Madison County Highpoint Trip Report
Hilgard Peak (11,316 ft)
Date: August 11, 2007
Author: Jim Perkins
Directions to Trailhead: From I-90, take X-256 (Highway 359) or X-278 (Highway 2)
and connect with Highway 278 south toward Yellowstone Park. Don’t confuse
the Beaver Creek Campground with the Beaver Creek Road. Beaver Creek Road is
about two miles east of the campround. Beaver Creek Road is good dirt for 3.2
miles to the #222 Trailhead to Avalanche Lake. I guess if you pass the small cabin,
then you have gone 0.25 mile too far. The parking area was obvious in
the daylight.
Take the Avalanche Lake Trail five miles to the Lake. This is a friendly trail
with mild gain to the Lake. Lots of shade for the return trip. Just before you
reach the Lake, you will cross a marsh bridge and stream. Look upstream and
slightly to your right (about 2 o’clock) and you will see the North Ridge you want.
The spot you want has the "fine grind" rock at the top, not the boulders.
I took the grassiest section I could find that put me at the top of this North ridge.
There’s also a trail on the north side of the lake that fades out after
about a half mile from the main trail.
Once you ridge out, look for the farthest peak to the northeast and that’s the
distinct Hilgard Peak at 11,310 feet. By the way, there is an excellent picture of
Hilgard here.
Now, the fun begins as you drop 500 feet into a boulder field and
crest two more minor ridges. I took different ways up and down, so I don’t
think there’s a wrong answer as long as you keep the prime objective in your sights.
Remember to avoid loose stuff on the way up and enjoy it on the way down.
Once I got to Eglise Lake, which you won’t see until it’s an afterthought, I saw
a mountain goat wave and shout to me, "Hey, Dude, come on up. The view’s
great!" I guess it could have been the altitude. Anyway, I made the base of
the East Ridge, unloaded my pack non-essentials (basically everything except my
camera, water, and toothbrush) and started the last 300 feet. I found that
putting up cairns every 25 feet or so took my mind off the difficulty of this
Class 4 "scramble". I ended up staying in the gully for the most part and ended
up at the summit about 5.5 hours after leaving the car.
Trip Stats: Elevation gain was 4,370 feet, plus another 1,000 feet for the 500-
foot drop-in and regain. I would put the distance at 15.5 miles roundtrip.
I timed out at 10.5 hours total, not counting time at the top and a high mountain
pond skinny dip! Refreshing!
Hilgard from this approach is like a Mini-Mount Whitney via the Mountaineers Route,
with boulder fields and lakes and multiple ridges and a difficult final
section to the summit. Just a lot tougher to get lost at Hilgard with a lot
less difficult mileage and only 300 feet of Class 4 versus 2,000 feet of Class
3 and 4 at Whitney. Like Whitney, Hilgard is a very beautiful place that a normal
person without a burr in his drawers might really enjoy spending some time in.
In my humble opinion, Hilgard is NOT more difficult than Snowshoe Peak in the Cabinets.
The "technical" section on Hilgard was a bit more challenging than
the same scramble on Snowshoe and you didn’t have to lose 500 feet at Snowshoe
and Hilgard is higher, more miles and more elevation gain but that center
section at Snowshoe and the percentage gain and the crampons count for something.