Overview of Middle Fork Judith: Sand Point

A 2003 fire left ghost trees on the west flank of Sand Point peak

A view from the top of Sandpoint.  The grass is the Middle Fork Ranch

Yogo Peak dominates the north end of the WSA

The trailhead

The flank of the Sandpoint ridge

 I hadn't planned to hike Monday and even did my morning walk in the neighborhood.

But, looking for things to do I decided to take a drive in the Little Belts and explore access to the Middle Fork of the Judith Wilderness Study Area.

Highway 89 between Neihart and White Sulphur Springs offer a number of jumping off points to high quality backcountry Forest Service roads where trailheads come in.

I believed that I had climbed Sand Point, on the west boundary of the wilderness study area in years past, so I headed for its trailhead via a long, less direct route from Memorial Way Road and the South Fork of Deadman Road.  I could have taken Memorial all the way, but decided to explore South Deadman.

I was impressed with the overall quality of the gravel roads that took me on ridgetops above 7,000 feet and through dense and sometimes burned forest to the lovely Spur/Ant parks complex.  The wildflowers, particularly larkspur and varieties of Indian Paintbrush were eye-catching.

At the junction of Forest Service Road 6418 I had three more miles of driving to go, along with a sign indicating that the road was not maintained for autos.  It turned out to be a one track and was in pretty good shape, but something that would be tough if it rained. I took it slowly and used my low gear for climbing and descending steep pitches.

I started to doubt that I had ever been up this way on that three mile drive.

A fence and trailhead sign marked the hike's beginning.

The Sandpoint summit

It was about 400 feet gain over a little more than 2 miles to the top of Sand Point.

I was surprised to see a section of trail lined with evenly cut large, weathered logs.  On the return trip I found a sign explaining the 2003 Spur/Ant Park fire that explained them.

The hike began in healthy timber and passed through the Spur/Ant burn.  About a third of the west face of Sand Point was burned by the fire and ghost trees litter the landscape.

Before reaching the top, the Sand Point ridge came into view, revealing an open rocky face.

Sand Point appears to be the highest named mountain in the WSA at 8,211 feet and offers a sweeping view of the entire area.  The north is dominated by Baldy and Yogo peaks (both outside the WSA) and the east, Kelly Mountain, several feet lower than Sand Point, but sitting on an impressive, long open ridge.  An unnamed "bump" off Yogo peak in the WSA looks to be higher than Sand Point.

Several trails intersect Sand Point,  leading hikers to the Middle Fork River down below at a big ranch or to the Lost Fork drainage.  The Sand Point ridge line offers a gorgeous open stroll with great visibility.

There was some haze from forest fires in distant states, and I could clearly see the fire plume from the Balsinger/Ellis/Divide complex in the Little Belts.

While it was 90 degrees in Great Falls, the temperature on my hike was a comfortable 65-75 degrees. My only annoyance were the deer flies that had figured out a way to bite through my clothing.  There were no signs of horses, so I can't blame the flies on them.

I measured the distance from the trailhead back to Great Falls via South Deadman and it is 75 miles.  It is only 8 miles back to pavement from the trailhead.  South Fork road looks like the way to go.

I can see the possibility of several great loop hikes/backpacks down to the Middle Fork, some 2,500 feet below Sand Point.