Fisher Peak (Swans) - July 15, 2017

Date: July 15, 2017

Trip Leader: John Bardsley

I lead my first TRM trip this past weekend up Fisher Peak in the Swan Range. Three people joined me on the outing: Bryan Kercher, Fintan Maguire, and Joe Scott.

Fisher is one of the most spectacular peaks along the Swan Front, and it is also one of the most accessible, due to the presence of the Swan Divide Trail #382. To get to the trail head, turn east off of Highway 83 onto Morell-Clearwater Road, between mile makers 27 and 28, about 13 miles north of Seeley Lake. Bear right at a fork in the road after about three miles, and then about seven-and-a-half miles from the highway, you’ll be at the obvious trail head.

The first mile or two of trail is basically flat, along an old logging road with great views of Fisher Peak as you go. Then you come to a saddle with a fork in the trail and a sign post with no sign. Turn left and this trail steeply climbs to the Swan Crest. Once on the crest, just walk the ridge north 1.5 miles to Fisher Peak. It’s a very nice ridge walk, without much easy walking and with some class 3 sections. The crux is on the steep south face of Fisher. As you walk toward this face, you’ll see an obvious scree/snow chute east of the ridge, which provides class 3 access to the summit slopes. The stats for the climb from my GPS (probably over-estimates): 10 miles RT, 3400 feet of gain, and six hours. It was a great day with great people.