Another Tobacco Root Mountains sorti

[duffer]

My wife and I met a couple of friends from Dillon, MT in Sheridan (MT) Monday and did a day hike up Leggat Creek and camped at Upper Branham Lake. The next morning we hiked upper Mill Creek until we ran into more snow than we wanted to deal with. Getting to the camping site at the Branham Lakes FS campground required a bit of drift busting and had to winch the JK out of one of them.


The winching was one drift back-got high centered more than the lockers could handle.

Camp site.


Mill Creek at Middle Fork, a couple miles below the lakes.




Leggat Creek trail. Completely unofficial old mining road with very little traffic.


View down Leggat Creek.


The meadows in the upper reaches of Leggat Creek were a sea of globe flowers and mash marigolds.


The primary objective of this hike was to look at the remains of a mining operation.








Always in awe in how those miners got some rather large, heavy pieces of equipment up their access roads.






And back at camp. The more we use MSR's Mutta Hubba tent, the better I like it.


The vehicles with Branham Peaks for a background.


And the final shot of the day in dwindling light-a glacial pothole near camp.

 

[Posi]

What would your guess be on the diameter of that kettle?
Nice pics, thanks for sharing.

 

[duffer]

What would your guess be on the diameter of that kettle?
Nice pics, thanks for sharing.

Didn't measure it but think it was about 3 1/2 feet. Interesting that an avalanche could take something like that off its footings but that does appear to be what happened.

 

[Posi]

I was referring to the galacial kettle, also know as potholes. The one you posted looks on the large size. We have several in our neck of the woods as well 39' in diameter being the largest one. Thanks again for sharing your pics.

 

[duffer]

I was referring to the glacial kettle, also know as potholes. The one you posted looks on the large size. We have several in our neck of the woods as well 39' in diameter being the largest one. Thanks again for sharing your pics.

I'm guessing that one is a couple hundred feet in diameter. There is a large range of sizes of those in the Roots, including a handful that are named lakes that really don't rate a "lake" moniker. Most of the actual lakes are morainal dams and/or cirques.