Fallon County Highpoint Trip Report
Date: April 30, 2008
Author: Edward Earl
On MT-7 at mile 13.5 between Baker and Ekalaka, I turned E on Webster Rd, which
is well-graded gravel. Zero your odometer here. At 2.9 miles I turned R (S) on
Old Baker Hwy. This road is identified as Rd 19 on DeLorme. At 4.4 miles I
turned L (E) on Fletcher Creek Trail. The road curves around to the S and
reaches a T-junction at 5.6 miles. I turned L (E) here. At 6.6 miles I turned R
(S) at an unsigned intersection. At 7.3 miles is an unsigned fork, where I went L.
The road heads briefly E and soon resumes its southerly course. at 9.1 miles,
I passed a small green sign saying that right to pass is by courtesy of owner
and also says no hunting or trespassing. It identifies the owner as Melvin
Wolenetz & Sons Inc and provides their phone numbers 406-775-6704 and
406-975-6589. At 10.2 miles the road ends at an abandoned ranch. The only
structures in the area are a large barn, a house, a small shack, and two
corrugated metal cylindrical storage buildings. One is large and horizontal,
the other is small and upright. The only vehicle was a large bulldozer parked off to
the right. None of the structures showed evidence of recent use. This is the
building complex near the NW corner of section 30. All roads up to this point
are well-graded gravel and suitable for any street legal vehicle.
I parked by the ranch and continued S on foot, following farm vehicle tracks.
The "road" heads S and turns W up a side gully. Near the saddle halfway between
the center and E side of section 25 is a large tire lying on its side, now used
as a water tank. Here the road turns sharply L, away from the tracks shown on
the map, heading SW. The tracks pass through a gap in the fence on the border
between sections 25 and 36. The tracks then fade gradually as they descend into
a broad valley. I passed by a prairie dog colony soon before crossing the dam at
the W end of the lake just W of the center of section 36. I continued SW,
passing between two small rock outcrops (one of which has a profile reminiscent
of Stonehenge), crossed a shallow gully, and eventually arrived at point 3571,
which has fences going in all 4 compass directions. I carefully negotiated the
fence headed N from point 3571. A short walk uphill to the W leads to the
eastern candidate HP area, and an easy stroll from there leads to the western area.
Signs in the vicinity identify the property as a wildlife management area. It is
mostly a wilderness; the only human evidence is an occasional fence or jeep
track, the tire tank, the dam that creates the lake just W of the center of
section 36, and numerous cowpiles. The cowpiles are all quite old and are being
taken over by dandelions. The vegetation is natural.