Mount Wright

BOU AVENUE
Mount Wright

On 24 August 2024, Zosia Zgolak and I hiked up Mount Wright in Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness. I basically discovered this mountain by chance while perusing various maps of this area searching for suitable hiking objectives. Mount Wright is one of the few peaks here that has a good trail running all the way to its summit. Although it is a bit of a long drive to get to the trailhead, the access is relatively easy which made this hike even more appealing to me.

From US Highway 89, turn west onto Teton Canyon Road 8.6 kilometres northwest of the junction with US Highway 287 in the city of Choteau or 14.0 kilometres south of the community of Bynum. Drive 30.0 kilometres to where pavement ends and 2WD gravel begins. Drive 12.0 kilometres and pass Elko Campground (three free sites with vault toilet). Continue driving for another 10.0 kilometres and park near the junction (47.96035, -112.80905) with a gated jeep track heading west. If needed, vault toilets are available at West Fork Teton Campground (fee sites) about 500 metres past the junction. Potholes abound on the gravel sections of the access road; drive with caution.

From the locked gate, Zosia and I hiked westward along West Fork Teton Trail (FT 114) for about 700 metres before turning right onto Mount Wright Trail (FT 160). FT 160 climbs a bit before crossing a small creek and winding around the south end of an unnamed ridge to the southeast of Mount Wright. The trail then rises steadily up the east side of a major drainage to reach a high col separating Mount Wright from the unnamed ridge. We had no issues hiking to the high col, and from there, we continued westward along the trail up a brief steep section followed by two long switchbacks. After the switchbacks, we crossed a large open bowl to gain the south end of Mount Wright's summit ridge, and the remaining walk up to the top was easy despite a howling wind which threatened at times to knock us off our feet. The summit is topped with what looks like a power transformer, and we took shelter behind it for a well-deserved break out of the wind.

For our descent, Zosia and I simply retraced our steps down the mountain, and with a good trail to follow all the way out, we had no problems whatsoever. As enjoyable as this hike was, I was even more impressed by the ruggedness of the surrounding mountains. While somewhat overshadowed by the more famous Glacier National Park to the north, the Bob Marshall Wilderness has its fair share of amazing mountain scenery and is definitely worth exploring further.

	Zosia begins hiking along West Fork Teton Trail (FT 114) with Mount Wright visible in the background.
	One of several deer near the trailhead looks curiously back at Zosia.
	Zosia turns off onto Mount Wright Trail (FT 160).
	Zosia hikes through an old burn on the lower slopes of Mount Wright.
	A young grouse keeps still hoping that it would not be noticed. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	The trail climbs up this drainage to the high col at right.
	At the high col, the trail turns westward up the ridge at left.
	Zosia follows the trail aiming for the shelf up ahead which is the entrance to an open bowl.
	Zosia crosses an open bowl en route to Mount Wright's summit ridge.

Easy street...except for the occasional wind gust!

Zosia climbs up the summit ridge of Mount Wright.

	Sonny and Zosia stand near the summit of Mount Wright (2706 metres).
	Zosia takes shelter from the wind behind some sort of weather station on the summit.
	Immediately to the west is the south end and highest point (right) of Corrugate Ridge.

More intriguing areas to explore!

The rest of Corrugate Ridge (left) can be seen stretching away to the north. Some of the peaks in Glacier National Park are barely visible on the central horizon.

	Some more intriguing mountains can be seen to the northeast.
	A sea of rugged peaks stretch away to the south as Zosia descends the summit ridge.
	Zosia re-crosses the open bowl on her way down.
	Zosia begins descending the drainage below the high col. The peak at right through the gap is Mount Lockhart.
	Zosia hikes back out the West Fork Teton River valley. The big peak in the distance is unnamed.
	Total Distance: 11.1 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 6 hours 1 minute Cumulative Elevation Gain: 958 metres GPX Data