Elephant Mountain (10,085’) is located in the northern Gallatin Range of Montana, accessible from the Blackmore Trailhead or reservoir parking area in Hyalite Canyon. Topographic details can be found on the Fridley Peak USGS quad.
From the reservoir, the trail is wide and easy to follow. There is only one junction very early on with the trail leading from the Blackmore Trailhead. You pass the other Blackmore Trailhead before reaching the reservoir. Keep this in mind for days when the trails are seeing lots of traffic – if one parking area is full, try the other. Or choose one of Hyalite Canyon’s many other trails/peaks. (Note: toilets are present at both trailheads). After approximately a mile and a half, the trail dips down to Blackmore Lake. Here we were entertained by two snowmen beautifully crafted by previous hikers.
From the lake you get your first good view of Elephant’s rocky flanks. The climb steepens here and you begin a steady climb for the next 3.5 miles. In the warmer season there are switchbacks on occasion to lessen the grade of the trail. In snowy weather you can do what we did and stick to whatever path was taken earlier so as to not break trail unnecessarily.
We passed a group of hunters all decked out in camouflaged clothing in the meadow before the big switchbacks to the saddle. After following their tracks for more than a mile we thanked them for breaking trail, skirted past them, and proceeded to huff and puff up the mountainside. Had I realized the depth of snow before leaving home, I may have brought snowshoes for the higher elevations. The traction and flotation would have been welcome. Instead, I alternated post-holing past my knees and edging on slick rocks.
Because of their close proximity, Elephant Mountain and Mount Blackmore share a trail until the joining saddle. To reach Blackmore, continue over the saddle and wrap around to the West (right) before working your way up to the summit. To reach Elephant, follow the saddle East (left) and continue working your way up along the rocks and snow. There is no actual trail once on the saddle, which makes this hike feel like more of an adventure.
From the saddle the summit of Elephant is approximately another .2 miles. The summit of Blackmore is only another .75 miles in the opposite direction, making it very possible to reach both on the same trip. We had originally planned on tagging both peaks, but due to time restrictions and ever deepening snow we decided to turn back, having reached only Elephant Mountain’s summit.
The total hike from car to car is somewhere around 9 to 10 miles (I’m awful with judging distance), with about 3,350 of vertical feet. It can be done in just a couple hours by fit individuals in good weather, or up to 7 or 8 hours for slower folks. I recommend taking your time and enjoying the views along the way. Once you get up high and can see over the foothills, there will be incredible views of the Crazy Mountains, Bridger Mountains, Madison Range, Absarokas, and of course the Gallatins. One mountain in particular that caught my eye was Alex Lowe Peak, just northwest of Elephant along the ridge. It is a very aesthetic mountain with some intriguing couloirs (Hellmouth Couloir) begging to be climbed/skied. Keep an eye out for goats as well – we followed goat tracks from the saddle to the summit of Elephant but didn’t see any goats themselves (Luckily for them, the hunters didn’t see them either). It would certainly be a treat to spot some goats against the white backdrop of winter.
On our descent, the sun had melted some of the snow at lower elevations and warmed up the air temperature. It was a beautiful hike while both ascending and descending. Although we didn’t see any skiers, we did see some ski tracks in the deeper snow. In a few weeks it will be possible to skin directly from the parking lot and we’re all excited to go back for some backcountry skiing.
We hope to see you out there next time! Stay warm and stay lite!
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