Day 38: Lost Trail Powder Mountain to West Glacier, MT

Today was a sleep in day, so we didn’t get going until 9am. Our first stop was a somber one, the site of the Battle of Big Hole (1877). It was a massacre of Indigenous People, mostly women and children, during the war between the Nez Perce tribe and the United States Army. The site is a cemetery of sorts since the Nez Perce tribe survivors were forced to leave their dead at the camping site as they fled for their lives. As we walked around the teepee structures that had been erected a few decades ago by Nez Perce community members in honour of their ancestors, two geese few overhead calling out to us. It felt like they were sharing their story of the event passed down by their ancestors as well. It was a sad though beautiful place, where awful things have happened. Even more sadly, the fate of the Nez Perce survivors didn’t improve much following this battle. They continued to be pursued and few members of this tribe ultimately survived after much hardship.

The weather declined steadily after this as we drove up into the clouds and then onwards into the rain. Our route took us through Missoula, which is under a flood warning. We passed a few places where the TV show Yellowstone was filmed, specifically the “train station” where they secretly dumped dead bodies in the show and even more interesting, the actual ranch that is the Dutton’s home. You are only allowed to see it from the main highway, so we snapped a quick photo and were on our way.

The “train station” in Yellowstone.

The Dutton Ranch.

It is raining hard!

We continued to drive and by the time we saw a sign for a cheese factory, we were ready to stretch our legs. We stopped in to visit Flathead Lake Cheese, a small mom and pop cheesemaking operation. We had a bit of trouble turning the trailer around the dead end street but the private cheese sampling and personalized tour was worth the hassle. We got to try all their cheeses, see their equipment and operation, and visit their cheese aging room. We stocked up on apple smoked Gouda and jalapeno and garlic cheese curds.

Finally, after passing loads of cherry orchards lining the lakeside, we arrived at the Glacier campground in West Glacier and pulled into site A10. The rain held off long enough for us to grill up some chicken for supper, take showers and get ready for bed. The rain is supposed to pick up tonight and continue into tomorrow, so that should offer a whole different kind of adventure as we attempt to visit Glacier National Park.

Day 37: Sawtooth Mountains, ID to Idaho-Montana State Line near Chief Joseph Pass

Today might have been the best day of the trip so far, though Ian questions this as there was no fishing involved in today’s adventures.

We were the first people to arrive at Boat Box Hot Springs, about 20 minutes from our campsite. This was lucky as there was only one pull out parking spot and only room for five butts in the soaking tubs. It was an incredible experience. The steaming hot water poured out from hot springs in the riverside and was funnelled via white plastic pipes into two soaking tubs located on the river’s edge. This hot water was mixed with the icy cold river water to make tubs of warm water, perfect for a morning soak. What an insanely cool experience. We soaked for almost an hour, until we were prunes.

After picking up our trailer from the campground (we decided to move on early since we were surrounded by campers running super noisy generators and it was 1 degree C so too cold for paddle boarding), we picked up coffee at the Sawtooth Coffee Company and continued on our hot springs adventure.

Cove Creek Hot Springs was a bust because the river was so high that the pools created by rock walls at the river’s edge (meant to keep the hot water in) were actually completely underwater. 

We had more success with Sunbeam Hot Springs. This one was a steaming cliffside reminiscent of Yellowstone. The natural pools were likewise submerged in the river here but the boys loved the square pool where hot and river water could be mixed.

The brunch spot we found today at Upper O’Brien Campground was much quieter than our campground with only the rushing river as a soundtrack. After eating, we drove through gorgeous landscapes - perhaps the nicest of the trip so far. Driving beside the creek and weaving through the mountains was amazing. 

Our drive culminated at the Goldbug Hot Springs trailhead near Salmon, ID. This was a 6km return hike to hot springs pools located on a mountain side. In terms of a payoff for a challenging hike, this one takes the cake. It was next level. We all gave it 10/10. We tried many of the different pools; they were hotter towards the top and got cooler as we went down the mountain. Liam eventually found us the perfect temperature pool - a mixture of cold waterfall water and piping hot spring water - that fit the whole family. We soaked and relaxed and emerged rejuvenated for the hike back down the mountain side.

Cold waterfall on the left, hot springs on the right.

We can see our trailer! Finally - home sweet home.

Following the hike, we passed the 45th parallel and continued on towards Montana. The landscape abruptly changed from sand and sage brush covered hills (did you know sage bushes are actually really tall? They look so small from the car.) to dense, verdant forests of absolutely enormous conifers.

Sage brush as tall as Seamus.

We pulled over exactly on the Idaho-Montana border (complete fluke) for a quiet night spent at the forest’s edge.

We’re the blue dot!