Spend four days exploring Montana’s backcountry on this all-women backpacking adventure in the Beartooth Mountains! Beginners are encouraged to join, as your guide provides you with expert leadership, meals, cooking equipment, and can provide you with tents and sleeping bags. You will follow the 22-mile West Fork Loop Trail over four days. You will learn important outdoor skills (such as Leave No Trace as well as local geology and history) and even spot exciting wildlife, such as moose, deer, elk, or marmots! Ready for a journey full of serenity and peacefulness of the great outdoors?
Today we will hike along the West Fork Creek of Rock Creek at 7,900 ft, a drainage of the Beartooth Mountains. Camp for tonight will be at Quinnebaugh meadows. There’s also the option to hike up to Lake Mary, one way it’s 2 miles with 1,000 ft elevation gain.
Distance: 5 miles / 8 km
Elevation gain: 1,000 ft / 305 m
Meals: Dinner
We’ll hike along the West Fork Creek today, ending at Shadow or Sundance Lake. The environment will change from higher forests to a more alpine terrain.
Distance: 5 miles / 6.5 km
Elevation gain: 900 ft / 275 m
Meals: Breakfast and dinner
Hiking up to Sundance Pass will bring us to the highest point at 11,000 ft of elevation. Then we’ll descend to September Lake in the Lake Fork of Rock Creek. The environment is still alpine with September Lake being at 9,694 ft.
Distance: 5 miles / 8 km
Elevation gain: 1,500 ft / 460 m
Elevation loss: 1,400 ft / 425 m
Meals: Breakfast and dinner
For our last day of the trip, we’ll descend back into the valley along the Lake Fork of Rock Creek. Our surroundings will feature more forests again and finally, we’ll reach Lake Fork trailhead at 6,900 ft—marking the end of our adventure.
Distance: 8 miles / 13 km
Elevation loss: 2,500 ft / 765 m
Meals: Breakfast
Included:
Add-ons:
Not included:
This all-women Beartooth Mountains backpacking adventure has several different options for a backpacking trip, but in general, decent shape is certainly required. Below you will find a breakdown of trails, their distances, and required fitness levels.
West Fork Loop Trail
Mystic Lake Trail
Timberline Lake Trail
If you feel like carrying a heavy backpack would be too exhausting for you, your guides have the option of hiring a porter who would carry it for you. If you’re interested, let us know.
Here’s a list of the equipment you need to bring:
Dress comfortably and for the weather in clothes you can move in. We suggest bringing clothing appropriate for the season. Layers are best and don’t wear jeans.
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Indeed you can! You can rent a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and a backpack with your guides. You can register your interest upon checkout.
Group sizes and prices:
Beartooth Mountains backpacking can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements:
If your group has hikers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
To get to Red Lodge, Montana, the starting point of your all-women backpacking trip, it’s best to fly into Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) and Billings Logan International Airport (BIL). It takes one to two hours to reach Red Lodge from these two airports by car. There’s also the option of flying into Jackson Hole Airport (JAC), from which there’s a 5-hour drive to Red Lodge.
Regardless of the trail you choose, you will meet your guide a day prior to Day 1 of the trip in Red Lodge. There will be a mandatory gear check at 4pm, ensuring that you’ve got everything necessary for the adventure ahead!
We highly recommend that you cover all your bases with insurance. To make your booking and traveling experience as carefree as possible, you’ll be offered to simply insure your trip with Redpoint at checkout.
Redpoint—the official 57hours insurance partner—tailors protection packages for adventure travel, offering a comprehensive travel program, even in remote locations! Trip cancellation, natural disasters, pandemic coverage, medical evacuation, primary medical expenses—regardless of the travel interruption that may happen, Redpoint will have you covered.