Wilderness

South Fork Pt. 2: We Went Fishing

July 22, 2018 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

We awoke at our borrowed cabin space and prepared a quick breakfast using some of the supplies on hand. We patiently waited to see if our pack train would arrive, and it seemed as though all hope had been lost when we saw them in the distance trudging forward. While they’re lack of timeliness and propensity to elicit anxiety consumed us all night, the pure elation of their arrival quickly diminished all of our previous contention.

Better Late than Never

Morning Breakfast

We bandaged up the feet of those who were exhibiting the wounds of the day before and prepared for the short 5 mile jaunt to the waters edge. One among us needed no such bandages, and his secret was his old golf shoes.

Elite Footwear

The trip from this point forward wasn’t about hiking, it was about fishing, and for the next few days we did a lot of fishing.

Parachute Adams

Magic Hour

Beer Break

Lots of These

Fish Food

Fishing From the Gear Boat

Westslope Cutt

Obligatory Hero Shot

Captain Whitey

More Magic Hour

Fumble

The evenings were filled with food and drink, watching the sun disappear behind the mountains. A place without a road for 60 miles in any direction gives you an odd sense of freedom, and we cherished every moment of it. We would eventually stop at the Big Prairie Ranger Station and begin the second half of our journey. The small stream we were floating down would soon turn into a real river, and with it came people that we had come to forget the first few days. The upper section of the trip will occupy a special place in the minds of everyone, and will be the reason for a return. Our final camp on the upper half other river was poetic, a large beach on a dramatic bend of the river. The night was filled with laughter and alcohol, the only surviving memory a grainy photograph of all of us together. Just as it should be.

Home for the Night

A Night to Remember

South Fork Pt. 1: The Death Ray

July 17, 2018 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

We were all warned of the death ray. Not by the outfitter packing in our gear, not by those that had come before us, but by one of our own.

He knew of its powers, and urged us to leave early on our supposed 18 mile journey that morning. We left early, but perhaps not early enough.

18 Miles?

We began in the forest, hidden from the death ray and it’s powers, unsuspecting of what lay in front of us. Soon after the summit of Pyramid Pass we found what would eventually become known as “The Valley of 1000 Souls”. The area was devastated by the Rice Ridge fire last year, and its destruction was awesome in its scope. For over 13 miles we walked through a barren wasteland covered in several inches of ash. If I were planning on going to the moon, this is where I would be training.

The Death Ray Emerges

A Final Look Back

Valley of 1000 Souls

Go America

There were moments of elation in the valley of 1000 souls, for one, the Morel mushrooms were the largest I had ever seen and we did have several water crossings that allowed us to cool our dying bodies.

Morel Mushroom

Rest and Relaxation

So let me lay this out for you. We walked a total of about 23 miles that day, arriving at the pre determined location around 6pm expecting to see our mule train shortly. We had waited several hours at a creek crossing hoping to run into our pack train. We were told not to take any clothes, to leave our sleeping gear and extras with them because “they would pass us on the trail”. So its getting later and later, no mules, and mutiny starts encircling our crew. We had dressed light for the trek, and wisely so. However, as the sun began to set, the reality that they wouldn’t show up was starting to descend upon us all.

An overview of the assets in posession:
1. 2 fishing rods
2. 10 flies
3. 3 handguns
4. Young’s Creek
5. A forest service cabin

We dispatched some of our party to hit magic hour on Young’s Creek and catch some dinner, the rest of us gathered some water and examined the forest service cabin. While the door was locked tight and reinforced to resist entrance by large critters, our federal workers were gracious enough to forget to lock the bear proof window.

Hahn’s Creek Cabin

Entry Point

Send Me the Bill

Welcome Home

Great Success

We cooked the fish and the Morel’s we had picked earlier in the day, hoping the mules would walk up any minute. As the sun set we gathered around the fire, and gradually started filing into the cabin through the window. Some of us held out hope that the packer would arrive at some point during the night, and stood watch until all hope had been lost around 2:30am. Eventually we all shared the bunk beds and the floor to escape the bugs and the biting cold of July in the rockies.

A Final Holdout

We eventually all got some sleep, eager to learn if our packer would ever show up, and what stories he would have to tell us.

The Bob

July 1, 2018 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

The Bob Marshall wilderness complex is a protected area encompassing over 1 million acres in northwestern Montana. “The Bob” as it is affectionately called is named after, you guessed it Bob Marshall.

Bob Marshall was an early explorer and adventurer who began his outdoor career in the Adirondacks, establishing his love for the outdoors. The man was a complete animal with dozen of hikes of over 70 miles in a day, all while writing and sharing with the world his experiences. He wrote some articles and books but what is most important about ole’ Bob is that he was the reason and the impetus for the eventual pass of the Wilderness Act of 1964. See below…

Bob started his career in 1925 as a forester for the U.S. Forest Service and made several expeditions to Alaska, Montana, and throughout the Adirondacks. He was one of the founding members of the Wilderness Society and held several high level government posts in the FDR administration, all centered around forestry and the outdoors. His Wilderness Society defined wilderness as an environmental and social ideal, something that was unheard of at the time. It was this Wilderness Society that eventually lead to the passage of the aforementioned Wilderness Act of 1964 (9 million acres under protection currently). Despite his premature death at the age of 38 in 1939, he made a lasting mark on the way we think about the outdoors and how we look at conservation. The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, Death Valley Wilderness, Denali Wilderness, Bob Marshall Wilderness, and dozens more all exist today on account of his activism and efforts.

Now that we’ve established who this guy is I’m sure you’re wondering why anyone would care at this moment in time. Part of any trip is the journey of getting there, and perhaps no place requires a greater journey than a float trip through the South Fork of the Flathead in the Bob Marshall Wilderness area of Montana. I’ll be doing that in one week.

Plotting a Course

This is the culmination of over a year of planning and preparation, the majority of which was done in June of 2017 and then in the last several weeks. Arranging drop float logistics requires advanced planning and thought. The hike in to the confluence of Young’s and Dahaner Creek is over 20 miles and the hike out at the other end of this adventure is about 5 miles. You need animals and help on both ends and those dates book up quickly because there aren’t a lot of people providing those services. Even after you’ve gotten your people lined up and deposits paid you are still at the mercy of the snowpack, even in a normal year your window is only a few short weeks to get a boat down the river. Our start date is July 7 and we will be the first group taken in by our outfitter for the season.

3 Boats

8 People

7 Days

__ Bull Trout

Bull Trout Legality

Gear For Packing