D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • W I N T E R 2 0 1 6
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Snowshoe to a lookout with next-door-neighbor views
of the interior of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness on
the 10-mile round-trip trek to
BERRAY MOUNTAIN. Located
outside the boundaries of both the wilderness and the
Scotchmans, Berray boasts great views of both. e lower portion of
the Berray Mountain trail winds its way through ponderosa pines
and Douglas firs en route to scattered subalpine meadows on the
summit. Periodic openings in the canopy peek into the Scotchman's
Pillick Ridge and Star Peak, nice rewards for snowshoers looking
for a trek shorter than 10 miles. Close at hand, keep a keen eye out
for bighorn sheep: Berray Mountain is home to a herd of about a
hundred, which like to congregate near the base of the mountain in
the winter and lick the salt-based de-icer off Highway 56.
DIRECTIONS: From Noxon, drive 5 miles west on Highway 200.
Turn right onto Highway 56 and drive 8 miles to Bull River Road.
Turn right and drive 1 mile to the Berray Mountain trailhead, on
the left side of the road.
For a unique base for exploration of the west side of the Cabi-
nets, rent the historic Bull River Guard Station near Noxon. Built
in 1908 by Granville "Granny" Gordon, the first District Ranger
on the Cabinet National Forest (now the Kootenai National
Forest), the guard station was used first as a home and office for
Gordon and his family, then as a seasonal guard station. (Gordon
also constructed the stone shelter at the summit of Star Peak.)
Now the Forest Service rents out the guard station, which sleeps
six and offers electric lights and appliances. In winter, the furnace
will warm you up after trips to the outhouse; there's no plumbing
at the guard station.
e cabin is truly snowshoe-in/snowshoe-out; in winters with
deep snowpack, guests may have to walk the last 1/8th mile to the
cabin. Meanwhile, leisurely snowshoe walks abound on the forest
roads surrounding the cabin, and the Berray Mountain trailhead
lies a mile away.
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