Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Senior Member mountain wanderer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Pinehurst, ID
    Hammock
    Simply Light Designs - Trail Lair
    Tarp
    WB Superfly
    Insulation
    HG UQ / HG TQ
    Suspension
    Dutch Straps
    Posts
    303

    VIDEO: Cedar Lakes Loop in Montana's Cabinet Mountains Wilderness

    We started on this route on a Monday and so we were not expecting to see anyone....

    That all changed at the trailhead when we saw a couple campers and a day hiker. That's just the way it has been this year.

    Jessie from the YouTube Channel HYOY-WU invited me on this trip through the Cabinet Mountains. This route was just outside of Libby, Montana and not one that I have done before.

    We followed Flower Creek up on the first day. Our goal was to get up to Sky Lakes and camp for the night. The trail was in great shape and gently climbed up through the forest towards the Cabinet Divide. As it turns out, the campers were also going to Sky Lakes and had already claimed the best campsite. We bushwhacked a bit and found a decent site back in the trees a bit. It was a little hike to the lake, but not too bad.

    The next day we pulled out of Sky Lakes and back tracked down to where we had left the main trail the day before. Then we started the real climb up to the Cabinet Divide. It was uphill all of the way, but the grade was good. I purposely didn't fill my water all of the way up when we left camp because I saw on the map were we would intersect a stream a lot farther up the trail. Lucky for me, there was still water coming out of the mountain there because there was no more water for the next 8-9 miles.

    We finally trudged up the rest of the climb and made it to the divide. The views were incredible! It's amazing how much some hills can change when you look at them from a new vantage point! From there it would be a ridge walk across the North Cabinet Divide over to Upper Cedar Lake. As with all ridges, even though you're on top, the climbing is not over. We went up and down on our way over. Finally we crested a little rise and were presented with a stunning view of the Cedar Lakes. From there we wound our way around the mountain and over towards the lake. It was a really long decent.

    We camped on the shoreline with an incredible view of the lake.

    The next day I left the rest of the group and took a different way back. They had a car staged at the bottom of the drainage they were in and I had to get back to my car at the Flower Creek trailhead.

    I climbed up a small hill and dropped in to the Parmenter Creek drainage. This section was really steep. Definitely the steepest trail that we had done the entire trip. After descending a few hundred feet, I was back in the forest. Once down by the creek, the grade flattened out a bit and I was able to make some time. I had to take a connecting trail to get back to Flower Creek. This trail climbed the whole way and after 8 miles of descending... I was wore out. I had never been so happy to see my car.

    I had to get back to my house because I had to resupply to go out the very next day into the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. But that is another story....

    Thanks for checking it out!


  2. #2
    OlTrailDog's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Corvallis/Stevensville, MT
    Hammock
    Hammocktent 90*, Sparrow, WBBB XLC
    Tarp
    light & waterproof
    Insulation
    Ongoing experiment
    Suspension
    Ongoing experiment
    Posts
    1,873
    Another nice trip video. Missing your four legged friend?

  3. #3
    Senior Member mountain wanderer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Pinehurst, ID
    Hammock
    Simply Light Designs - Trail Lair
    Tarp
    WB Superfly
    Insulation
    HG UQ / HG TQ
    Suspension
    Dutch Straps
    Posts
    303
    Quote Originally Posted by OlTrailDog View Post
    Another nice trip video. Missing your four legged friend?
    Yeah, I left him behind on this one. I was pretty sure that we would see a bear and I didn't want to take the chance... of course... we didn't see a bear.

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    NC
    Hammock
    Simply Light Designs Trail Lair
    Tarp
    SLD Trail Haven
    Insulation
    EE / UGQ / SLD
    Suspension
    Whoopie Slings
    Posts
    210
    Beautiful mountains, lakes and forests. Your hammock setup is the quickest I’ve seen!

  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Slovakia
    Hammock
    warbonnet ridgerunner
    Tarp
    DIY Dyneema
    Insulation
    warbonnet lynx
    Suspension
    dutch jewelery
    Posts
    864
    very beautiful area you can hike, you mention a grizzly, arent you afraid that he jumps out of the bush when you scare him suddenly?

  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Location
    Wayzata, MN
    Hammock
    Ridgerunner
    Tarp
    Superfly
    Insulation
    Bandit TQ Lynx UQ
    Suspension
    Whoopie
    Posts
    269
    Images
    1
    Looks like a perfect trip. You end up going for a dip in any of those lakes or leave it to your friends?

  7. #7
    Senior Member mountain wanderer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Pinehurst, ID
    Hammock
    Simply Light Designs - Trail Lair
    Tarp
    WB Superfly
    Insulation
    HG UQ / HG TQ
    Suspension
    Dutch Straps
    Posts
    303
    Quote Originally Posted by Layne View Post
    Beautiful mountains, lakes and forests. Your hammock setup is the quickest I’ve seen!
    I've been trying to perfect the quick setup!��

  8. #8
    Senior Member mountain wanderer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Pinehurst, ID
    Hammock
    Simply Light Designs - Trail Lair
    Tarp
    WB Superfly
    Insulation
    HG UQ / HG TQ
    Suspension
    Dutch Straps
    Posts
    303
    Quote Originally Posted by infrastellar View Post
    very beautiful area you can hike, you mention a grizzly, arent you afraid that he jumps out of the bush when you scare him suddenly?
    If a griz were to jump out... yep, I would be terrified!��

  9. #9
    Senior Member mountain wanderer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Pinehurst, ID
    Hammock
    Simply Light Designs - Trail Lair
    Tarp
    WB Superfly
    Insulation
    HG UQ / HG TQ
    Suspension
    Dutch Straps
    Posts
    303
    Quote Originally Posted by Adroa View Post
    Looks like a perfect trip. You end up going for a dip in any of those lakes or leave it to your friends?
    I left that for them. It was still very cold water!

  • + New Posts
  • Similar Threads

    1. VIDEO: You Tube meet up in the Cabinet Mountains
      By mountain wanderer in forum Trip Reports
      Replies: 4
      Last Post: 09-12-2019, 07:56
    2. VIDEO - Baree to Bear Lakes in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness
      By mountain wanderer in forum Trip Reports
      Replies: 9
      Last Post: 11-12-2018, 10:32
    3. VIDEO: First trip into Montana's Cabinet Mountains
      By mountain wanderer in forum Trip Reports
      Replies: 27
      Last Post: 12-11-2017, 11:08
    4. Replies: 16
      Last Post: 03-22-2015, 14:22
    5. Four Lakes Loop - Pecos Wilderness
      By wildgene in forum Trip Reports
      Replies: 7
      Last Post: 06-12-2013, 14:24

    Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •