Gold CREEK /Sheep Mountain

[CATSLEDMAN1]

Rode two days in Gold creek. Lots of trees down on trails at about the 5500 ft elevation due to heavy wet snow. Mineral Mt trail in the area around the switchbacks was blocked. Some one on Fri spent a lot of time with their hand saws making it doable with effort........thanks.

Dan R and I went back on sunday with my little HUSKY trail saw and made it real rideable, just be cautious for another month, there's wood all over in there buried under the snow.

Soofly, way rideable for this time of year, kind of impressive.

Mineral Mtns look out, no wind in the storms so no huge drifts, three of us climbed to the lookout 1/2 way along the south side, lots of snow, likely 4ft +in that area. Road gate to lookout still not covered so be careful. Good climbing though, snow there has settled some.

Any one go over around Wisherd ridge and the canyons ???

Dropped into the West Fork.....maybe 3 ft until you get in the back of section 19 then 4'. No off road there yet excpet creeping around.

Road not plowed, parked at the gravel pit, no good if you pulled an enclosed trailer.

 

[WestMont]

I haven't rode Gold Creek/Twin Creeks but know the area and for the ones that do they are sure to be thankful for such a detailed report. I also ran into a guy that said Shoo-Fly had a lot more snow than normal for this time of year.

 

[Scott]

I've been up through Shoofly before. I like that run.

 

[ragincajun]

is gold creek where those bowls are between missoula and patomic? ive heard about gold creek and wanted to check it out sometime but i have not the slighest clue as to where to go. if anyone wouldnt mind a tag along i would love to check it out sometime. you wont have to worry about me slowin ya down. ill keep up

 

[WestMont]

is gold creek where those bowls are between missoula and patomic?

Yes

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

Sunday 12

Whoa...........heavy heavy wet snow, making the sled work like crazy. Sled testing so we did'nd cover a lot of country, going to be a good base, rain and sleet as high as we got.

GOLD CREEK, SHEEP MTN, BLACK MOUNTAIN, WISHERD RIDGE, The Canyons, THE BELMONT, SPOOK LAKE, BOLES MEADOWS all the same country. From Hiway 200 just about 7 miles East of Bonner at the GOLD CREEK ROAD SIGN turn North, all the way through this country to SEELY LAKE, PLACID LAKE, JOKO ROAD. Easy 20 minute drive out of Missoula up 200.

Wisherd ridge / Sheep Mtn are where the Alpine bowls are for the avalanche dodgers, close to the hiway, 5 canyons not a lot of play area for casual riders and group rides.

West Fork Gold creek, open play areas, some hills, Black Mtn all the way to Seely Placid area, clearcut playing and old burn areas just created the last few bad fire seasons.

No one with any equipment is plowing the road this year. Going to be an issue soon. Back in the day PLUM Creek timber was plowing up 8 miles or so most winters. Now, with much more snow, just getting off hiway 200 and parking is going to be an issue.

 

[MightyMitchInMissoula]

Did any one ride Gold Creek lately?

Would like to know how far up the road you can take the truck and trailer. Thinking about going up there on Monday.

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

sat Morning

Road to the gravel pit a sheet of ice, put on the chains.. no good turn around, unloaded sleds off two place trailer, unhooked and swung trailer around, then turned truck, should have driven my short box reg cab.

Went up the WEst fork via Mineral Mtn road, then cross country to prim ranch, up the West fork, crossed to the North side of creek on upper bridge, then climbed ridges to the top of the clear cuts. Rode around in the area for 4 hrs. No one in sight. Hard crust at the bottoms with wet heavy snow underneath, perfect powder up on top, good base and good climbing.

For sure more snow now than we had in the area all last year.
Great coverage, up top clear cuts all covered, no worries. play play play.

 

[WingNutRacing]

nice

I used to love goin up there, sweet riding just barely out of town..

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

Sat 22 ride

parked at the hiway at main gold creek turn off, could have driven to gravel pit and parked but one party along didn't have good tires. rode the fingers ( ridges below canyons) headed generally north, then climbed the clearcuts to ridgetop south of Shoo fly, then 513 trail into shoofly, Mineral Mtn ridge then off cutoff trail into West fork, played west fork until 4 pm then headed out.

All good, hard snow down low from the rain, ran scratcher for first 2 miles on the Sheep Mtn road, then into 2"" of new about 4-10" of new snow all day and more in the back of west fork. Great coverage, climb anything, 10' tall rock still sticiknng out of snow, other than that go for it. Crossed several creeks on snow bridges you only see every 5 or 6 years, good good. Game cops in area, made sure they were ok and headed out before we left.

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

Thursday

more good snow, sunny but new snow up high, just getting better. road ok, put on chains pulling trailer to gravel pit just to not have issues.

Headed to Lolo for two days, so no weekend report.

 

[Scott]

Sure is blowing today. Can't tell how much snow is here in the yard as it all blew away today...but my wife was in Msla running errands and said there was an inch or two in places.

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

Sat Sun 2 12 / 2 13

Road up to gravel pit was ok on Sat. narrow parking, no place to turn a 4 place, Sunday chained up only 3 rigs all day some 4 places down at the hiway.

Snow down low was hit by rain, go any where but it took a hit, as you went up in altitude 3 plus ft of powder had been settled out to crust underneath and about 14" of traction powder, hero snow, shot up some vertical stuff I don't offen climb, was just too good.

Sat was warm, in 40 even up high was a load to steer your sled. More sun and colder snow of Sunday, moving all day so I didn't snap any pictures. Throw some sat West fork pictures from the afternoon up.

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

more pictures of 2 12

more west fork of Gold creek pictures from 2 12

 

[WestMont]

Is that Dan from Pacific Steel ??

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

Dan from Pacific and his daughter Sarah at Prim ranch before we climbed into the Hart lake area,.

 

[WestMont]

Very cool. I don't make it into Pacific as much as I used to but have known him for quite a few years from there.

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

wow..............brrrrrrrrrr

still cold, snotel sits up high still cold, thought the warm air might have moved in above 6000 ft. Maybe this afternoon, new snow out there, earlier in the weeks was good around shoo fly.

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

sunday ride

Still cold on sat.............so Sunday ride and warmer. Ok for truck and two place trailer to go up to gravel pit to park.
About5 or 6 rigs when we parked.

Had a couple of Bitterroot friends Val and Bill on their skidoos dan and I on our cats, we headed for Black mtn via the backside clear cuts, takes good coverage and and conditons for that route. As good as I've seen it for 5 or 6 years.



Wind howling on top of Black Mtn ridge, but warm !!! all good, headed East with Spook Lake as destination, dropped into a new play area we discovered a few years ago, then a steep climb up the backside clearcut into spook. WE backtracked a little and went up the ridge east of Belmont lookout. Woops, a set of tracks out of Seely lake ?? what the he !!, I though I owned this area. almost 70 miles of boondocking, great powder, great climbing, almost too tired to run the keyboard.

Heard a group sawing on the steeper climbs over on the faces of the West Fork looking into Gold creek, just before we topped th Black Mtn ridge. several minutes on the bar over there so I know that hill.

Looked like several groups coming out of the bowls as we were leaving at 5pm. /Should have been good when the sun was out.

 

[mod03rmk800]

We play really close a couple times out of the year there. The Calhoons(sp?) from Seeley have been known to partake that area also.
Some of the guys were in there 2 weekends ago.