Garnet Mountain Fire Lookout

I experienced one of the most amazing sights I've ever seen. A storm rolled in, dropping sheets of water on the surrounding mountains. The setting sun peaked through the clouds, illuminating the falling rain. The mountains appeared as if on fire from the glowing orange streaks of rain.
The cabin is well appointed, well insulated, and comfortable. There are multiple trails, nearby Rat Lake is gorgeous, and the nearby Gallatin River offers a great opportunity to cool off and gather water.

I experienced one of the most amazing sights I've ever seen. A storm rolled in, dropping sheets of water on the surrounding mountains. The setting sun peaked through the clouds, illuminating the falling rain. The mountains appeared as if on fire from the glowing orange streaks of rain.
The cabin is well appointed, well insulated, and comfortable. There are multiple trails, nearby Rat Lake is gorgeous, and the nearby Gallatin River offers a great opportunity to cool off and gather water.

I experienced one of the most amazing sights I've ever seen. A storm rolled in, dropping sheets of water on the surrounding mountains. The setting sun peaked through the clouds, illuminating the falling rain. The mountains appeared as if on fire from the glowing orange streaks of rain.
The cabin is well appointed, well insulated, and comfortable. There are multiple trails, nearby Rat Lake is gorgeous, and the nearby Gallatin River offers a great opportunity to cool off and gather water.

I was very pleasantly surprised with how clean the tower was. There was plenty of firewood. There was cards, puzzles, a few games. There was at least a dozen propane cylinders. No way to know how much propane. We did use the fire ring for roasting hot dogs. We did not use the propane stove. WE used the wood stove inside the tower for heat as it was a chilly evening. There were 4 bunks with mattresses and a cpl of sleeping bags. There were many dishes-though as there is zero water in the area I was a bit skeptical how clean they were. The hike up was a steady uphill with the last 3/4 mile much harder. Absolutely amazing stay. Will book again next year. Note-there is a permanent sign about hantavirus but we saw zero signs of mice droppings.

I was very pleasantly surprised with how clean the tower was. There was plenty of firewood. There was cards, puzzles, a few games. There was at least a dozen propane cylinders. No way to know how much propane. We did use the fire ring for roasting hot dogs. We did not use the propane stove. WE used the wood stove inside the tower for heat as it was a chilly evening. There were 4 bunks with mattresses and a cpl of sleeping bags. There were many dishes-though as there is zero water in the area I was a bit skeptical how clean they were. The hike up was a steady uphill with the last 3/4 mile much harder. Absolutely amazing stay. Will book again next year. Note-there is a permanent sign about hantavirus but we saw zero signs of mice droppings.

I was very pleasantly surprised with how clean the tower was. There was plenty of firewood. There was cards, puzzles, a few games. There was at least a dozen propane cylinders. No way to know how much propane. We did use the fire ring for roasting hot dogs. We did not use the propane stove. WE used the wood stove inside the tower for heat as it was a chilly evening. There were 4 bunks with mattresses and a cpl of sleeping bags. There were many dishes-though as there is zero water in the area I was a bit skeptical how clean they were. The hike up was a steady uphill with the last 3/4 mile much harder. Absolutely amazing stay. Will book again next year. Note-there is a permanent sign about hantavirus but we saw zero signs of mice droppings.

We loved everything about this cabin, except the hantavirus warnings. The car gate was locked on Storm Castle rd, likely due to it being muddy, so that added a couple km to our hike. We walked up the footpath, reaching the snowline about half way up. There we donned show shoes, and that worked good other than across the final long switchback section where the narrow trail crossed the steep sidehill with drifting over the trail making for some perilous moments, but that just made it more memorable. We made it up in about 4 hours, and even without the post-holing that effort was pretty exhausting. The cabin, the stove, and the woodshed were great. We brought up some propane for cooking, but there was already at least 10 leftover canisters there. Anyway, we didn’t need the cabin’s propane stove for cooking because we just cooked simple foods right on top of the wood burning stove. The kids did lots of sledding on the monster snow slope down the north side. 15-cm new powder overnight made us very happy that we had snow shoes. Now, it has been a week since we departed the cabin, and none of us have come down with hantavirus yet, so all looks good.

We loved everything about this cabin, except the hantavirus warnings. The car gate was locked on Storm Castle rd, likely due to it being muddy, so that added a couple km to our hike. We walked up the footpath, reaching the snowline about half way up. There we donned show shoes, and that worked good other than across the final long switchback section where the narrow trail crossed the steep sidehill with drifting over the trail making for some perilous moments, but that just made it more memorable. We made it up in about 4 hours, and even without the post-holing that effort was pretty exhausting. The cabin, the stove, and the woodshed were great. We brought up some propane for cooking, but there was already at least 10 leftover canisters there. Anyway, we didn’t need the cabin’s propane stove for cooking because we just cooked simple foods right on top of the wood burning stove. The kids did lots of sledding on the monster snow slope down the north side. 15-cm new powder overnight made us very happy that we had snow shoes. Now, it has been a week since we departed the cabin, and none of us have come down with hantavirus yet, so all looks good.

We loved everything about this cabin, except the hantavirus warnings. The car gate was locked on Storm Castle rd, likely due to it being muddy, so that added a couple km to our hike. We walked up the footpath, reaching the snowline about half way up. There we donned show shoes, and that worked good other than across the final long switchback section where the narrow trail crossed the steep sidehill with drifting over the trail making for some perilous moments, but that just made it more memorable. We made it up in about 4 hours, and even without the post-holing that effort was pretty exhausting. The cabin, the stove, and the woodshed were great. We brought up some propane for cooking, but there was already at least 10 leftover canisters there. Anyway, we didn’t need the cabin’s propane stove for cooking because we just cooked simple foods right on top of the wood burning stove. The kids did lots of sledding on the monster snow slope down the north side. 15-cm new powder overnight made us very happy that we had snow shoes. Now, it has been a week since we departed the cabin, and none of us have come down with hantavirus yet, so all looks good.

We were unable to get to the cabin. The trail disappeared and bushwhacking in the correct output is in avalanche danger, so we had to turn back. The experience was not bad, but we were disappointed to not get to stay in the cabin