Warren PassOne Way 5.0 miles, 1480 feet

A very nice day hike up the Maloney Basin to one of the best non-lake destinations in the AP Wilderness. Can be a loop or out and back. Note: The last 1.5 miles before the pass, including the pass, burned in the terrible 2017 Montana fires - don't let that deter you. Sadly, the little lake a mile below the pass burned, so it is not quite what it was.

Description

You start at the same trailhead as Carpp Lake, but when you reach the first junction just a quarter mile in, turn left, not right.  (You can do this hike counter-clockwise, but I prefer this direction.) The first mile or two is uneventful, but once you reach the junction to Cutaway Pass, the scenery keeps getting better and better.  (This junction is a nice spot to rest.  There is a camp site, and the creek is close by.  The trail up to Cutaway Pass gets you into some of the highest, roughest terrain in the Pintlers.)

About a mile before the pass there is a small, shallow lake that is actually quite scenic.  This could make a nice campsite for an easy overnighter.  From here the trail makes its final ascent to Warren Pass.  Unlike most other named passes here, this one is really just a saddle between drainages.  Because of this, you can make this a loop hike by continuing on to the Carpp Lakes, then back to the trailhead.  The Pass features some large boulders, White Bark Pines, and often Clark’s Nutcrackers.  Some maps show a small pond about 250 feet above the pass - this could make a nice little scramble.

Getting There

Drive 6 miles south of Philipsburg on Highway 1.  Turn right on Skalkaho Pass Pass Road.  Drive 6 more miles, turn left toward East Fork Reservoir on East Fork Road, just before the mile marker 48.  Drive 6 miles to the reservoir, cross the dam, and drive 12 miles more on 5141 to the trailhead.  There are stock ramps, hitching posts, and strawberry plants and that’s about it.