Black Mountain (Southwest Ridge)

Participants- Isaac and Eric Jones 

Because of my late posting, some interested folks weren’t able to make this trip. However, this allowed Isaac and I to enjoy a very nice and filling breakfast at ‘The Trough’ in Target Range before we headed to the trailhead up O’Brien Creek. The trailhead is about a mile below the gate which allowed us an easy bike ride to the gate and another mile up the road before the trail veered off to the north. We dumped the bikes there and headed up the trail for about mile before we bushwhacked up the obvious SW ridge to the summit. This route was surprisingly beautiful and did not have any evidence of timber management that is so striking when you look at the east face of Black Mountain from the Missoula valley. The coast back to the truck, through every puddle, was awesome.