Plan with
Confidence
Path Type
Point to Point
Drive up Jewel Basin Road and park at Camp Misery. Head south on the old service road. Part of the trail follows the old service road. Once you get about 0.75 miles out, the road follows the south-facing aspect of the Swan Range and views open up of the flathead valley. At about 1.0 mile, there is a fork, and you can leave the service road and follow the foot traffic only trail. This part is fairly flat and enjoys great views into the Swans and Flathead Valley including views of Mud Lake, Flathead Lake, and Echo Lake.
Follow signs for Mt. Aeneas at second fork in trail. This is when it starts to be a climb. Multiple switchbacks bring you up to the ridge and you get your first views into jewel basin. Follow the ridge to the southeast and finish the last half mile to the top. The last bit is steep and some very minimal scrambling.
You can turn back at the summit, but the trail continues on, defending towards the lakes to the north and connects to other trails.
Some Issues
We all the way up. Clouds started about 6500ft. Along the ridge to the summit, rocks got pretty slippery.
Once the clouds started breaking up, great views down to Birch lake.
All Clear
This is an incredible trail.
Once you get up to the ridge after a moderate climb, you're rewarded with absolutely epic views to the east into the Great Bear Wilderness Area (including Great Northern Mtn) and beyond into Glacier NP (including Cloudcroft Peaks which are stunning). And, of course, if you turn around, you get an amazing view of Flathead valley and, in particular, you can really see just how massive Flathead Lake is from up there. From that point, it's just a short, not-too-strenuous hike to the summit. The whole trail was clear of snow and had lots of Mountain Goats hanging around, especially near the summit.
Things to be aware of:
* There are no water sources, so be sure to camel up.
* Be sure to protect yourself from the sun as there isn't a lot of tree cover on the route.
* While we were very thankful to not encounter any mosquitoes, we did encounter (and get bitten by) some black flies near the top.
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