It was forecast to be a hot day, and the weatherman was right. It was hot. But that didn't stop us from doing some hiking in the national park. Today's goal was Scalplock Mountain, another peak with a fire lookout on top.
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| Small suspension bridge near the start. |
The trailhead is the Walton Ranger Station, just before the highway crosses the Flathead River. There are some picnic tables here, but parking seemed pretty limited. Lucky for us, there were still spots available. Probably not too many people crazy enough to hike in this weather.
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| Starting up the hill. |
The first part of the hike is relatively flat, making its way to the base of the mountain. Then the climb starts. It is an unrelenting 3000' climb up to the lookout. I think we were both a little tired from the previous day, so we took our time going up. The heat didn't help either.
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| Indian Paintbrush. |
Eventually we got to the ridge, where the views opened up, but the shade went away. I was glad to see some snow fields so I could try and cool off a little. The final climb up to the tower seemed harder in the sun, but we both made it.
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| Almost at the summit. |
On top I drank a lot of water. I was thirsty. I then set up my antenna so I could sit in a shady area. I did not have cell service, but my sister had some marginal service on top. Your results may vary. RBNHole did spot me, so everything worked out.
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| Middle Fork Flathead River and US 2. And the trailhead. |
After I got my contacts we just went down. It was too hot to really enjoy the view from the top. The walk down was long, and we were both glad to make it back to the air conditioned car. On the way back to the campsite, we stopped to get ice cream. It was needed.
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| Outhouses on the Air? |
Trailhead: Huckleberry Lookout Trailhead
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Take the trail up to the summit.
Red Tape: None.
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