Editor’s note: This is the 12th of a series of peakbagging hikes provided by Bozeman native Mike Pierre. Last week, Mike provided details on the 12-mile southern section of the Bridger Ridge Run route and a shorter 6-mile hike to Saddle Peak in the Bridger Mountains, northeast of Bozeman. This week, he offers a third option for the range along the first half of the Ridge Run route.
Sacagawea Peak is the tallest in the Bridger Mountains at 9,654-feet.
This hike begins at the Sacagawea Peak trailhead near Fairy Lake Campground. Two cars are required for this adventure with one parked at the final destination, Bridger Bowl Ski Area.
This is a somewhat difficult hike with 3,800 feet of elevation gain over a distance of 12.5 miles.
Fairy Lake to Bridger Bowl
The route climbs over the summits of 9,654-foot-high Sacagawea Peak, which is the tallest in the range, and 9,449-foot Nya Nuki Peak. (Nya Nuki, a Shoshone girl, was reportedly a friend of Sacajawea who was also kidnapped.) The path, however, does not lead to the top of imposing Ross Peak.
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One of the bigger challenges for me on this hike was the climb from Ross Pass back to the ridge. This was much longer and steeper than I had initially envisioned. The final challenge to the hike is the steep descent off the ridge and back to the Bridger Bowl parking lot.
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