East Saint Marys Peak is located at the southern end of Northwestern Montana's Mission Mountains; it is approximately 28 miles north (as a crow flies) of Missoula, and 8.5 miles east of Saint Ignatius. The Missions are spectacularly big, with a precipitous western wall rising from 3,000 to just over 9,800 feet (when driving U.S. Hwy 93 north through Ravalli on the way to Saint Ignatius, upon reaching the top of the small "summit" (known locally as "Ravalli Hill") between the two towns you get your first broadside view of the range—a perspective that will most definitely get your attention!), and are relatively inaccessible, with many of the peaks being a two day affair, or even more—if you are going anywhere in these mountains it is because you WANT to. The range has several glaciers (of which McDonald Glacier is the largest), are full of wildlife (except maybe No Fish Lake, which I think is suspect), and will provide all the solitude for which you could possibly wish.

East Saint Marys, from neighboring Gray Wolf Peak.

The range has been heavily glaciated, and for the most part is quite rugged, the higher elevations of the southern half more so. It is interesting to note that during the last ice age the continental glacier actually rode over the top of the northern Missions, chopping them down, but did not bury the peaks further south—doing, instead, the more "normal" alpine sculpting glacial activity of chewing and hacking at the mountain sides—thus preserving that part of the range's lofty and rugged status, with the demarcation line for this activity being approximately east of the town of Ronan. East Saint Marys, and its companion peak, West Saint Marys (elevation 9372 ft), while on equal terms with their neighbors as regards elevation gain and height, are, however, an exception to the "southern ruggedness," being relatively symmetrical and graceful outposts in a very rough environment, particularly so when viewed from the west and south. The two "Saint Mary" peaks are not technical to climb, but are very much worth the effort expended; the introductory view they provide into the Mission Mountains is one likely to result in further exploration of the entire range.

Nothing exists in the way of a comprehensive peak guide for this area, and even on the internet I could not find much pertaining to individual mountains, except for an occasional mention of McDonald Peak (at 9,820 ft, the range's highest), but I did find one gem of an article, "Mission Mountains Divide," in the Fall, 2006, issue of Forest Magazine, which does a wonderful job of detailing the coexistence, and differences between, both the Mission Mountains Tribal Wilderness and Mission Mountains Wilderness. The article also gives a historical overview of the Tribal Wilderness; I found this to be one of the best articles of its type I have come across, and is well worth your time!

Overview II

Overview III

East Saint Marys' View of the Neighborhood

Here are a few images of the Missions as seen from East Saint Marys. These peaks are more typical of the ruggedness of the range—by contrast, East & West Saint Marys are considerably more graceful and symmetrical than their craggy, cranky, neighbors.

Getting There

Easy. Sort of. Take U.S. Hwy 93 until reaching Saint Ignatius, then take the main turnoff (where you turn, there’s a Sinclair gas station, museum, cafe, and fruit stand on the west side of 93); go east for .3 mile until reaching a "T" junction, whereupon there is no choice but to go either right or left; go right for about a block, cross the small bridge, and immediately turn (angle) left. Stay on that street another .3 mile until coming to a stop sign, where you (again) must go either right or left, only this time go left. You are now on the St. Mary’s Lake Rd, and after 2.1 miles take a 90 degree right turn (the road is signed, but it’s easy to miss them first time around), go another mile until the road takes yet another 90 degree turn, only this time it’s to the left, and now you’re set—no more tricks. Continue another two miles (still St. Mary’s Lake Rd, remember) until the pavement ends, turning into a good gravel road; at that point it is almost exactly 4.5 miles to St. Mary’s Lake, and another short distance (a quarter mile or less) to the trailhead. There are no signs pointing to St. Mary’s Lake, and you can’t see it from the road, so I’ve provided a picture of the turnoff, with the rather distinctive, easy-to-spot, concrete building (left side of the road) that marks your way. Drive past that building on its right, then immediately take a left for maybe 150 yards, and park your vehicle (it’ll be obvious that you’re there). I’ve provided a picture of the campsite, which is the actual starting point... [text continues in "Route" section]

Route

...head past the campsite a few yards until encountering a dry streambed (surprisingly enough, it was dry on my first attempt at ESM, early July); head up the stream bed, and you'll soon begin to see trails forming on the left. Follow these trails and within a hundred yards or so they'll combine, and you'll be on a good game trail, which will take you up to timberline. At this point the trail becomes sketchy, but the destination is obvious, and it is a matter of simply strolling along a tundra-covered ridge until the final rocky ascent, which is relatively easy scrambling. From St. Mary’s Lake to the ESM Summit is 3.5 miles; elevation gain is just under 5,500 feet, mostly in the first two miles (yes, it's steep—unrelentingly so!).

Route - Topo Maps

Red Tape

Most of the western half of the Mission Mountains are on the Flathead Indian Reservation (also known as the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes—“Flathead” and “Salish” are one and the same), and a Reservation Hiking Permit is required. These are easy to obtain at sporting goods stores throughout the Mission and Flathead Valleys, as well as Missoula and Thompson Falls, or throughout the Seeley-Swan Valley on the range's eastern side—or you can call the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Recreation Department in Pablo, at (406) 675-2700. The license is $15 per season, and expires every year on the last day of February—whether you purchase yours in March, May, or December, it expires the end of February.

Another important, and unusual, detail to know about the Missions—which in this case does NOT affect either East or West Saint Marys, but is important enough to mention anyway: The McDonald Peak area on the Salish & Kootenai Reservation side of the Mission Mountains [the west side] is closed annually to allow grizzly bears to feed on a seasonal concentration of lady bugs and cut worms. This closure runs from July 15th through the last day of September, and minimizes potential confrontations between humans and bear. The closure area is shown on Topozone, as well as the Montana NGS Topo set, but neither source gives definite delineation of boundaries. I strongly recommend calling the above number in Pablo before finalizing summer plans in the McDonald Peak area!

When To Climb

July, August, September. Late June and Early October may well be okay, but are iffy, and vary from year to year. The Missions get a lot of snow; don’t be mislead by the comparatively quick melt-off on the precipitous western front—the snow doesn’t stick to the steep slopes, and those western faces get a lot of sunlight. Just be aware: There’s a lot of snow in them thar hills, bucko....

WINTER CLIMBING INFORMATION (courtesy Daryl Greaser): This is one of the few alpine peaks in the Missoula area that can be climbed in the winter as a "day hike" with relatively low avalanche danger. The road to the trailhead is often passable in winter due to its low elevation (it isn't gated) with an average 4WD and is a popular snowmobile route. However, I have visited the trailhead during most months of the year and seldom do we have to hike very far, if at all, to get to it. The normal (southeast ridge) route is objectively very safe and is a common winter training route for The New Rocky Mountaineers climbing club which is based in Missoula.

Camping

There is camping at the Twin Lakes Recreation Area, which is a mile-and-a-half past where you turn off the road to reach the trailhead. A Reservation Camping Permit is required, which may be purchased when/where you obtain the Hiking Permit, or may be purchased separately, at a later date. These permits are not site specific, and may be used anywhere in the Mission Mountains Tribal Wilderness (to repeat: one permit per year is all that is necessary, and each is $15.00). The sign at the entrance makes no mention of any length of stay restrictions.

Any questions regarding the area? I've found the folks at the Cenex gas station in Saint Ignatius to have been very friendly and helpful in the past—I’d ask them. Also and lastly, Saint Ignatius does have at least two motels.

Images



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