Mount Powell (3099 m / 10168 ft): A hard-to-get-to regular sized cache on the highest peak in the Flint Creek Mountain Range. With conducive conditions, this adventure takes most of day to complete. There is no official trail to the top of Mount Powell. Although Mount Powell can be approached from the north or east, the easiest and most popular approach is from Dempsey Creek TH on the south side. You can find various southern routes online. Whatever route you choose, a considerable amount of scrambling will be required. We would like to say this cache is unavailable in winter, but we saw that someone had signed the USFS registry up there on January 31st.
Driving to Dempsey Creek Trail Head:
Plan your trip when dirt roads will be dry, because the forest service road to Mount Powell can be muddy. Exit I-90 at Deer Lodge or Racetrack Exit 195 and proceed generally westward on unmarked country roads toward the southern face of Mount Powell until you find yourself on Dempsey LAKE Road. On that road you will find Montana State Prison’s remote Ranch #2 outpost. See photo-map and waypoint. That is where you turn briefly onto Perkins Road as it splits away westward parallel to Mount Powell. Follow Perkins Road for less than 100 meters before turning north (right) uphill onto the single-lane Forest Service Road #8507 (AKA Dempsey CREEK Road). From that turn, it is 12 km/7+ Mi to the rustic TH. Do not venture away from the 8507 during the first two thirds because you are crossing Montana State Prison Ranch land until you enter the tree line. You will likely not see any incarcerated offenders out there, because the main prison compound is far out of sight over the foothills to the north. Stay on 8507 all the way as it climbs to the TH. The road is normally passable from May 1st through November 1st, but snow and ice can linger in high areas. The road is bumpy but is reasonably passable for most passenger cars (we carefully drove our sedan there, mildly clunking bottom only twice). A high clearance vehicle would be best. Non-designated camping is allowed in the vicinity of the TH.
Hiking to the Geocache:
Start from the Dempsey Creek TH. You must eventually ascend north to Powell’s ridge. Most people first proceed up the rugged trail on foot or ATV to tiny Bohn Lake (3.8 km / 2.4 Mi) or further to the creek crossing (5.6 km /3.5 Mi) and then find the least difficult route to scramble up to the ridge. Once on the ridge, follow it north until the peak comes in view. When we went there on June 25th, we encountered a vast alpine snow field before leaving the tree-line, but the snow was very dense, and we walked over it without any post-holing. The final ascent was free of snow, requiring only steep scrambling on talus, with no technical climbing required.
We have placed more caches in less difficult locations. If you like walking in the woods, you may also enjoy our series of caches. All are fun and underused. Check them out.