North Fork Swan River - Saints John Friday Aug 5

[RockyMtRebel]

Since I couldn’t find anyone to run Spring Creek I texted some buddies and three of us decided to run meet outside of Breckinridge at the trailhead for North Fork of the Swan River. The first few miles were east forest trails and then it crossed a creek and started climbing up rocky creek with some big boulders tossed in. Once you exit the creek it continues to climb climb climb up rocky trail and then it turns to a dirt chute/v-notch that closes in around you. Gotta watch your mirrors up this fun chute with lots of flexing. It goes on for quite a while and eventually you climb above tree line. We checked out Wise mountain since it is a short spur and there were dozens of mountain goats hanging out. After hanging out for a bit we head up and up some more till we crested a ridge line and followed it to Saints John trail, which basically follows another ridge line for quite a while and eventually switch backs down into a drainage. Saints John was a fun trail but the real star was the North Fork of the Swan River. Had so much fun climbing that I didn’t start taking pictures until Wise mountain……
definitely going to explore this area some more soon!

[Jim]

`gotta love the wide, above timberline views!