Trip Itinerary
As we discovered last year, nothing is ever etched in stone and I learned a valuable lesson: Chill out, hike, enjoy the scenery and stop overplanning every last minute detail.
That said, I still had to pore over Google Earth to find areas the looked like it could support 4 or 5 tents and still a suitable 4-6 off trail miles down route from our previous camping "zone". Not an easy thing to do even with all the tools and resources available today.
The gist of the route is nearly identical to the trip I was planning in 2008, but couldn't do, with a twist. Instead of hiking out at the Lake Fork of Rock Creek, we'll continue over Sundance Pass to the West Fork and then traverse the East Rosebud Plateau, eventually dropping back down into the East Rosebud Creek drainage a mere 2 or 3 miles from the trusty Santa Fe.
Should be epic.
Here is the tentative plan as it stands at this moment...
| Tue | July | 21 | Put in a half day of work and commence with the drive west. In the meantime, Ward and Reed will drive out from Madison. The three of us will meet up at the Super 8 Motel in Jamestown, ND for the night. |
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| Wed | July | 22 | Dorf picks up Brad and the kid at the Billings airport and drive down to Red Lodge where we will meet Ward and Reed at the Chateau Rouge in Red Lodge, MT |
| Thu | July | 23 | Up early, shuffle Reed's vehicle to his exiting trailhead, breakfast, pack up and begin the drive to Alpine/East Rosebud. Start hike, camping at Rainbow Lake. |
| Fri | July | 24 | Camp at Dewey or Fossil Lake |
| Sat | July | 25 | Camp at Z lake |
| Sun | July | 26 | Camp at Desolation Lake |
| Mon | July | 27 | Camp at either Castle, Alp, Crystal or Pleiades Lakes. Side trip back to Sierra Creek/Summerville Lake. |
| Tue | July | 28 | Camp at the Second Rock Lake. |
| Wed | July | 29 | Camp at Sundance or Shadow Lake. |
| Thu | July | 30 | Camp at Mary's Lake. Ward and Reed hiking out |
| Fri | July | 31 | Camp at the Snow Lakes. |
| Sat | Aug | 1 | Hike out. Lunch at the Grizzly Bar in Roscoe. Drive the Kid back to Billings and turn east toward Wisconsin |
| Sun | Aug | 2 | Back in Wisconsin. Brad to airport, Dorf drives home, |
| Mon | Aug | 3 | Back to &*#$@!& work |
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