Category: Packrafting
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Done
If on seeing the above creek you think it too small to packraft, you would mostly be right. Being there right on the heels of snowmelt would have put another 4-6 inches into it, which would have padded out the rocks, if not the many downed trees and willow seives. For two reasons my decision…
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Flathead Rivers management plan, this time for real
Back in 2019 I beat the drum for packrafters to comment on the Flathead Rivers management plan update. 5.5 years later, we’re at the same place, due to staffing, COVID, and one imagines political foot dragging, but during a noteably different time. It would be difficult to convey the change in mood the pandemic brought…
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Thruhunting
Generally speaking, hunting and hiking are not compatible. Speaking here of big game hunting mostly, and understanding that species distributed far across the landscape often require extensive hiking to find. But, it is always better to selectively walk, and know enough to head straight for those modest pockets on the landscape which a given species…
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Summer vacation on the Middle Fork
The logistics were simple, which was the point; park at the city airport in Kalispell, pay Red Eagle Aviation nearly $700 to fly us into Schafer Meadows on the Middle Fork of the Flathead, then float back to town. At least to West Glacier, as that is the first place you can get both ice…
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2024 Bob Open report
The 2024 Open ran from Rogers Pass to Woods Bay on Flathead Lake, making the second longest course yet. Conditions leading up to May 25th were mixed, with a mild winter and cool spring, and a big storm 10 days prior that left up to a foot of snow in mid elevations which had previously…
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The dad pack
Over the years I’ve made, and used, many very large backpacks; and while being a firm believer in having huge capacity and moderating packing choices rather than enforcing discipline with a crammed pack, have still occasionally found the fleet coming up short. Our family Isle Royale trip two years ago was the best example; with…
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Dearborn River micro-guide
The Dearborn River can, for the purposes of floating, be divided into five distinct sections. All of them are worthwhile destinations, with short seasons relative to neighboring streams. Some parts of some of the sections are exceptional for their respective genre, and I make a point to float one or two every year. The only…
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West Grand loop; debrief and video
Planning post here, whose plan I followed pretty much dead on. Day one took me from Pearce Ferry, up Pearce Canyon, out the north fork of the south arm, and to a camp on the upper Sanup (where I found water, rain/snow puddles in sheltered slickrock). Day two went up the western wall of Fort…
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West Grand loop; conception and planning
Back in December I drew a Grand Canyon river permit. I’d been trying for three years, putting in for the annual lottery, as well as for the winter cancellation permits, and after around 10 total applications (including three waves of cancellations permits in late 2023) luck was on my side. I’ve been planning for this…
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2023 Bob Open report
The 2023 Open ran from lower Holland Lake to Marias Pass, under overall kind conditions. A late spring led to a sunny May, with snow levels tapering northwards, and the foothills of Glacier having a drastically lower than normal snowpack. Moderate temps in the week leading to Memorial Day kept both the Middle and South Forks low…
Bedrock & Paradox 