Three Lakes Peak

I've been spending a lot of time in the Ninemile area recently, and this was no exception. Three Lakes Peak is just a little beyond Josephine Peak. I believe you can get there from Dixon, MT also, and although it would have been a shorter hike, it was a longer drive, and I was working with some time constraints, so opted for the shorter-drive-longer-hike route. As it turns out, it was too long for my time constraints, and because the summit was looming, I risked not showing up for work in order to hit the peak....that made it a little more expensive hike than I had planned! In my defense, however, I was nursing a cold, and felt a bit slower than normal. 
The drive in is much like McCormick Peak, or Josephine Peak. I have found this to be the easiest/fastest way to get there:
Take I-90 (from Missoula) to the Ninemile exit.  A right off the exit, then past the Ninemile house, take a right onto W. Ninemile Rd. At the end (about 4.4 miles) take a left.  At about 9.9 miles (5.5 from the McCormick turn off) you'll take a right up Rd. # 5498 and at about 4.75 miles is the sign for the Burnt Fork Trail. There is plenty of parking just before the trail.

The beginning of the hike and the colors are gorgeous in early October

  Above you can see many of the peaks I've summited this summer/fall: Josephine Peak, McCormick Peak, and the furthest away and most prominent, Ch-Paa-Qn Peak.
Below is the sign I wasn't so pleased to see.  After 3.5 miles, I realized I still had 2 miles to go, at which point I started picking up my pace.  

Count 'em, one, two, three!

 

On my way down, I noticed some of the not-so-pretty scenery.  Sometimes, while walking through burned out areas, it is eerily pretty, and it opens up to views you wouldn't otherwise see. This one, on the left, was not one of those. On the right, I finally looked down to see my Jeep...about a half hour after the time I should have been there. Oops!

I'm not sure if you can tell by this map, but I had stayed on the trail too long.  When I finally realized that, I made a detour straight up to the peak before Three Lakes Peak.  It was rather steep and rocky and I was thinking this was not the way to go. Also, I thought there was a trail straight up to the peak, and that I had somehow missed it. I was wrong there, too.  You just have to find a good place to go off trail and start up.  Once I hit the summit, I thought I'd come down where I thought the trail SHOULD be....another bad move. I started down, thinking I was going in the direction of the main trail. It took me a little while to realize I was headed down the wrong side of the ridge line. Without my navigation app, I surely would have gotten lost. I kind of sidled my way back over some steep, rather precariously rocky terrain to get back over the ridge, and onto the right side of the mountain, where I worked my way down till I hit the main trail. I was relieved, but now knew I would never get back to town in time. I also thought for a few moments about people who get lost out here, and why. I don't ever want to have Search and Rescue out looking for me, and so rely heavily on my phone.  Here's to never losing it again, or having the battery run out (I have back up power for it) or accidentally crushing it against rock. These things could ruin a person's day!

 

The actual elevation gain from the start of the trail to the top of Three Lakes Peak is 3364 feet.  It was an 11.9 mile trip for me, but could have been a touch shorter if I paid closer attention to my phone.  All in all, a great day to be running around in the mountains, but what day isn't? Happy hiking!