#3: [12-Aug-09]

#2: [24-Aug-05]

16-Sep-2001 -- After visiting three confluence points on my own, I decided to bring my girlfriend, Kirsten, along with me to this confluence on the border of Montana and Wyoming. The maps indicated that it wouldn't be hard to get to the confluence, showing a well-marked trail across public land owned by the federal government's Bureau of Land Management. We prepared for a hike of about three miles from Montana Highway 72.

The trail turned out to be a dirt access road for the oil wells on the land and wasn't difficult to find, just past mile marker 1 as we headed south from Billings. Although the road is in pretty good shape, we were in the mood for a hike, and recent rains made for the occasional mud pit, which I wouldn't have wanted to try to get my Miata through. That said, for those of you with four-wheel drives or even just after a spell of dry weather, it would be easy to drive to within 20-30 meters of the confluence.

From the road, the confluence is just behind a barbed-wire fence, but there are adequate ways to go under the fence or through open gates along the way. We had excellent views of Hart Mountain to the south and the Beartooth range to the west. A slight rise blocked the view of the Clark's Fork Canyon, so we went to the top of the next rise and got a picture of it as well. It was a great day for a hike.