Dome Mountain Summit, Cabinet Divide Trail,
Cabinet Wilderness, Montana

An early September snowfall blew in while we were backpacking in the Cedar Lakes area of the Cabinet Wilderness in northwest Montana. In the late afternoon, we decided to do a loop day hike up the Cabinet Divide Trail to the top of Dome Mountain.

Starting late and with no emergency provisions (unless you count having lots of film!), we slogged through the ankle-deep snow on the trail up the flank of Dome Mountain. On top, the alpine larch (Larix lyallii) were in their golden fall colors, ready to shed their needles for the winter.

The clouds parted just before sunset, which they often do in the mountains. The sunlight raked across the summits of the peaks, lighting up the larch boughs.

We were far from camp; too far to make our planned loop. After experiencing a tremendous sunset, we turned around and followed our tracks back to camp in the darkness.

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