The Fall Colors in Montana - Part 10 of 10: Beartooth Mountains (South of Red Lodge) , Montana

The Fall Colors in Montana - Part 10 of 10: Beartooth Mountains (South of Red Lodge) , Montana

This is the final post of a series of ten posts in October to showcase the Fall colors of Montana.

Part 1: Red Lodge, Montana (Mountain Views)

Part 2: Red Lodge, Montana (Rock Creek Views)

Part 3: Red Lodge, Montana (Views in Town)

Part 4: Bozeman, Montana

Part 5: Roberts, Montana

Part 6: Joliet, Montana

Part 7: Absarokee, Montana

Part 8: Columbus, Montana

Part 9: Billings, Montana

Part 10: Beartooth Mountains (South of Red Lodge), Montana

You can click on the link of the previous parts to access the previous posts. 

Here are the photos (all 25 of them!) of the fall colors within 15 miles South of Red Lodge.

So I decided to go up on the Beartooth Highway Pass on October 17, 2010.  Unfortunately for me, the Pass had closed the previous week and was not scheduled to open again till next spring after the Labor Day weekend.  

So I decided to go as far as possible South on Highway 212 and take photos of the interesting fall foliage I would come across to share in this post. 

First a stop at the West Fork of Rock Creek.

It was 6:40pm and the moon was already up as seen in the following photo.

Can I still get some good shots before it gets too dark?  Maybe.

 The yellow of the leaves sure stood against the darker evening sky.  A black crow also stood out!  :) 

OK, one more shot and I will call it a day.  I had forgotten how early the sun sets in October and how quickly it turns dark.  I did not get to the end of the closed road but I will come back and I will get some more fall colors!   Here is the last shot on that day.

On October 18, 2010 I head South again.   I am more than motivated to get to the end of the road and before the sun sets.  Here's a stop to capture Rock Creek and the fall colors.

I did go on a small hike and capture this shot from as close to the water of Rock Creek that I can.

And a panoramic shot to capture the beautiful fall scenery and more trees.

Time to get to the car and continue heading South towards the mountains.

So I did reach the end of the road.  So now what?

Note the tree with the yellow leaves.   You wills ee it again from a different perspective!  :)   

Upon getting out of my car and looking at the surrounding, I did not see any fall colors worth taking a photo of.  I was surrounded by pine trees!  So I turned around and deciced to go about a mile North to an exit towards the camp grounds with views of the Beartooth Mountains.  Perhapos, I can get some nice shots from there.   Going over a bridge, a quick stop to take the following photo.

Not many opportunities to find some yellow or red colored leaves.  Here's a rare "yellow and white" opportunity as I get my first shot of the Beartooth Mountains in the bakground.  I see the reason why the Beartooth Highway Pass was closed to the public.  

Still not satisfied with the shot, I remembered this long and windy road that goes up high all the way to the Hellroaring Plateau right across from the Beartooth Mountains.  I remembered going up that road in June but at the time there was too much snow half way up and one could not go further with a car.  So up we go!  Buckle up!

As I look to my left (very carefully), I stop and take the following photo through the window of the car.  Remember that tree with yellow trees I was mentioning earlier, well it is the only yellow amongst all the pine trees!  I have added a red arrow pointing to it in the photo.  It is where I could no longer go South on the Beartooth Highway Pass because the road was closed.   :)  

Looking for something other than pine trees (it just is not a good fall photo without any yellow and/or red), I found the following aspen worth taking a photo of with the switchbacks of the Beartooth Highway (and the Beartooth snow caps) in the distance.   We started in Red Lodge at an elevation of 5,500 feet and at the time the following photo was taken, we are now at an altitude of 7,500 feet!  It is getting much cooler with the wind blowing.  The road is too narrow to try to turn back now... so the only way to go is UP!

Next is a stop for the following fall colors as depicted by a group of aspens.  They were along a cliff with nothing but rocks.  No way am I going to try to get close to it for a photo!  I would likely roll all the way down the hill.  So I used the zoom lens of my camera.   Finally, some yellow and red colors (a nice blend of fall colors)!   It give the meaning of "seeing red" a whole new meaning!  :)

Here was a nice strech of the road with one of the few opportunities to get out of the car without risking a big fall!  (we only want the colors, not fall by itself)  :)  Altitude: 8,000 feet and we are not done!

Shortly after, we get to a sharp left turn and this was the nice scenery awaiting on the right hand side. 

Cool water fall (a nice kind of fall) and the photograph decided it was a good place to take the following photo. 

Not often is the photographer included in his blog photos.  Here is one of the rare instances.   Might as well have proof that I made up this high!  After another brief hike to stretch the legs and get some exercise and plenty of fresh air with another person in site, it was time to make another decision, up or down.  Up of course!  I still need to get that amazing shot! 

Not only I managed to go up but I also managed to go further South than initially anticipated (past the 12 miles South of Red Lodge on Highway 212 as the sign indicated in the first photo).  I never concentrated on the road as much as I have in the next hour when the following photos were taken (with the car stopped).  Here is a nice shot with Greenough Lake near the middle of the photo.  The trees in the shadow on the left hand side of the photo add some perspective as to the high altitude.  My guess is that we are at about 8,000 feet by now.   Great view of the Rock Creek Canyon!

For those of you who are scared of heights, this is definitively not the road you want to take (it is not for nothing that they came up with the name Hellroaring).  I am normally not afraid of heights but I got plenty of goose bumps especially at this stage of the road.

A better or should I say a higher view of the Beartooth switchbacks.

Since I got to the camp grounds and made it on the road to Hellroaring Plateau, the whole time I was by myself.  I was having second thoughts of continuing the road further.  It was getting cooler, the higher up I went.  There was no cell reception.  I was getting chills driving slowly and as far away from the cliff side but you could still feel the bumps because of all the rocks on this unpaved road.  Despite the similar fears when someone first drives on the Beartooth Highway Pass, the Beartooth Highway Pass is a paved road and one with some traffic.  This "Hellroaring" road was not paved, much narrower and I could not imagine what I would need to do if I encountered traffic coming from the opposite side.  And then, to add to the drama, the light on my car indicating low fuel came on!   In addition, I was alone.  At least, I though I was alone, till I saw ...

Thanks for reminding me that I also had no food left in the car!  I had eaten a couple of fruits and a Cliff Clif Bar (how appropriate) earlier after my hike.  No cell, no food, almost no gas...at this point, I was afraid of heights or the fear of "what if".  In addition, it was 4:00pm and I remembered from the previous day that the sun will set before I know it and then I would also have to worry about the immediate drop in temperature.  It will take me at least a good half hour on this long narrow unpaved road (and lots of stepping on the breaks) to get back to the base and in the campground area.  So I knew that the wise thing to do is to turn back at the first opportunity (where the road is wide enough to make an 180 degree turn).   Changes in altitude, changes in attitude!

The following are two photos I took from the area where the squirrel was spotted. 

ALTITUDE: ABOUT 9,000 FEET... WAY TOO HIGH TO FALL!  :)

The Hellroaring Plateau is located at above 10,000 feet (there is actually a trail for those who get there in one piece and are interested in a high altitude hike: Hellroaring Plateau Trail).  I had not planned to get all the way to the plateau on this day but I wanted and did manage to get beautiful panoramic photos of the Beartooth Mountains.  Mission accomplished!  I made sure to end this series on a high note!  :)

 
If you enjoyed the photos of the Beartooth Mountains, you can click on the following link to visit the first of a series of 4 posts on them: Highway to Heaven - Don't Pass this Up!

This completes the 10 part series of the fall colors of Montana and by far, the longest post of mine and also the one with the most photos!     

Gerry Khatchikian

Want to see more photos?  Check out my other photos by visiting my Photo Blog Book .

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