My wife and I just got back from a four day trip in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness. It's a large area that encompasses some of the nicest country in Montana (and we've got a lot of nice country! 
). A good stretch of the CDT goes through the Pintlers and we were on the CDT for part of trip. We made a big loop heading of the Falls Fork of Rock Ck and eventually coming down the Middle Fork of Rock Ck, logistically works great as they share the same trailhead. We would be staying at three different high mountain lakes, w/ the hopes of catching a few cutthroats. Weather was very questionable, but I already got the days off so it was a go regardless. We did get rained on at least once every day, but we didn't let a little rain dampen our enthusiasm 
Our first destination was Edith Lake. Heading up the Falls Fork we found it aptly named, passing numerous beautiful falls
getting into the high country
we didn't arrive Edith Lake until evening and got rained on several times heading up, it let up long enough that my wife got to wet a line w/ her new pack rod/reel
nightfall at Edith Lake
it rained all that nigh and the next morning after a short reprieve it started raining again pretty hard in the middle of breakfast, we waited an hour or so and it started to clear off- yeah!
we continued to hike up the Falls Fork going by Johnson Lake
after Johnson Lake the climb got really tough as we pushed for Pintler Pass, view looking North from Pintler Lake (Johnson Lake in view)
our next stop was Oreamnos Lake (named after Oreamnos americanus- the mountain goat)- we arrived late afternoon and just as my wife was wetting a line (for some reason I was tasked w/ camp chores like setting up the tent, gathering firewood, etc) the sky opened up again and into the tent we ran. fortunately after an hour or so it passed and we ate supper and got a nice fire going
Oreamnos Lake (smoke from our fire)
we had some amazing (and sometimes too close for comfort) lightning and thunder (and more rain) that night, our new tent was getting a real workout and am now confident it's good to go. Enjoying breakfast, a fire and some instant Starbuck's mocha
the wildflowers throughout the trip were amazing, as was the beargrass- I've never seen beargrass bloom as much as we did this year- pics don't do any justice
lupine and indian paintbrush
beargrass
our next stop was Hidden Lake and most of the trail was on the CDT, unfortunately due to the nature of the divide (and the fact that most folks don't want to rock climb on their backpacking trips) the trail has to come down and then back- so plenty of descending and ascending today. Getting close to West Pintlar Peak
a lot of the trail went through a large burn, wife headed down a switchback inching closer to Hidden Lake
Hidden Lake is well named, from several high vantage points the lake wouldn't reveal itself- it's only after a very (very) mile steep ascent do you get to view the lake
my wife caught two nice cutthroat that we cooked for supper
it only rained a little that night, but by morning it looked like we weren't done w/ the rain quite yet- fortunately it only amounted to a few short rains on the trail and we were able to break camp w/o any rain
we had to get through another pass to make it back to our vehicle via the West Fork of Rock Ck, this climb while tough, wasn't as bad as Pintler Pass
sign at Bitteroot Pass- looking worse for wear
now it was just 7 miles and all downhill!
it was a great trip, we both commented we wished had a couple of more days
). A good stretch of the CDT goes through the Pintlers and we were on the CDT for part of trip. We made a big loop heading of the Falls Fork of Rock Ck and eventually coming down the Middle Fork of Rock Ck, logistically works great as they share the same trailhead. We would be staying at three different high mountain lakes, w/ the hopes of catching a few cutthroats. Weather was very questionable, but I already got the days off so it was a go regardless. We did get rained on at least once every day, but we didn't let a little rain dampen our enthusiasm Our first destination was Edith Lake. Heading up the Falls Fork we found it aptly named, passing numerous beautiful falls
getting into the high country
we didn't arrive Edith Lake until evening and got rained on several times heading up, it let up long enough that my wife got to wet a line w/ her new pack rod/reel
nightfall at Edith Lake
it rained all that nigh and the next morning after a short reprieve it started raining again pretty hard in the middle of breakfast, we waited an hour or so and it started to clear off- yeah!
we continued to hike up the Falls Fork going by Johnson Lake
after Johnson Lake the climb got really tough as we pushed for Pintler Pass, view looking North from Pintler Lake (Johnson Lake in view)
our next stop was Oreamnos Lake (named after Oreamnos americanus- the mountain goat)- we arrived late afternoon and just as my wife was wetting a line (for some reason I was tasked w/ camp chores like setting up the tent, gathering firewood, etc
) the sky opened up again and into the tent we ran. fortunately after an hour or so it passed and we ate supper and got a nice fire goingOreamnos Lake (smoke from our fire)
we had some amazing (and sometimes too close for comfort) lightning and thunder (and more rain) that night, our new tent was getting a real workout and am now confident it's good to go. Enjoying breakfast, a fire and some instant Starbuck's mocha
the wildflowers throughout the trip were amazing, as was the beargrass- I've never seen beargrass bloom as much as we did this year- pics don't do any justice
lupine and indian paintbrush
beargrass
our next stop was Hidden Lake and most of the trail was on the CDT, unfortunately due to the nature of the divide (and the fact that most folks don't want to rock climb on their backpacking trips) the trail has to come down and then back- so plenty of descending and ascending today. Getting close to West Pintlar Peak
a lot of the trail went through a large burn, wife headed down a switchback inching closer to Hidden Lake
Hidden Lake is well named, from several high vantage points the lake wouldn't reveal itself- it's only after a very (very) mile steep ascent do you get to view the lake
my wife caught two nice cutthroat that we cooked for supper
it only rained a little that night, but by morning it looked like we weren't done w/ the rain quite yet- fortunately it only amounted to a few short rains on the trail and we were able to break camp w/o any rain
we had to get through another pass to make it back to our vehicle via the West Fork of Rock Ck, this climb while tough, wasn't as bad as Pintler Pass
sign at Bitteroot Pass- looking worse for wear
now it was just 7 miles and all downhill!
it was a great trip, we both commented we wished had a couple of more days
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