Aeneas summit popular with hikers, wildlife
<p>A mountain goat nanny and her kid climb the ridgeline of Mount Aeneas above the Jewel Basin Hiking Area east of Kalispell. (Scott Crandell photos/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>A hiker heads up while goats head down the trail to the summit of Mount Aeneas.</p>
<p>The summit of Mount Aeneas at 7,528 feet affords an expansive view to the east of Great Northern Mountain and Glacier National Park.</p>
Hikers heading to the summit of Mount Aeneas in the Jewel Basin Hiking Area have to share the trail with four-legged wildlife on the final ridge climb.
The upper reaches of Aeneas host a resident herd of mountain goats. The goats are not shy about using the trail or forcing people to walk around them.
Hikers gain 1,811 vertical feet in the three miles from the Camp Misery parking lot to the summit. From the top, hikers can see the Flathead Valley, Flathead Lake, Hungry Horse Reservoir, the Swan and Mission Mountain ranges, the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Glacier National Park.
Getting there: Take Echo Lake Road from Montana 83, drive 3 miles north and turn on Jewel Basin Road 5392. Drive this road for 7 steep miles to the trailhead.