Montana Hunt 2011
Page One
First posted November 7, 2011 Last edited November 21, 2011

Bill Nelson and Craig Wyosnick headed out first in their respective vehicles around October 16, followed by Eric Larsen a few days later driving his truck. Both Bill and Eric had a ton or more of stuff for David and Ted Eyre, who flew out together on a Delta flight on October 21. All were armed with combination Deer/Elk tags.

Bill and Craig sorted out problems with the Forest Service not allowing us to drive on a seasonally-closed road to our destination, a small, unfinished cabin owned by a friend of Ted's, despite a letter from the owner giving us permission. Craig called Ted, Ted called the owner, and posted this:

After two days of dickering and a telephone call from the owner, we finally did get permission, and on Oct 21, Bill and Craig arrived at the cabin. It was a 16 by 20 foot, 2x4 framed structure, with a roof and a floor and a door, but not much else: no insulation with bare 2x4's showing inside, no water, no electricity. It was great! Just what a hunting cabin might be (although a pot bellied stove would be nice!). They contacted us by telephone voice mail, which we picked up after we landed. Eric met us at the airport, and we convoyed to Walmart to get supplies and to the Forest Service to sign the form allowing us to use the closed road to the cabin. We arrived around 5 pm.

 

Eric took this shot:

This is the cabin as seen from Moose Creek, just south of the cabin. There is an old log cabin seen just to the right of the place; the foreground is part of the road in. Highland Highway is behind the trees behind the cabin.

This view of the cabin, also by our Official Photographer Larsen, is from closer up. The door we used is in the middle of the right side: a piece of plywood with hinges.

Here is the inside:

Bill looking in the door. There was a plastic sink in the corner with a hose going out the wall for a drain. (photos without attribution are by DLN)

This is Eric looking in the same door, with a view of the other end of the cabin.

 

More importantly, these are the views out of our front door, at morning and at dusk:

The peaks you are seeing are part of the Highland Range and constitute part of the continental divide.
The left peak is Red Mountain, the taller one is East Peak.

We were about 30 minutes south of Butte, Montana, in the Deerlodge National Forest. The cabin looks out over willow thickets along Moose Creek. This map, while large, will help you to understand all of the rest of the trip:

The red dot marks the cabin. Note that we look out over several branches of Moose Creek, toward Red Mountain.

Here is a blowup of the central area, where all of the activity took place:

 

We accessed the cabin by driving south out of Butte on State Route 2 for about 5 miles, then turned onto the Highland Highway, a gravel road. We drove on it for 10 miles and turned off on a dirt road that is closed to the general public. This is the road that we needed permission from the Forest Service to use. A three minute drive along this highly-eroded road brought us to the cabin (Bill bent part of his tow-mounted luggage carrier on this road).

As Ted, Eric, and I were putting our cots together and getting rigged up for the opening morning the next day, Craig was smart in taking the initiative and wanted to check out the territory. So he and Ted went out to scout out an area that Craig thought was promising. Craig took the access road back to the Highland Highway, a road that is a bit like the road at the ranch from the Fort Knox Gate to Bellino's, a gravel somewhat level road but with a bit more room for passing. If you look at the map above, he went west (left) at the Highland Highway, to the first creek that goes north. They found the road closed by the Forest Service but were able to hike in. It quickly changed to a hiking path, but was easy going through the lodgepole pine forest. The area looked good, with a clearing along the creek, so they determined to go there the next day.

That night we feasted on beef steaks and visions of bull elk with large 6 x 6 racks.

NEXT: Day One (October 22)