A couple of weekends ago, we went on our first camping trip of the season.  It was glorious.

Amongst all of us, we had 2 4 wheelers and lifted Jeep – the perfect vehicles to take up the road to Hellroaring Plateau. google it.  you will not be sorry. 

Back story.  I went to Hellroaring with my parents when I was younger.  It was such a good drive to the top and then a wonderful day of hiking all over the plateau.  As a 19 year old who knows everything, I decided that I needed to take my friends up there, so that they could bask in the awesomeness that is Montana.  At the time, I had a car.  Yup, a car.  The road going to Hellroaring is very rocky and you need some clearance in order to avoid doing damage to your vehicle.  I took my friends about halfway to the top and realized that I could not go any further.  I did a 50 point turn around (it’s that narrow of a road) and descended the mountain.  At home, I realized that my car was leaking something……not good.  My dad took a peak and discovered that I had ripped my oil pan off.  He helped me replace it and he wasn’t even mad….just proud that I went for it in a car.

Anywho – back to current.  The girls jumped in the Jeep – you know since it has seatbelts and all the things that I love to keep my pretty girls safe(r)

A look at the mountain stream tumbling down.

A pit stop for pictures.

We were stopped by snow down from where the official hiking trail starts.  Here we are looking out over the valley.

The picture below, really shows the beauty of the valley….but it doesn’t accurately give you the heart pounding adrenaline that comes with looking that far down…..at such a steep angle.

From Hellroraing you can see the Beartooth Pass straight across the valley.  Since we turned around a little bit down from the top, you can see the beginnings of the pass in the picture above.

This is where we were stopped.  The snow covered the road just a few hundred feet further and it got deep enough that there was fear about not making it through or sliding down the side of the mountain.

a few more pics from the weekend.

 

Here are some links if you are interested in seeing more of the plateau.  since the snow denied our access to the trailhead

http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/custergallatin/recreation/recarea/?recid=61365&actid=50

http://alltrails.com/trail/us/montana/hellroaring-plateau

Google Search Images for Hellroaring Plateau Custer National Forest:  https://www.google.com/search?q=hellroaring+plateau+custer+national+forest&rlz=1T4VRHB_enUS601US602&biw=1920&bih=1007&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=cwN3Vdf_MsrEogTtvYOoCA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg