Castle Town, Montana, United States
Well, my second road trip of the summer season is upon me. It’s only partly a road trip, though,
centered around a six-day canoe trip through the Missouri Breaks, something I’ve
been interested in doing for a while. I
always try to make a bigger and more relaxed trip out of such things, rather
than just rushing there and back, in this case planning some hikes on the way
to and back from Fort Benton where the trip starts in what are called the “Island
Ranges”.
Montana’s general topography is mountains in the west and
plains in the east, but it’s actually far more complex that that. There are broad dry valleys between the
mountain ranges in the western part of the state but also mountain ranges in
the center well east of the main ranges of the Rockies. That keeps things
interesting. They are called island ranges because they are like elevated
islands of green, each surrounded by prairies and plains, unlike the
interconnected ranges of the spine of the Rocky Mountains.
The Castle Mountains are one such range a little southwest
of center of the state, truly in the middle of nowhere.
One of my guidebooks
includes a hike in the range I thought I’d try.
I have to admit that my expectations for spectacular scenery were not
high, but I was still hoping for some good views as well as pretty surroundings. And the unpaved road through the range is
definitely rugged, one I’m quite sure I wouldn’t have been able to tackle in my
Buick.
Maybe the most interesting thing in the range is the ghost
town named Castle, briefly a significant mining town during the 1890s. It went bust as quickly as it boomed when the
ore ran out. What remains now is just a
handful of atmospheric decaying buildings on what’s apparently private
property. There doesn’t seem to be any attempt to preserve what’s still there.
I concluded from my drive that the Castle Mountains are far
more popular with motor sports enthusiasts than hikers. I passed multiple
groups of people on ATVs but didn’t see another hiker on the route. I’m
guessing it appeals largely to the same kind of people who are into
snowmobiling.
My hike turned out to be a bit of a disappointment.
The
trail was rerouted from the Grasshopper Creek campground along a not very
scenic road that’s closed to motorized vehicles. I probably walked three miles
to a spot that was very unclear how to reconnect with the route described in my
guidebook that I hoped to take. And what
started out as a beautiful morning clouded over and started to get
sprinkly. Luckily, the steadier rain
didn’t begin until after I abandoned my quest and got back to the car much
earlier than I expected.
Well, they say that when life gives you lemons, make
lemonade. White Suplphur Springs is a
tiny town without a lot to do, but they do have a decent microbrewery that was
worth exploring. It seemed like half the
town was at the 2 Bassett Brewery that afternoon, social distancing somewhat
and also spilling out onto the covered front deck. And why is it so cold on the first day of
summer?
2025-05-22