Journeys: Storm Castle

It was my next to last day renting snowshoes from REI and I wanted to put them to good use. Originally I had lined up a 16 mile (roundtrip) hike in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness, but that would no longer work since I had a 4 PM boot ski boot fitting and molding appointment in Big Sky. As a Plan B, I set my sights on a prominent Gallatin Canyon feature with a short hike, Storm Castle. Storm Castle is a large rock formation that sits perched approximately 2000 feet above the canyon floor above the Gallatin River. It does look something like a castle, but offered me little shelter from the snow storm that I hiked in.

Storm Castle from the trail.
Photograph by Chuck Bolte.

I pulled into a snowy and empty trailhead parking lot. Just as I set my first boot outside of the truck a strong wind kicked up and small pellets of snow poured down from the gray sky. If it were rain, I would say that I would have been frustrated, but since it was snow I could only revel in the beauty of a western winter. I strapped on my snowshoes, shouldered my pack, and started up the well benched in Storm Castle Trail.

Creaking pine stand.
Photograph by Chas. B.

As I was passing through the above pictured creaking pine stand, I was startled by a low growl. Or was it a low growl? Call it the result of a concerned room mate filling my head with bear country warnings and my recent reading of Bear Attacks Their Causes And Avoidance by Stephen Herrero. I stopped and stood still, surveying the pine stand, waiting. Nothing moved, but the swaying tops of the pine trees. I heard the sound again and suddenly realized that the only movement in the woods other than me was the swaying tree tops and they were making a loud creaking sound. I had survived an imaginative bear attack spurned by pine trees. I settled down and pushed on.

Many, many switchbacks later near the base of Storm Castle I was off trail, but not lost. I could only assume that I had hiked straight through a switchback 100 yards back, but being so close to the rock I had not interest in going back. I hiked up to the base of the rock and explored. The climber in me saw numerous potential routes that I would have to research before the snow melted. I continued circling east hoping to find a chink in castle's armor that would allow me to summit on my snowshoes. There was nothing. Loose rock and thin snow made snowshoeing difficult, so I started searching for the trail again. I saw a trail like trough 50 yards below me and hiked down the slope to it. Indeed it was the trail.

Moss just hanging on.
Photograph by Chas. B.

Soon I was moving rather quickly and moved past Storm Castle gaining the ridge behind it. Then the trail double backed and followed the ridge to and easy path to the summit of the Castle. The wind was howling as I stopped to enjoy the stormy view and take pictures.

Panorama.
Photograph by Chas. B.

Summit pose.
Photograph by Chas. B.

It had taken me two and half hours to reach the top. Rather slow for a 2.5 mile hike, but I had definitely enjoyed stopping frequently and drinking in the scenery. I moved fast on the descent to warm up from standing, exposed, in the wind taking pictures. 45 minutes later I was back at my truck. The snow was coming down even harder. Good for us at the resorts!

What a hike! So glad to be out west!