Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • W I N T E R 2 0 1 8 28 MARION LAKE e Flathead Range rises some four-thousand verti- cal feet above the Middle Fork Flathead River, which forms the southern boundary of Glacier National Park. Although separated from the park by US 2, this landscape, here protected as the Great Bear Wilderness, part of the massive Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, bears much in complex with its northern neighbor: it's a lush, brushy landscape of green, glaciated valleys, the abundant snowfall and vegetation constantly threaten- ing to swallow the steep trails that provide access. Fortunately, in the wintertime that deep snow damps down the brush, allowing for snowy mountain treks just minutes from the highway. Popular with Nordic skiers, the 4-mile round trip snowshoe to Marion Lake accesses a quiet lake in the Great Bear Wilderness. e trail, which follows Marion Creek upstream, proceeds steeply for much of its length. But the views from the spruce-lined lake inspire. A name- less, nearly eight-thousand-foot peak rises above the head of the lake, its tiered amphitheater of almost perfectly circular sheets of rock an excellent example of rock exfoliation. To the north, orderly avalanche slopes descend all the way to the water. DRIVING DIRECTIONS: From West Glacier, drive east on US 2 for 26.2 miles to Dickey Creek Road. Turn right (south), cross the railroad tracks, then bear left onto Essex Road (FR 1640). Continue for 2.5 miles to the trailhead on the right. If you reach a small bridge, you've gone about 100 yards too far. A small shoulder pullout accommodates two vehicles. LAKE COMO LOOP Named by Jesuit missionary Father Ravalli after the Lake Como in his home country of Italy, Lake Como occupies a vast glacial basin at the feet of the Como Peaks, some of the most imposing of the Bitterroots. Boats crowd Lake Como in mid-summer, but winter snows quiet this vast, dammed lake, one of the few such vehicle-accessible bodies of water in the Bitterroots. A nearly 7-mile loop encircles the lake, its grade nearly level as it traces a contour through the trees well above shoreline. ere's no need to commit to the entire loop, though; from the day-use parking area on the north side of the lake, the trail packs its best views within the first 3 miles: rough gaps in the timber admire the Alps-like granite battlements of the Como Peaks, their east-facing couloirs often holding snow well into summer. DRIVING DIRECTIONS: From Hamilton, head south on US 93 for 12 miles (between mile markers 34 and 35) to Lake Como Road. Turn right (west) and drive 2.9 miles to Lick Creek Road (FR 5621). Turn right, following signs for the day-use area, 0.7 miles to the campground entrance. Turn left and then immediately right onto FR 1111 and follow it to its end at the trailhead parking area just before ree Frogs campground. 2 3 Watch a mother moose and two calves get through deep snow. www.distinctlymontana.com/moose181 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL

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