Over the Beartooth Plateau - Island Lake to the East Rosebud Trail - by TrekkingtheWest.com

It was the point of no return... it was day 3 of my grand Beartooth trek, I had lofty goals to cross the 11,000 ft plateua...drop into a seldom seen dramatic canyon to the East...then link up with the classic East Rose Bud trail back over the divide -- now those plans seem maybe a bit too ambitious. The boulderfield I had just carefully negociated was precarious enough and now I found myself glancing down a steep 300 ft drop that would stop anyone in their tracks. Others had done it, I got confirmation it could be done without a rope, that did little to settle my stomach when giving it a look. Then one step at a time I picked my line carefully down the grassy ledges. A feeling of relief rushed through my blood at the bottom as I looked what I came down as I set up my tent along a remote Glissade Lake. It would not be the only short and extremely steep off-trail segment of this trek over the Beartooths, no question this trek contained the most difficult and potencially dangerous off-trail hiking I had ever done. But in contrast the Beartooths also contain some of the best opportunities to get off the beaten path, get up on the highest plateau above 10,000 ft in America and set a coarse that has endless options. With no shortage of adventure this trek quite certainly delivers if your looking for the next challenge and comfortable hiking short sections of borderline, ropes mandatory terrain. The payoffs are big no doubt - Stunning lakes, flowers, valleys, cascades... the list could go on forever. Quite simply another gem of the West the Beartooths Wilderness provides some of the best pick-your route and go cross-country hiking in America.
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