Dear Parents,
We are ecstatic to announce that after 8 days, over 65 miles hiked, and hundreds of native fish brought to the net, our Bob Marshall Expedition has exited backcountry! Below is a day by day recount of the trip.
Day 1: With pickup day over, our group of 15 shifted our attention to preparing for such a daunting thru hike trip. The boys helped assemble food bags, separated group gear, and packed their backpacks. The group made their way to Missoula and picked up some last minute backpacking essentials, snacks, and flies from the local fly shop. Once the kids loaded up on supplies, we drove north to our camp site on Monture Creek. The group took the initiative to set up camp, make burgers, and make final adjustments for our departure the next morning. We also met with our horse-packer to discuss proper horse etiquette and the plan for tomorrow's hike. That evening, the kids got much-needed rest under a dark, twinkling blanket of the brightest stars you could imagine, getting ready for the adventure that awaited us.
Day 2: Morning came early and we hit the trail before seven am. With our lighter packs, thanks to our horse-packer friends, we cruised over Monture Creek Pass. After a near 17 mile day of hiking, we met Mack, the horsepacker, at the headwaters of Youngs creek. Youngs Creeks meets with Danaher Creek to create the South Fork of the Flathead river. Exhausted from the long day of hiking, our group quickly set up camp, had a filling burrito dinner, and got much needed rest for our second day of hiking. It was an tough day of hiking and the group handled it really well -- we were all impressed.
Day 3: The third day started a bit later to allow for all of us to rest a bit after the long hike the day before. We kicked off the morning with a warm oatmeal breakfast, a rundown of the day, and retrieved our gear from our horsepackers. With the added weight, the hiking was strenuous to say the least. Our day's agenda was to hike eight miles to the confluence of Youngs and Danaher Creek, which form the South Fork of the Flathead. We arrived at camp around 3 that afternoon at the confluence, eager to go fishing. After a quick rest and camp setup, we were rewarded with some of the best dry fly fishing The West has to offer. The day finished with fish stories, a filling dinner of buffalo mac and cheese, and an awe-inspiring night sky.
Day 4: Our fourth day was our first real taste of fishing on this backcountry trip. Because of our long backcountry, we had 2 days to stay at the confluence for 2 nights. With no need to backpack, this meant we could fish early and end late! Our group woke up early and enjoyed some oatmeal before eagerly setting up rods, strapping our wading shoes, and heading off in three different directions. One group went up Youngs Creek, another went up Danaher Creek, and the last group went down the South Fork. All three groups decided to walk many miles to cover lots of water and man did it pay off! We saw many bull trout that day, and caught two! One measured 27 inches and around 8-9 pounds, another was 29 inches and around the same weight. They're truly amazing fish and the guys were very excited. We caught countless cutthroat trout and ended the day with chicken quesadillas before preparing for our day ahead of us.
Day 5: With a short hike ahead of us, our group decided to wake up early and beat the heat! The harsh sun really made an impact on our hiking and we decided it was best to wake up early every morning to avoid it. We enjoyed breakfast and quickly packed up camp with the sun's golden glow slowly rising. Thankfully, we only had 5 miles to hike and a beautiful swimming hole awaited us. We arrived at camp around noon and had a quick lunch before plunging into the cold crystal clear water the South Fork has to offer. However, before swimming, the boys wanted to play a competitive game of fishing baseball. The rules are simple: three strikes (miss a hook set, break off a fly, lose a fly, etc) and switch off the rod after each fish caught. The game lasted hours before the boys got too hot and needed to swim. The water is so clear that campers could see countless whitefish and cutthroat trout swimming around them in the aqua blue water. After a relaxing afternoon filled with laughs, stone skipping, and plenty of fish caught, the group had dinner before resting for the days ahead.
Day 6: Following the same routine as the days before, the group set off for our next campsite. As a change of pace, we decided to stop by the most remote ranger cabin in the lower 48. The complex sits right along our trail and hosts 20 Montana Conservation Corps men and women. We received cookies and lemonade as a reward for our many miles hiked (and many more to come). Seeing our first bit of civilization for the first time in days was a breath of fresh air for some campers. After a quick tour, Q&A with rangers, and photos, our group marched on to our next campsite along the White River. It took seven miles to reach the river crossing on the white river which was a sweet surprise for the boys. The White River is magical because of its truly gin clear water. At some points, the water looks as if it’s not even there, you can see straight through it to the river's bottom. Upon arrival, our groups split up once again, some going up the White, and others parting ways going up and down the South Fork. That day was unique for two reasons. The first is some of the boys did a “catch and cook,” cooking some of the fish from their hard day of fishing. The other reason it was peculiar, was one camper caught the largest salmonoid Lillard Fly Fishing has ever seen. A 30 inch bull trout caught on a small nymph fly. That was the perfect end to the day which led to an MRE dinner and a good night's rest.
Day 7: With the incredible landing of the 30 inch Bull Trout, the boys were eager to pursue more of these elusive fish. The morning went as usual with an early wake up, oatmeal breakfast, and departure. After a quick six mile hike, we arrived at the Big Salmon Campground, eager to chase more of these huge, sneaky fish. Once camp was set up, we all set out in different directions in pursuit of more bull trout. The fishing was tough, to say the least. One group went over three miles upstream, and the other group just as far down stream. Only two bull trout were seen this day (both being hooked, but lost), and it was a great reminder of how elusive these char truly are. However, we were still treated to some very fun dry fly fishing. After the long day, a big MRE dinner and early bedtime were much needed. More stories were told around the fire, and the group hit the hay early, eager for another shot at these incredible fish.
Day 8: After the previous day of grinding for bull trout, the group slept in later than usual for some much needed rest. The hike was a longer one, coming in at around nine miles, but the boys went about it with determination and grit and pushed through it with ease. After the long hike, we arrived at our final campsite, Black Bear Cabin. Once we arrived at the Black Bear campsite, we split up into several groups with differing plans. One group went off in search of bull trout, the second relaxed at camp, and the last went downstream to experience the incredible swimming the South Fork of the Flathead has to offer. No bulls were caught that day, but the boys came back with lots of cutthroat, fun camp stories, and a refreshing swim. We enjoyed our final MRE dinner, a personal reflection, and a beautiful night under the stars.
Day 9: After our last night in the backcountry our group woke up at the crack of dawn at 5 am. With our bags packed and water bottles filled, we embarked on our final nine miles of the trip from Black Bear Cabin to the Meadow Creek trailhead where our vehicles awaited our arrival. The last nine miles of the trail consists of stunning views of the Meadow Creek Gorge which the South Fork of the Flathead cuts through. From the towering trail above, the group could see large emerald blue and turquoise pools lined with jagged cliff walls. When we finally reached out terminus, we took one last group photo at the Bob Marshall Wilderness sign and crossed the bridge to see our parked cars. After unpacking a few things, we drove 2 hours along Hungry Horse Reservoir until we reached the town of Hungry Horse and viewed the astronomically large dam below the reservoir. Here, the south fork flows into the main stem of the Flathead. From Hungry Horse, we hit a store for food and supplies, then took some showers and went to a local pool in Kallispell to relax and swim. After a pizza dinner on the banks of Flathead Lake, we drove a few more hours south and camped along a tributary of the Blackfoot River. Tired from the past week of hiking, fishing, and heat everyone in the group fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Today the group slept in for some much needed sleep after waking up at 6 am the past week. After a cereal breakfast we headed into Missoula to take care of some chores. We cleaned the van, organized the backcountry gear and did some laundry, then headed to the Missoula Rec Center to shower once again and play some water volleyball in which “Team Leo” won 21-11. Tonight we plan on making burgers and having a special desert as one of our group members, Brennan, is celebrating his 16th birthday. Happy Birthday, Brennan! Tomorrow we plan on floating the Clark Fork River in float tubes for a few miles to escape the July heat. After our float we will hit the local fly shops and sporting goods store one last time to get any hats or souvenirs. We'll then have our banquet dinner to cap off the trip before airport day
This Bob Marshall trip has been nothing short of spectacular. This group grinded harder than any other group I have seen to catch fish and it payed off for several of our group members. For the first time on the Lillard trip, a camper has hit the magical 30 inch mark on a trout. In addition, as a group we also caught well over 1000 cutthroat along our hike. We embarked on one of the longest and most challenging backcountries in our companies history and did it in less than ideal aquatic and atmospheric conditions. I can confidently say that this trip will go down in the LFFE history books, an experience that we will never forget.
Thanks for sending your guys on this trip -- they're truly wonderful, capable, kind young men.
Until next time,
Yantis, Owen, and Leo
