Description/Basic Information
The Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness, located in the Bitterroot and the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests in Montana, was established on October 2, 1937 as a Primitive Area and reclassified as the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness in 1962. It is now a unit of the National Wilderness Preservation system established by the Wilderness Act of September 3, 1964. It was named for the dominant Anaconda Mountain Range and Charles Ellsworth Pintler, an early day Big Hole Settler who first came to the area in 1885. The Wilderness is managed jointly by the Philipsburg, Wise River and Wisdom Ranger Districts in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and the the Sula Ranger District in the Bitterroot National Forest.
The 158,516-acre wilderness spans some 40 miles along the Continental Divide in Beaverhead, Deer Lodge, Granite, and Ravalli Counties. The area is less than a 2-hour drive from Dillon, Butte, or Hamilton. Major highways service the area include US. highway No. 93 on the west, Montana State No. 38 and Montana Highway No 1 from the north, and Montana State No. 43 from the east and south.
GEOGRAPHY
The Continental Divide's Anaconda Range is a true Sierra-Type mountain range. Elevations range from 5,100 to 10,793 feet. Glaciation formed many spectacular cirques, U-shaped valleys, and glacial moraines in the foothills. Sparkling streams, fed by perpetual snowbanks above timberline, tumble down steep canyons from high mountain meadows. There are numerous lakes, alpine forests and meadows. On Rainbow Mountain, Pintler Peaks, and at other points along the Continental Divide hikers and riders can view the Mission Mountains to the northwest and the mountains marking the Idaho-Montana Boundary to the southwest.
Snow-free seasons are short. Precipitation, mostly in the form of snow, is heavy compared to the nearby valleys. Lakes normally remain frozen until the first week of July. Snowstorms can occur at any time during the year, including July and August.
The vegetative spectrum varies with elevation and available moisture. Sagebrush, willow flats, ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, and spruce comprise much of the lower elevation vegetative mosaic. These blend into aspen, subalpine fir, whitebark pine, and subalpine larch as the elevation increases. The Alpine zone finds bare talus slopes, tarns and snowfields where primitive lichens, mosses and only the hardiest herbaceous plants survive.
Stock forage is scarce and in many places, non-existent. Horse users are encouraged to carry concentrated feed pellets for their stock. In addition, travelers should carry handtools suitable for cutting windfallen trees from the trail.
The 158,516-acre wilderness spans some 40 miles along the Continental Divide in Beaverhead, Deer Lodge, Granite, and Ravalli Counties. The area is less than a 2-hour drive from Dillon, Butte, or Hamilton. Major highways service the area include US. highway No. 93 on the west, Montana State No. 38 and Montana Highway No 1 from the north, and Montana State No. 43 from the east and south.
GEOGRAPHY
The Continental Divide's Anaconda Range is a true Sierra-Type mountain range. Elevations range from 5,100 to 10,793 feet. Glaciation formed many spectacular cirques, U-shaped valleys, and glacial moraines in the foothills. Sparkling streams, fed by perpetual snowbanks above timberline, tumble down steep canyons from high mountain meadows. There are numerous lakes, alpine forests and meadows. On Rainbow Mountain, Pintler Peaks, and at other points along the Continental Divide hikers and riders can view the Mission Mountains to the northwest and the mountains marking the Idaho-Montana Boundary to the southwest.
Snow-free seasons are short. Precipitation, mostly in the form of snow, is heavy compared to the nearby valleys. Lakes normally remain frozen until the first week of July. Snowstorms can occur at any time during the year, including July and August.
The vegetative spectrum varies with elevation and available moisture. Sagebrush, willow flats, ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, and spruce comprise much of the lower elevation vegetative mosaic. These blend into aspen, subalpine fir, whitebark pine, and subalpine larch as the elevation increases. The Alpine zone finds bare talus slopes, tarns and snowfields where primitive lichens, mosses and only the hardiest herbaceous plants survive.
Stock forage is scarce and in many places, non-existent. Horse users are encouraged to carry concentrated feed pellets for their stock. In addition, travelers should carry handtools suitable for cutting windfallen trees from the trail.