more. They have been my continual go-to playground for fun in the mountains given their close proximity to my home in Helena and many access points to explore them with decent interconnecting forest roads. After scouting the maps for a considerable time I settled on a “Bald” theme. I settled on Mount Baldy and Boulder Baldy. Both on the sound end of the Big Belts, north of US Highway 12, east of Townsend, MT. I had activated Mount Baldy’s neighbor, Mount Edith a few years ago in July and was nearly blown off the mountain with high winds and low temperatures. Good weather is not something you can count on at elevation so I planned accordingly.
This was going to be a back-to-back SOTA activity. Mount Baldy on Monday, followed by Boulder Baldy on Tuesday.
Mount Baldy (W7M/HB-027) – via Duck Creek Road.
Trail maps gave me a false hope that I would be able to drive up further than I could. When I reached Duck Creek Pass there is a four-wheel road that leads south from the trail head up along the ridge. While I did have my Jeep, and it could probably do it, I was by myself and not prepared for that kind of adventure. The first stretch was the most gnarly with larger loose rocks and jagged bedrock. I’m glad I chose to hike that instead of drive it.
This was going to be a roller coaster of a hike. Up and over two-and-a-half lesser summits on my way to reach Mount Baldy. Like usual, I underestimated the time it would take me to reach the summit. I had set an alert for 10:30 am. About an hour from the summit I knew there was no way I was going to make that. Luckily I was able to update my Alert with the limited cell service I had on the mountain.
On those lesser summits I did my best to circumnavigate them, traveling around the west sides of the mountains. There was large sections of boulder fields. I have a love-hate relationship with boulder fields. Part of me likes the hopscotch part of swiftly finding the best routes across them while also keeping my balance. The other part of me trusts no boulder, but some I trust less than others. Taking a fall there would be… detrimental.
The next false summit I mistook as the real deal. Once on top I was like, “Man. Mount Edith is much closer than I remembered.” Nope, I was looking at Mount Baldy. I put my pack back on and made the few hundred feet descent and ascent to Baldy. Frustrated by the near goof up and tired from the hike I found a nice spot to operate from. A low level of clouds had developed over the mountains. They didn’t look too menacing but they were blocking out the sun’s warmth. Add in a little wind and it was rather cool. Tucked in behind a stubby lodgepole tree I broke out my down jacket to stay warm.
First in the log was my friend, Bill – N7MSI, who responded almost immediately when I put out a call on 2m. I found a few more people on 2m who weren’t busy working on this Monday morning. Band conditions on HF weren’t spectacular but I did work a few Summit-to-Summits, and an always enjoyable DX contact with Christian – F4WBN, in France.
Boulder Baldy (W7M/HB-036) – via Duck Creek Road.
Back up and at it again on Tuesday (12 Aug) it felt a little like Groundhog’s Day making the same drive up Duck Creek Road. I was a little earlier driving up this morning and the sun peeking over the mountains occasionally made it impossible to see in sections, making the drive a little slower up the hill.
The access for the hike turns off the main road about a 1/2 mile before Duck Creek Pass. This last section of the drive had an impressively narrow section of road with an unrecoverable dropoff. No time for sightseeing while driving for sure. I was the only one at the trailhead and no clear sign of where the trail actually started. I looked up across a large open field and could see a distant trail marker so I set across the field with tall grasses and wildflowers.
When I reached the sign it still was not clear to me where the trail was. My phone app indicated it continued mostly straight uphill so up I went. That led me to an old Jeep trail that looked like it had not been used in twenty years. Lots of deadfall trees complicated the ascent up the ridge. Finally topping out the crest I came across the actual trail that had traversed up some other way, a mystery to me at the time.
Monday’s SOTA activation of Mount Baldy was some remote hiking. Today was even more so. I am used to hiking by myself, but this was a little more out there than I was used to. That just helped me stay focused to watch my steps and be aware of my surroundings. The trail showed signs of recent horse traffic so I knew I might see other people out there. Many people take this route to reach Boulder Lake for its great fishing.
This route was going to be about 4.75 miles to the summit. The trail is a nice ridgeline path for the most part, weaving through mostly burn scar areas but also some nice, dense and shaded forest areas. The route is also kind of a C-shaped that made Boulder Baldy seem to stay distant for much longer than I had hoped.
Once I began dropping into the Middle Fork Big Camas Creek drainage I was very pleasantly surprised how well the forest was recovering from a fire. The ground was covered in plants in a sea of green and fireweed purple. I was also very surprised to hear water. Along the hillside, those young plants were acting as a sponge in the recovering soil. I passed over headwater brooks on several brand new, and being built, foot bridges. The sight and sound of water was encouraging to me to keep going. I was about four miles in at this point and the temperature was creeping up.
Moving up and out of the drainage I began to encounter more deadfall as trail maintenance of this area had not made it this far. Shortly after the split from the Boulder Lake trail to continue up to Boulder Baldy I was faced with the depressing sight of a trail that led into a complete mess of deadfalled trees covering the hillside. I contemplated turning back for a solid minute.
The possibility of injuring yourself hiking up, over, around, under this sort of mess increases significantly. Onward I went, looking for the paths for least resistance. It wasn’t the worst patch of deadfall I’ve ever encountered but it ranked up there. Slowly I made my way through it all and as the deadfall subsided I came through a brief section of still living trees and found cairns that pointed up and above the treeline. Boulder Baldy was mostly bald. Near the actual summit was a lone lodgepole pine that beckoned me to sit in its shade and provide a wind block.
It felt great to get my pack off my back and chow down on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I had packed myself for lunch. This day’s ham activity was less prolific but still a quality time was had calling CQ. The highlight was a DX contact with Declan – EI6FR, in Ireland. As the QSOs dwindled, the horseflies increased, signaling it was time to scoot.
The hike back was long and warm. About two miles from finishing I took a break on the edge of a pasture under some shade. With a hundred-mile view I contemplated a nap. After about fifteen minutes I thought I heard animal footsteps. Yep, I sure did. Not knowing the nature of that nature I sat up from my siesta and was made quite awake. Then out of the woods appeared a man on a horse leading a mule train of supplies for the bridge work further up the trail. We had a brief hello and he kept on trucking. Two other people were following him on horses and a mule each, loaded with supplies. Then much further behind was a team of workers from the Montana Conservation Corps. I appreciate those who maintain these trails that we all enjoy. That is some real honest work.
Have you explored the Big Belts? Drop your trail tips or QSO stories in the comments—let’s swap notes!
Until next time, 72/73 ~ Allen KH7AL
