Trip Report.

It was the final day of our trip before we had to make the long drive back to Oregon. The fall weather the forecast had been threatening had finally arrived and the Going-to-Sun road was officially closed for the season. We had one more fire lookout on our list to visit in the park and we weren’t going to let a little bad weather stop us. Although this hike and lookout are within the park boundaries, you have to exit the park to get there. We left our camp towards West Glacier and turned left onto HWY-2 to head farther east toward grey wet skies. The trailhead is located near the most southern tip of the park boundary behind the Walton Ranger station. It is signed and right off the highway on the lefthand side if you’re coming from West Glacier. We reached the trailhead just before 9:30AM and I was a little uneasy as we pulled into another empty parking lot. It wasn’t all too surprising given the conditions, but even still you could tell this trail saw less use than others. There were five spots with picnic tables that I assume are mostly for day use and an additional area for back country parking that could fit 3-4 cars. Our goal was Scalplock Mountain, but this was also a starting point for many different interconnecting trails into the back country.

It wasn’t raining when we started our hike, but all the plants were damp from the previous night. This quickly saturated our pants as we brushed through the denser areas. The hike starts along the Boundary Trail following the Middle Fork of the Flathead River and quickly turns into the forest to cross Ole Creek on a suspension bridge. Please only cross one hiker at a time as the sign states. After the crossing, the trail made a sharp turn to gain a bit of a hill which brought us to an open view. The low hanging clouds were lifting slightly, but we figured we would be hiking up to reach them soon enough. There was a light dusting of snow on top of the next ridge over. We decided not to consult our map to confirm if we’d be going that high. A little over one mile from the trailhead, we reached our first junction with the Ole Creek Trail. We turned left to stay on the Boundary Trail for another half of a mile to the next junction. The official Scalplock trail forked to the right here. This area seemed to be well signed and it was easy to stay on track. Once we left the Boundary Trail the real ascent began. The majority of the elevation gain was concentrated within the next 3-1/2 miles to the summit.

The water collected from the brush had completely soaked through my pants and was starting to seep into my shoes and socks. My rain jacket was able to keep the top half of me dry but the water made each step a little heavier. It was hard to tell if it was actually raining on us as the water dripped from trees above and fog rolled around us. Occasionally we’d get a break in clouds that offered views of the valley below. There are around 19 switchbacks to reach the summit from the Boundary Trail. There was only one spot that had some blow down. As we grew closer to the summit there were even a couple of sections that felt like false summits. We got our answer on if there would be snow within the last half mile as we crested an open portion of the ridge. Spoiler: there was snow. Garnet had hiked ahead at this point because I wanted to take more breaks than he needed. There was a bit more than a dusting on the protected slopes of the trail as it continued to gain elevation. This quickly turned our damp clothes painfully cold. It wasn’t too much farther to the lookout after I reached the snow line. We attempted to have our lunch on the summit but the combination of damp clothes, wind, and snow starting to fall kept our time short. I kept myself moving and stayed long enough to take a few pictures and finish my sandwich before heading back down. I didn’t expect much of a view but it was still disappointing there wasn’t a small break. Looking at other pictures online the summit offers great views of Mount Saint Nicolas and Mount Jackson to the north. Unfortunately, you can’t always wait around for the perfect weather to visit these places. I mean technically you can wait all you want (don’t let me stop you). But we’ve personally found waiting can be a matter of a fire lookout being there or not. It’s always a race against time as wildfires and age continue to claim them.

The hike down was fairly uneventful as rain settled in and we didn’t see anyone the entire hike. I thought this would have been a good place to see a bear, but we didn’t encounter much wildlife at all. It was very cold and wet by the time we reached the car. I decided to change at the trailhead to help myself warm up. We stopped to get warm food and drinks at the Glacier Highland Restaurant before returning to camp. Strava tracked this hike at 9.86 miles with 3,271′ of elevation gain.

History.

Scalplock Mountain is the southern most standing fire lookout within Glacier National Park and one of the four remaining that are still actively staffed in the summer. Though with budget cuts, staffing issues, and a push to move to camera surveillance it’s unclear how long this will remain to be true. It was built in 1931 as a 14’x14′ cab with 10′ enclosed tower and overhanging roof, a style favored by the NPS. The term Scalplock refers to a long lock of hair remaining on a shaved head worn by certain Native American warriors. According to Glacier Administrative History, the mountain received it’s name after a small tuft of trees remained on the summit after a fire burned through the area resembling a Native American’s scalplock. It was last refurbished in 1999 but appears to receive basic maintenance for upkeep. It is one of the nine fire lookouts that remain standing within the National Park.