SigMT

42 | SIGNATURE MONTANA Congress set aside nearly a million acres of high plateau land to be protected in the late 1970s. is area, home to Granite Peak and now called the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, is doed with craggy peaks, deep valleys, and some of the best trout fishing around. It is truly a respite from modern life. As you cross through the forest into the wilderness boundary, you're unfeered by devices that tend to suck us into a form of slavery to modern technology despite intentions of making life easier. e area, closed to motorized anything, is le as natural as possible "in contrast with those areas where man and his works dominate the landscape" and "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man." (e Wilderness Act of 1964) My first overnight backpacking trip took me deep into the wilderness at age eight, and from that moment on, I have been enthralled with adventures in these mountains. Over the years, those adventures pushed deeper into the backcountry to lakes few people fished, to the top of mountains few people scaled, and to legendary points that placed us on top of the world. My adventuring buddies and I oen plan last-minute trips. is was one of these moments when we all looked at each other and decided, "Let's go climb Granite this weekend." THE UNCHANGING MOUNTAIN The snow bridge is considered the start of the climb. The mountain's sheer size can only be fully appreciated while scaling the rock. G R A N I T E P E A K

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