We had a nagging feeling over 500 miles into what we called our “open ended section hike” of the CDT – a non-commitment to hike as much of the trail as we wanted to. Rachel and I both wanted to push our boundaries and hike more off-trail routes and if you were lucky vaguely described on Jonathan Ley’s unofficial Continental Divide Trail (CDT) maps. Almost all of our experience was on trail but we wanted more of an adventure off the beaten path so to speak. On our first attempt at the southern edge of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, I was excited and climbed too far ahead for Rachel to see me. When I crested the ridge, out of her view, I realized I left the trail too early and cut alongside the peak to avoid unnecessary climbing. Rachel climbed straight up for the top and didn’t find me. She panicked, but we found each other after a few minutes but aborted the route. Since then there had been few opportunities on the far northern reaches of the CDT.

Now, in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness the cross country opportunities abounded as the official trail crisscrossed the mountainous ridge of the divide. The trail climbed over passes and down to opposing drainages inadvertently creating opportunities to hug the divide to “climb high and stay high”. Our maps seemed filled with vague dotted purple routes (designating an unofficial off-trail option), each a new challenge and potential notch on our belts.

The Continental Divide Trail in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness

We started this CDT section after a friendly hitch from the notoriously hiker friendly town of Anaconda on a little used but paved “Ralston Road” after less than a minute with our thumbs out. The driver had actually turned around and decided to go 15 miles out of his way to give us a ride! From the dirt parking lot at the road crossing, the CDT follows faint two track and dirt roads for several miles before joining an improved gravel road up to Lower Seymour Lake. As we sat out an intense thunderstorm in the pit toilet at the trailhead, we checked Ley’s maps for possible alternates.

Our first opportunity started at the top of Goat Flat but the timing was bad with only a few hours of daylight left and the route was only vaguely described on the map as class 3-4 “climbing”. Ley provided estimates from past hikers of between 5:45 and 9 hours to complete the section, so rather than get stuck dry camping on the divide in bad weather we only somewhat reluctantly stuck to the trail.

The practically groomed tread climbed from the trailhead near Lower Seymour Lake steadily upwards to Upper Seymour Lake and crossed the divide at Goat Flat. Beautiful views of the lake and surrounding divide abounded. After blowing an air horn to warn them not to roll rocks down the switchbacks and onto our heads, we passed a trail crew widening the trail for easier pack use with explosives and gas powered jackhammers. It was close to 5 o’clock so we stopped and chatted with the crew, learning that they had seen only CDT thru-hikers on that stretch of trail the last 10 days of trail work. This was not uncommon for the CDT based on other areas they’ve worked on, not surprising if you consider the remoteness of this trail.

We thanked and pushed past the trail workers and up to the top of the pass at Goat Flat, taking in views of the Pintlers and Upper Seymor Lake a thousand feet below. It was mid-July and the high meadows were littered with almost florescent red Indian paintbrush and white plumes of bear grass.

We descended on trail down to a beautiful campsite at Flower Lake, sitting in the opening of a long cirque flanked by the high cliffs of the divide. In the quiet stillness of the next morning the lake was a perfect mirror of the divide. Rachel and I looked at our options and considered regaining the divide from the top of the next ridge and hiking to Cutaway Pass entirely off trail. Once there though, the terrain looked steep and crumbly and we had no idea if it was too much for our abilities, so we stuck to the trail. We were not disappointed as the views up to Cutaway Pass rivaled parts of Glacier National Park for raw scenery.

From Cutaway Pass the CDT took us down to the West Fork of the La Marche Creek and continued largely in the trees up a small unnamed pass. Water was abundant and the weather had turned in our favor. We pushed hard that day to Rainbow Lake. It was still too early to stop and we thought a group of five of our thru-hiker friends might be at the next obvious campsite – Johnson Lake – so I did my best to motivate us to the top of our fourth 1,000+ foot climb of the day in 23 miles. It proved worth the effort, both for the views and to catch our friends who hadn’t resupplied in Anaconda. It also took us up the cross country segment along the flanks of West Pintler Peak to Sawed Cabin Lake – only 2.5 miles long instead of 3.4 miles of trail, and with what appeared to be just enough challenge to build our cross country confidence.

We got an early start from Johnson Lake and got the climbing to Pintler Pass done and caught up to some friends thru-hiking with their dog who had left a few minutes ahead of us. The views were pleasant but no substitute for Cutaway. On the way down from the pass we stayed right at a signed junction to Oreamnos Lake and followed the trail until it turned into a game trail and disappeared just southwest of the lake. From there we followed our compasses up to the top of the first ridge west of the lake. Near the top, we noticed a lone hiker coming towards us. We decided to wait for him to catch up so we could tackle the rest of the route together. His name was Patch and he had arrived at our campsite after dark the previous night, and slept in so we hadn’t met him yet. He was intent on doing as many cross country routes as he could and excited to finally have other hikers to do some with! Many CDT thru-hikers are daunted by the length and difficulty of the trail so they take the easiest route and stick to the trails, we were the first people Patch had met that were also trying to work in more scenic and challenging cross country routes.

Together the three of us worked up to the top of the ridge through a short talus field and high grassy slopes and were rewarded with breathtaking views of the divide. We scouted ahead and found an extremely steep but grassy slope down to Sawed Cabin Lake. If I turned around to face the slope it was so steep I could touch it with an extended arm. It seemed a much nicer alternative than the equally steep scree and talus fields north along the cirque that might send rocks rolling down on top of each other. Each of us had our own technique for descending – I tried to stay upright, leaned back to dig my heels in, taking small steps to use lumps of grass for support and occasionally falling on my butt, Patch supported himself with his trekking poles outstretched far in front and Rachel slowly slid on her bum. Even with the difficulty, we all agreed it was worth the views.

We traversed around the lake and then up the gentle slope to rejoin the trail, our self confidence boosted and now a little more sure of ourselves when off-trail. After another hour or two of hiking Patch pulled ahead of us and Rachel and I stopped for lunch. Our friends with their dog quickly caught up so we figured the route had only saved a few minutes despite being shorter. They were jealous that we didn’t have to descend all the way down the drainage and climb back up, and of the gorgeous photos we captured.

Heading south the Anaconda Range peters out to mere foothills in comparison to what we crossed further north. The trail tends to stay in the woods with only occasional views of the rugged Big Hole River valley to our east and Bitterroot National Forest to our west. There are some sections of newly built trails that are pleasant walking but a burn area near trail creek was covered in blow downs. We ended up hiking with our two friends and their border collie that showed off his acrobatics by leaping over every blow down he could. Further south the CDT alternates between trail and dirt roads to Chief Joseph Pass where next to a moose and cow we hitched to Darby for resupply and to continue our adventure along the divide. Our brief cross country section was enough to build some confidence in attempting new routes further south. In particular, I had my sights on a traverse of the Teton Crest Trail which would require skillful route choices to link the northern and southern sections – but that’s a story for another time.

Need to Know

Information

This portion of the CDT is well maintained and marked with signs at major trail intersections. The climbs have switchbacks and are rarely steep and the tread is generally excellent. South of Schultz Saddle the trail has been rerouted around dirt roads and old trail signs are sometimes still evident. There is also a large parking lot and information kiosk at the Lost Trail Pass Trailhead. In the winter it's a popular cross country ski area, so the trail becomes easier to follow there. A backcountry hut accessible by 4WD near the pass is also available to rent year round.

Getting There

The Lower Seymour Lake Trailhead is easily accessible by two-wheel drive vehicles. From I-15 south of Butte, Montana take exit 102 for Highway 43 West for 23 miles. Turn right on paved Deep Creek Road for 3 miles and then left onto gravel Seymour Lake Road. Follow signs for the Lower Seymour Lake Campground for approximately 7 miles. To spot a car at Lost Trail Pass, return to Highway 43 and take it west for 60 miles until it intersects I-93 at the pass.

Best Time to Go

The Pintlers can hold snow and snow on steep passes into July or later. Fire season in Montana generally begins in August or September and long-lasting snow can be expected in October.

Maps and Books

A free overview map from the USFS is available here, and Cairn Cartographics offers their Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness map. Also available and covering the Pintlers is the Hiking the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness guidebook.

Editor's Note: This article by Mike "HikerBox" Henrick originally appeared in Issue 30 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos and content.