Beartooth Highway

We had a weekend planned at David's cabin on the Beartooth Highway with our IFTR friends. We were going to run a really cool trail. David ended up getting sick, so the trip was canceled. We already had someone arranged to come watch the animals , and Mark already had the day off work, so we decided to still go, and just sleep in our car for a few nights. We had an amazing weekend!

We drove through Yellowstone, and once we exited the park we started our Beartooth Highway tour. 

Sheep Falls:

Our first hike was Sheep Falls, and it was better than we expected. It's right outside of Yellowstone, and only a mile hike. We can't believe there was no one else there! I guess it's a hidden gem!

It's a beautiful waterfall!

😃😃😃

Bridal Falls:

Our second stop was Bridal Falls. This one was great too, and only a half mile. Again, we were the only ones there. I bet this one is spectacular in the spring.

Bridal Falls

Look at me; I'm a little dot next to the big waterfall!

We had dinner in Cook City, and then kept driving the highway to the place we were planning on spending the night. We were treated to an amazing sunset!

😍😍😍

We knew we were running out of light, but we saw the Clay Butte Plateau turnoff, and made the decision to go see it. Great choice! We drove up as far as we could, then got out and ran the rest of the way up the hill to the fire tower. The sunset was spectacular, and we had the best views of it!

We climbed up the fire tower, looked around, and then had to run fast the 3/4 of a mile back down to the car, because neither of us thought to put on our headlamps. 😅

Island to Jasper Lake w Beauty Lake Loop:

That night we slept at Island Lake. We did a long run the next day from Island Lake to Jasper Lake, and we threw in the Beauty Lake Loop to add on training mileage. The whole route was stunning! It reminded us a lot of the Wind Rivers. So many gorgeous mountain lakes and ponds along the way. We covered 24 miles, and loved it all!

We started early with headlamps, and Island Lake was so pretty with the sun starting to light it up.

By the time we got around the lake, the sun was starting to peek up.

Night Lake. So peaceful.

This part of the trail reminded us so much of the Wind Rivers.

Leaving Albino Lake and climbing up to the pass.

Almost to the top!

Looking back at Albino Lake.

Jasper Lake was stunning!

Beauty Lake

We did a big, hard loop around Beauty Lake.

We went all the way to Beartooth Lake, which you can stop at along the highway.

We hit this point and our jaws dropped! We don't even know what this lake was called, but the whole area was breathtaking!

The trail was pretty technical so it took us most of the day to finish it. We had just enough daylight left to drive the rest of the highway into Red Lodge, Montana for dinner, making all the touristy stops along the way.

We stopped at the summit for a picture, and to look for mountain goats.

We found some! Joyce told me the mamas and babies should still be at the top, and they were!

That pointy peak is the reason the road is called the Beartooth Highway.

This is a view from just below the summit going toward Red Lodge. We had no idea we'd be hiking to a couple of those lakes the next day.

We stopped for a picture with the sign.

We had dinner in Red Lodge, and then drove to the spot we'd be sleeping for the night. It was the trailhead for the first hike we would be doing the next morning.

Glacier Lake:

We got up early and hiked the almost 6 mile trail to Glacier Lake. It was so good!

A pond on the way to Glacier Lake.

Another gorgeous lake on the way up.

Glacier Lake.

We hiked a little bit past Glacier Lake to Emerald Lake which I loved even more!

This shows both lakes together.

Twin Lakes:

Twin Lakes was one of my favorites of the weekend! It's only 3 miles and is so pretty! We saw these lakes from the viewpoint at the summit. We didn't realize they were the ones we were going to be hiking to.

The view of the lakes on the way down.

We couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous day!

Hiking back to the road.

We stopped on the highway at the view area we saw from the lakes. It was fun to think we were standing right between those two lakes just a little bit earlier in the day. 

On the way out, we stopped at the summit again and found lots more mountain goats.

The babies were so cute!

They always look like they're smiling.

One final look at the view before we headed home.

We stopped at Beartooth Lake on the way out.

There are lots of waterfalls along the highway. We stopped at a few of them.

Crazy Creek Falls:

Our last hike of the weekend was to Crazy Creek Falls. It was just a couple miles, and not really that exciting.

On the way home, we got stuck in a typical Yellowstone traffic jam. 😆

I'm so glad we did this! It was such a great weekend!