Line Creek Plateau-Maurice Mountain Trail Report - Variable - Jul 4, 2017

Rode the route July 3, 2017 with 5 of us, 3 Montanans and two imports from Canada. 5 hours total with 4 hours 15 minutes of riding. Some snow patches, wet ground and stream wading near the Line Creek Plateau carpark off Beartooth Highway. As you'd expect 'early season' we encountered some pushing, wading, and step kicking along with the usual cross country travel & routefinding. Scenery was superb. We started early enough to beat the afternoon thunderstorms when they finally rolled in. Met a Forest Service trail crew on our descent from Mount Maurice who had cleared deadfall so the only impediments were a couple of sizeable snow drifts that could be easily circumvented. Having said that you definitely need to watch the rock waterbars on this section of trail as some have square / sharp edges that are prime for causing pinch-flats or denting rims. Definitely need a map and/or GPS enabled map/phone for this route as the terrain is wide open and ambiguous. In addition, some of the obvious cairns with poles sticking out the top mark ridge highpoints not the biking route. As mentioned by past riders in other forums this route has many sections with no defined trail where you are riding over alpine vegetated terrain some of which has angular granite underlying the bush. A torn sidewall is certainly a possibility. One of our party dinged a rock with his rear brake disc and bent it. This unmaintained alpine terrain is, in my opinion, is a big part of what makes this ride so unique and spectacular. No concerns about crowds up there!