The Mad
Wolf Grand Circuit
Mad Wolf Mountain
Eagle Plume Mountain
Bad Marriage
Mountain
July 9, 2026
Mountain heights:
2532 m, 2613 m, 2555 m
Total elevation gain: approximately 1400 m
Ascent time to
Mad Wolf: 4:20
Traverse time
to Eagle Plume: 1:50
Traverse time
to Bad Marriage: 1:20
Descent time
from Bad Marriage: 4:15
Scrambling with
Doug.
Put your Big Boy Pants on for this one!
Unfinished
business here. Dave and I had reached the summit of Mad Wolf Mountain in 2019,
only to be chased off it by a vicious rain/ice pellet storm. Mad Wolf is the
first summit of the highly touted high-level ridgewalk that also visits Eagle
Plume Mountain and Bad Mariage Mountain – The Mad Wolf Grand Circuit. 
I had
been thinking about trying the loop again for several years and was delighted
when Doug Robson said he would join me. Unfortunately, Dave was unavailable for
the day.
Surprisingly
(but not) we grabbed the last parking spot at the Cut Bank trailhead around 8
am on a cloudy, but soon to be sunny (hopefully) Thursday. The approach hike
generally went well, however, the unmaintained trail has become difficult to
follow in places, and we lost it several times – thank goodness for a GPS track
to guide us.
Above treeline
we made a beeline for the north face of Mad Wolf to scope out possible scramble
routes up the steep rock. Doug found one and up we went. The scrambling here was
amazing, on solid grippy rock. Doug took a couple of impressively steep lines,
while I opted for the easier ones.
Another rock
band followed, not as scrambly, but the variety of rock colours and lichen
started to take centre stage. The remainder of the ascent went with ease. 
Disappointingly,
although clear skies persisted to the west, an obstinate cloud had taken a
stand right above us and refused to budge, even with a significant wind. We got
a few sunny breaks but would be waiting for the Sun to move (or, more
accurately, the Earth to rotate), not the cloud. We took a short summit break
before moving on.
The next
section of the route involved a longish ridgewalk over to the base of Eagle
Plume Mountain. Doug’s breakneck hiking pace got us there in short order. Views
of the two beautiful Lonely Lakes were sadly muted by the lack of direct Sun,
and later in the traverse the same could be said for Running Crane Lake.
Admittedly, I didn’t find this part of the trip as invigorating and engaging as
expected.
That totally
changed, however, upon starting up the wonderful ascent slopes of Eagle Plume.
The peak is comprised of massive blocks of red argillite, stacked upon each other
(similar to Little Amp). Scrambling up the lichen-inundated ridge was fun and
easy and the drop on the right side of the peak exhilarating and/or dizzying –
those with vertigo are advised to stay left! The 250 metres of vertical
elevation required to summit took a significant amount of time not because of
difficult terrain, but solely because of the deluge of amazing photo ops for
every metre gained. This part of the trip was tops for me.
And the summit
view? Fantastic at the start of our summit stay and jaw-dropping at the end,
when the Earth had finally rotated enough to allow the Sun to break free of
that annoying cloud. With many of the lakes now lit up and an array of striking
and familiar peaks within eyeshot, the panorama from Eagle Plume rivalled that
of one of my favourite views and trips in magnificent Glacier National Park, Iceberg
Peak. Seeing Medicine Grizzly Peak across the valley was especially gratifying
– it remains on my list of Top 5 scrambles in the Rockies.
At this point
of the day, I was thoroughly satiated and had no problem simply retracing our
steps back to the start. However, Bad Marriage Mountain was calling to both of
us. Aside from the hilarious name, the jagged ridge descent off Eagle Plume
towards Bad Marriage looked super cool. Similar in nature to the ascent route
of Eagle the descent was equally fun and awe-inspiring. The terrain up to Bad
Marriage was far more subdued, but neither Doug nor I were complaining about
the mindless plod, now at the 9-hour mark of our day. 
We took our third summit
break, enjoying the beautiful views and weather.
Throughout the
entertaining traverse from Eagle Plume to Bad Marriage, we had discussed
options for getting down. Both a little leery about the suggested route via Bad
Marriage’s southeast side and having no desire to retrace our steps due to the
enormous elevation gain required, we decided to descend the west side of Bad
Marriage, directly to the Pitamakan Pass Trail. This route would add several
kilometres of travel to the descent but all on an excellent trail. Getting to
the trail would be the crux and that certainly came to pass!
We had spotted
a potential route, hypothesizing the only section of concern would be the
forest between the open scree slopes of the west face and the trail. Turns out
there were actually a few additional areas of concern – basically the whole
descent!
Without going
into a graphic and detailed play-by-play, the route was fraught with
challenges: unseen cliffbands, dense forest, thick underbrush over steep
terrain, and near the bottom, an extensive quicksand-like bog that threatened
to swallow us whole. Stumbling onto the trail Pitamakan Pass Trail several hours
later was a huge relief. A foot-numbing
6.5 km hike ended a totally magnificent 13-hour day.
Huge thanks to
Doug for his fine company on this amazing circuit – the adjective “Grand” is
well-deserved. Mad Wolf boasts the best scrambling, Eagle Plume the best view,
and we’ll give Bad Marriage the honour of the best name!
View of some of route from near the trailhead. Mad Wolf at the far left and Bad Marriage right of centre.
Doug fords the North Fork Cut Band Creek near the beginning
Hiking through light brush
The summit of Bad Marriage is between the outliers
Into the thicker stuff. I'm actually on a trail here (photos by Doug).
Same for Doug
Out of the bush. Kupunkamint Mountain in the background.
The Bad Marriage outliers are more impressive in appearance than Bad Marriage itself.
Mad Wolf and Doug
Mount James in the distant centre
I'm not taking a break... (photo by Doug)
...just photographing flowers...
...and Mad Wolf
Mount James was the first peak I ascended in the Cut Bank area
Orange lichen on dolostone. My favourite - yellow lichen on red argillite - is yet to come.
The outlier of Bad Marriage is a significant peak in itself
Doug eyes up the steep north side of Mad Wolf
Close-up
A little rubble before the scrambling begins (photo by Doug)
Doug follows
Doug steps onto the solid rock of the north face
Looking for a route up
Doug went further right and took a very steep line
This is the route I went up
It's not trivial either and you wouldn't want to slip (photo by Doug)
Up the first section and looking for a route up the next one
Not there, but it's cool
Scenic little perch (photo by Doug)
Doug finds a good route
But it gets seriously steep here
Atop the rock band lies more gentle terrain, but there's still more fun scrambling
Another flower photo op
Doug below the towering walls of the next rock band
His view (photo by Doug)
I took an easy route around, to get atop the band (photo by Doug)
The next band
Yellow and orange lichen on dolostone - getting closer!
Doug pops up after scrambling another band
And atop yet another (photo by Doug)
Doug Pops Up - the sequel
First view of the hanging valley that the Mad Wolf Circuit encircles. Eagle Plume at the left and Bad Marriage at the right.
The waterfall that is part of the loop route
Solid rock here too
The valley to the northwest
Close-up of the waterfall
A group of lakes to the east
The distinctive form of Mount Pinchot
Norris Mountain (left) and Blackfoot Mountain
Reunited with the amazing rock Dave and I saw on our first ascent
Eagle Plume peeks over the connecting ridge
Massive Mount Stimson near the left
The last rock band before the summit
Easy stroll to the top
Summit views from Mad Wolf
Lower Two Medicine Reservoir
Red Mountain. Too bad the cloud is preventing a vibrant display of Red's true colours.
Same for Eagle Plume at the left. It looks dark, but it's actually all red argillite.
The Lonely Lakes are nestled under the northern side of Red Mountain
The two Lonely Lakes
Final few steps of Mad Wolf for Doug
Stimson
Razoredge Mountain in the background
Much better view of Mount James, now with the Sun shining on it
Doug starts the traverse over to Eagle Plume
There are lots of minor ups and downs during the traverse
And lots of colourful rock
Doug set a blistering pace over to Eagle Plume. Where is he?
There, in front of the snow patch
I stuck to the ridge throughout, but the route didn't yield any mind-blowing views
Amphitheater Mountain in the centre foreground and Little Amp at the far right.
Eagle Plume looks close now, but that's a zoomed-in shot
That's the more accurate view. Round 2 of spot Doug.
There he is, with a small section of Running Crane Lake
Mount Logan - not sure if we will ever go back to finish that one - still one of our best failures to date
Blackfoot again
The northwestern outlier of Bad Marriage, with Kupunkamint behind
A small lake in the hanging valley below
Starting to see some of the amazing colours of Eagle Plume
A very long cascade of water pouring down Eagle's northwest face
Looks like we are finally in for some yellow lichen on red argillite
Doug at the base and ready to ascend
Yes!!
Looking north to Bad Marriage
We tried to stay near the ridge throughout the ascent of Eagle Plume
Looking back to Mad Wolf
The northwest face is Eagle is impressively vertical
Doug checks out the upcoming terrain...
...and it's a beaut!
That vertical face (photo by Doug)
This part of the ridge had a huge fracture line in it and looked like it was ready to separate from the mountain
Mad Wolf again
Red argillite, yellow lichen, a green lake, and blue sky - if this is
what heaven looks like, I'm going (but hopefully not anytime soon!)
Throw the wildflowers into heaven too, please
Doug continues up the ridge
His view of me (photo by Doug)
A little detour to the left is required to continue up
Remaining snow along the shore of Running Crane Lake
The killer view to the southwest is starting to unfold
The summit finally appears
You know the view is spectacular when I'm taking multiple panos before getting to the top!
Another photo op along the ridge. Doug's view of me...(photo by Doug)
...my view of Doug
Wildflowers and Bad Marriage (photo by Doug)
At the summit of Eagle Plume
Southwest
North
Doug takes in the view
Red Mountain and Running Crane Lake garnered tons of photo attention
Just the lake
The valley below and a wildflower (photo by Doug)
Summit panos
With Doug
Doug captures the beautiful greens to the southwest (photo by Doug)
Hello again to Medicine Grizzly Peak across the valley! One of the coolest trips I've ever done in the Rockies.
Shocking that this beaut of a lake under Medicine Grizzly is unnamed
Morning Star Lake lies south of Medicine Grizzly
Two more panos, now that the cloud has finally cleared
Doug leads the way down to the Eagle Plume/Bad Marriage col
Typical terrain getting down to the col
Once again, staying on the ridge provided killer views
This feature was breath-taking
Descending a sweet argillite gully (photo by Doug)
That striking feature again
With Doug
Doug's view of me (photo by Doug)
Looking over the edge
Patterns in the snow below
Pinchot and Stimson again - two extremely photogenic mountains
Approaching the end of the feature
Looking back to Eagle Plume
Doug at the end. We had to lose elevation to the left to get around the cliffband.
Nice balancing act
Bad Marriage at the left, but we still have elevation to lose
Ready to traverse back over to the connecting ridge
Quick break first
Mount James again - another very photogenic mountains
We are being watched
Traversing (photo by Doug)
Back on the connecting ridge
The feature at the right is the one we obviously couldn't descend directly
Easy ascent to the summit of Bad Marriage
The last round of spot Doug
There he is
Flinsch Peak at the left and Mount Morgan at the right. Pitamakan Lake and Seven Winds Of The Lake (right) can also be seen.
The summit of Medicine Grizzly Peak is at the right. The higher peak in the centre is unnamed.
Looking back to Eagle Plume and Red
View towards Amphitheater and Little Amp
The huge massif comprised of Kupunkamint and White Calf Mountain.
Summit panos from Bad Marriage
Medicine Grizzly Lake
Going-To-The-Sun Mountain (centre), Mataphi Peak (left of Going...), and Mount Siyeh (far right)
Chief Mountain in the distant centre
The two summits of Gable Mountain
Striking Mount St. Nicholas, right of Flinsch
Pitamakan Lake
Heading down the northwest ridge of Bad Marriage
The lake in the valley again
Close-up
Almost ready to zip down the west side of the mountain
A consolation round of spot Doug
The beautiful valley below Triple Divide Pass
After losing several hundred metres of elevation on easy terrain, we
are now encountering unseen rock bands to descend or circumvent. This
was one of the babies!
Still loving that view towards Flinsch (photo by Doug)
Another rock band. This one was easy to get down too.
Taking in a last view of Eagle Plume and Red, before moving into more forested terrain
This section was fun to descend
I was wrong about the forested terrain because we had to traverse a significant distance to get around a huge drop-off
Now able to descend to the forested terrain (photo by Doug)
Doug, a cool cloud, and the rock band we had traverse above
Easy terrain for the next while
And also colourful
Flinsch, Morgan, and McClintock Peak at the right
Enjoyable terrain to descend (photo by Doug)
Same as above
Out of the forest for a while, but lower down a challenging bushbash was inevitable
The steep northeast side of Medicine Grizzly Peak
Now getting into some taller foliage (photo by Doug)
Doug in the thick of it. The next hour or so featured descending steep,
heavily treed terrain, followed by wading through a mid-thigh-deep
marsh, and so I didn't take any photos from this point to the main
trail.
An hour later, back on solid ground. Here's the north face of Bad Marriage.
Doug is also relieved to be on a terrific GNP trail
Bad Marriage and its outlier
Mad Wolf
Our ascent route up Mad Wolf went right up the steep face near the left and then followed the skyline to the top
Late day view of the one of the most amazing circuits in the Rockies
The End
LOG