“National Parks” is a large concept, and my exposure is limited. For instance, when in Kawaii Kauai a few years back, we walked out on a peninsula to see some birds and a light house. Much to my disappointment, I had to pay to enter, as I had left my Golden Age passport at home. The tiny enclave is a national park.
When I think of NPs I think big, sweeping, massive complexes like the Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone/Grand Teton, Yosemite/Sequoia, and Glacier/Waterton Lakes, places I have experienced, the Smokies only for a day. Since that is my experience, that is how I will write this.
The Beartooth Mountains are part of a large wilderness complex formed in 1978, formerly known as a “primitive area,” since known as the “Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness*,” or “AB.” It sits north and northeast of Yellowstone National Park, and for most of my life has been my preferred destination over the Park. It offers solitude, miles of trails, and often enough, a private lake for backpackers. (There are 944 lakes in the complex. Many have fish in them, not my concern, but an added attraction.)
For reference, the AB is the circled area in the Montana map to the left. From the image above you can grasp the enormity of the area, and the number of lakes. From a hiking standpoint, the Beartooth Mountains are an “uplift” forming a high ice plateau. This creates many drainages and basins in which lakes naturally form. While forested, it is not heavily so. Hikers only rarely get lost, as the landscape usually shows the way out – just follow a drainage. But trails are abundant. However, leaving a trial is not in any way dangerous, as the landscape usually offers a good sense of where you are.
Piece of Mindful 