This is our trip report for a Thursday July 22nd, 2010 rock hounding trip to Quartz Hill. Quartz Hill is located about 5 miles south of Dewey, Montana and off Highway 43.




We headed out of Melrose around 9:00 am, taking the Frontage Road north to Divide, Montana and then west on Highway 43. About 100-200 yards past the small town of Dewey, take the road heading south that is plainly marked by a National Forest sign as Quartz Hill. Within 100 yards the road turns into a semi good condition gravel road. We parked our truck in a pullout just as the road turned to gravel, unloaded the Arctic Cat ATV and were on the way up into the mountains by 9:35 am.

Ghost Town Coordinates: 45.715551, -112.901037
The road heads straight south into the Pioneer Mountains and gains elevation rather quickly as opposed to the Calvert Mine road. The scenery was wonderful so we took our time and soaked in the pine tree smell and cool air as we puttered up at 10-15 mph. At about the 5 mile point we came upon a old mining town (ghost town?) with about 5 or 6 weathered and decaying wood buildings. We spent some time looking over a few of the old buildings before heading north up a road just past this ghost town.

Free Standing Chimney Coordinates: 45.715993, -112.902250
It didn't take long for us to find some "cool" rocks. We parked the ATV in a pull out at the old free standing chimney. There are interesting rocks just laying on the road so there is no use in digging into the road cut or disturbing the soil. I classify the rocks we found at this location as "shiny and glittery coated" quartz. Nothing that will make you rich and famous but some samples certainly will be displayed prominently in our house. Just plain cool rocks!!!!!


Fenced mine shaft - Click for bigger photo

Really Shiny and Glittery Rock Mine Tailing Coordinates: 45.731615, -112.903436
We continued heading north on this primitive and rough road better suited for ATV's but definitely passable for a 4 wheel drive truck (Yours, not mine). There is evidence of mining all along this road and right to the top at an elevation of about 7,835 feet. There are a few fenced off mine shafts at the top of this road and mine tailings at this sight. We continued heading north on this very rough and narrow road until we found some old mine tailings and a few old building. These mine tailings contained some more very cool rocks in the "really shiny and glittery" category. Again there is no need to dig around as all the rocks are just sitting on the surface. Sure you could dig and find some even better rocks and maybe something valuable but that's not our style. We spent about 30-40 minutes poking around this pile of old rocks before figuring we had enough.

We had planned on continuing heading further north but the road got steep, rocky and "sidehilled" so we changed plans. While researching this area before coming to Montana I discovered a small lake located off another spur road further to the East. I got out the GPS unit headed for that lake.

Coordinates of "Knoby Park" or "The Big Meadow": 45.742554, -112.886419
The scenery along this road was amazing even for Montana standards. There are a lot of small meadows along the ridge line and each meadow was covered in wildflowers. And then there are vistas of the surrounding mountains and distant mountain chains. Stunning scenery...we thought! That was until we got closer to the lake where there is a huge meadow covered in deep green grass and views that stretched forever. We stopped along the road as close to the lake as we could get and walked to the ridge line above it. After the last few days we were concerned that deer flies and mosquitoes would probably enjoy living near the lake so we stopped about 1/10 of a mile before getting to it. The saddle we were on, more commonly call Knoby Park had a nice cool breeze and the deer flies weren't too interested in us. So we had lunch in the middle of a wonder high mountain meadow in almost perfect weather conditions. There may be some heartless people living in this world that might not see the beauty and peacefulness of this very special place but they'd have to be just plain evil to not be at least a little impressed with Knoby Park of the Pioneer Mountains.


Click photo for bigger version of Knoby Park

More Rocks and Places
With our stomachs full from lunch and our brains filled with great memories of Knoby Park headed back to the mining district. With all the old mine tailings right along the return road, the hard part would be not stopping at each one of them. We make a few stops as we headed back towards Quartz Hill Road collecting a few more amazing "cool rock" specimens. I don't think we had to get more than 3 feet off the road to find rocks we wanted to take home.

Once back on Quartz Hill Road we continued south looking for some uncharted rock hounding finds. The road starts heading even higher and tops out at about 8,300 feet just two road miles south of the ghost town. We found a few small deposits of opalized quartz along side the road but it wasn't in the best condition. Maybe some other day we could explore more places along Quartz Hill Road but we had enough for one day.

Just a Side Note
We actually planned this rock hounding trip to Quartz Hill because we heard there are some quartz crystals to be found in this area. We found nothing in the quartz crystal category so if you head up there for some rock hounding, let me know what you found. Of course, I'm pretty sure anyone who reads this article will take the information I provide them and never bother returning the favor. I have just two words for this "Karma Bus". But one can hope that common courtesy still exists somewhere out there in this rude and crude new digital age.

Link to a few more pictures of our rock hounding trip to Quartz Hill Montana:
http://picasaweb.google.com/tim.bondy/RockHoundTripToQuartzHillInMontana#

Map of Quartz Hill, Montana:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=45.731468,-112.88744&spn=0.046432,0.132093&t=p&z=14


Thanks for visiting and commenting on this Montana outdoor rock hounding adventure.


Tim Bondy
The Bondyweb.Com author

This is a trip report for my Wednesday July 21st, 2010 fishing trip along the Big Hole River outside of Melrose, Montana.



Wednesday July 21st, 2010 was reserved for my main fishing day on the Big Hole River. I needed a non-residence fishing license and the Sunrise Fly Shop was glad to sell me one. This shop is located right next the Sportsman Motel in Melrose. Ryan, the owner of the Sunrise Fly Shop told me to head up Trapper Creek Road and turn right on Big Horn Road where it would eventually meet up with many good spots to fish the Big Hole.
http://www.sunriseflyshop.com/

Coordinates for Big Horn Road Turn-off from Trapper Creek Road: 45.630778, -112.730571
I jumped on my Arctic Cat ATV and headed through Melrose and up Trapper Creek Road. It wasn't hard to find the turn-off road and before long I was fishing the Big Hole. Every place I stopped to fish along this section of the river looked very promising as fish were rising everywhere. I fish exclusively with Panther Martin spinners, an ultra light Ugly Stick fishing rod and spinning reel so I was at a distinct disadvantage in this situation. I waded and slogged through the Big Hole at 9 different places while watching trout jumping and rising all around me. My only catch of the day was a 8-9 inch trout caught just outside of some strong rapids. I know this will sound like a cop out but I consider this a successful day of fishing. I also believe that a person has to pay his dues to a new fishing spot and have been skunked many times in the past on my first day of fishing a new stream/river.

The dirt road that follows the Big Hole River may be called Big Horn Road or just Fishing Access Road but once it leaves the ranch land behind it winds through a very scenic river canyon. All the land along this portion of the Big Hole is public property and there are plenty of places to gain easy access to the river. One might have to duck and struggle through some willows and heavy brush but nothing too unpleasant. Also most places at this time of the year you can easily wade into the river without the fear of being swept down the river. I was surprised at just how warm the water was in this trout filled river. As the day started warming up I started wading in deeper just to cool off.


Click for a bigger picture of the Big Hole


If you think there aren't any big fish in the Big Hole, you'd be wrong. At one place on the river I probably casted out 30 times until a drift boat came by. I watched as one guy pulled in a pretty big fish probably in the 18-21 inch range. That was kind of humbling watching him do this right in the same place I just fished for the last 30 or so minutes. Good on him though.

End of the road for Big Hole Fishing Access Coordinates: 45.693415, -112.743427
Overall, this nice fishing access road runs along the Big Hole for about three miles. At the end of the road there is a hiking trial that runs even further for those of you who wish to get into a little more private fishing. I hiked about ½ mile past the end of the road and didn't see anyone else except people in drift boats. The day was wearing on, getting rather warm and the mosquitoes were getting to me so I turned around a little earlier than I wanted to. I fished a few spots on the way back to Melrose on the off chance the Big Hole trout wanted to be a little nicer to this first timer. They weren't...but the million mosquitoes certainly appreciated my stopping by for a visit. The skies were just starting to turn stormy and gray as I made it back to the motel and within 20 minutes we has a nice little thunderstorm outside our door.


Click the picture for a bigger version

My Notes for Future Trips
I would still try fishing for some large Big Hole trout from the shore but before I get too old to throw a lure into a river I'd like to try drift boat fishing this river. It certainly would open up some better fishing spots. The sign outside the Sunrise Fly Shop said they offer float trips so I may look into at least a half day trip in the coming years. I suspect I'll have to save up my lunch money for this kind of adventure but it should be worth the money.

Link to a few more pictures of this fishing trip:  http://picasaweb.google.com/tim.bondy/MontanaSBigHoleRiverFishingTripOnJuly212010?feat=directlink


Thanks for visiting and commenting on this Montana outdoor rock hounding adventure.


Tim Bondy
The Bondyweb.Com author