Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-09-24
Wilderness Troll FollOwed
On Foot By Billings Men

From EaaE Raaebud lake I'D the East
Rosebad cauuun. across the divide and
down the otlAek asde Go the Red Lodge
Cooke City highway 70 point about
I four niles east II Cooke City Ia only
about = naAles-buf SIS a mighty long
/ 70 niles.
If you aonz heaaeve L. ask Lewis
Schroeder ax John Butler, couple Of
Billings young men who hiked that
route recently
And II Won san donx. believe it after
listenixa@ 60 them, then try II yourself
But before you do, be sszre you know
where you are going and just how you
are going 70 get there. Because IL you
don't, you IaEHay viii discover maddemzy
that you are lost in one Of the widest
and most rugged areas In the Bear
tooth region Of southcentral Montana.
Also. before starting such trip
you'd better take the advice Of Butler
and see TO IL that you have the proper
footwear and food for at least five
days"
Because the miles In that region
have tendency TO be longer than they
are on level ground, or IN the city.
Twenty-Five miles doesn't sound like
such q great distance, but when one
fallen trees, skirt lakes and climb over
nearly impossible mountainsides- all
without benefit Of a trail-the distance
stretches alarmingly.
Made Good Time
Butler and Schroeder took three and
one-haf days to make the trip. That's
making fairly good time, especially for
two men who are travelling through q
country they never had seen before
and who, so far as they knew, might
be heading off IN the wrong direction
at any minute
AS a matter of fact. the two did
get off the route they had intended
following when they neared the divide,
but they were fortunate enough to hit /
another creek and follow it to the /
exact spot they had intended coming
out on the Red Lodge-Cooke City
highway.
Thursday morning, Sept. !, leaving
the first few miles they had good
trail to follow TO Elk lake. From there
to Rimrock lake and on to Rainbow
there is supposed to be a trail, but
they found 1t to be poorly defined and
not much easier travelling than 1t was
later where there wasn't trail.
Follow Planned Route
Before attempting the trip, the two
consulted with George q. Osten, yell
lowstone county clerk and recorder,
who has hiked over q considerable
portion of the Beartooths and who has
made this particular trip twice, the
last time being in 1885. Osten charted
a course for them to follow, and noted
landmarks by which they could place
themselves after penetrating deep into
the isolated region.
So with this knowledge, and with
the aid of a compass and map, they
rkrsa4 .r4 - A~-4aa L..
clothes and high top hiking boots
and each carried a heavy pack. The
total weight of their equipment was
about IS pounds. This included a bed
roll, a change of clothes for each, and !
sufficient food for four days.
That first day was not an ideal one
for hiking. Tt rained, Just hard enough
TO make the going rather uncomfort-
able. But they continued on and by
nightfall had reached Rainbow lake,
where they camped for the night.
Just before reaching their camping
spot, they saw what probably was the
most interesting sight of the whole
trip. landslide.
2O-Minute Landslide
1--WE saw this slide start as we were
going from Rtmrock lake to Rainbow
lake." Butler said. THE rocks started
roaring down the side of a steep noun
tainside into East Rosebud creek. 1t
lasted for nearly 20 minutes and eff
rectively damned the creek to form
D fairly good sized reservoir
The second day was misty so they
could not see great deal, but they
continued on up the East Rosebud,
passing Big Park lake, Lake at Falls,
lake which does not have name al
though 1t Is shown on the maps, to |
Medicine lake and Fossil lake. The
second day they camped at the foot Of
he divide.
The third day took them across the
itv1de and down to a small lake on
Sky Top creek on the Cooke City side
Il the range. They were above timber
Inc all that day. /
1t was on this third day that they i
missed the route they had planned to |
ollow. On the east sof East Rosebud |
'reek, near the divide, are three noun
ain peaks, Mount Dewey, Mount Rose
,ud and Bald Knob.
Turn Wrong Way
According to plans, and the route
which Osten had advised them to fol-
oW, they would have turned east and
'one between Mount Rosebud and Bald
Knob and then have followed a water
curse to the Clark Fork at the high
Vay.
Instead, Butler and Schroeder turned
rest from Fossil lake, crossed rocky g
ivtde and descended to a branch of !