South Fork of the Flathead, Bob Marshall Wilderness
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Last weekend (Friday-Sunday) I took three full days and traversed the Bob Marshall via the fastest and easiest route: hiking in from the Lodgepole TH near Ovando over Youngs Pass, down Youngs Creek and the South Fork, packrafting as much as possible, and fishing along the way. Here is the (high concept, ohhh!) video summary:
It was an amazing, amazing trip. The Bob is just incredible country, and showed itself well, with epic rains the night before, and lots of fog, clouds, and drizzle for the first two days. The central Bob creates its own weather, and it sure rains a lot.
At the last minute on Thursday night I checked the forecast and added clothing, which was good as for most of Saturday I wore everything I brought. Sitting in a packraft is chilly, especially compared to walking. I wasn't going faster in the boat than walking, due to the twisty river and many gravel bars, but got to see the country in a totally new way. It was mesmerizing and intense.
The fishing was the kind I enjoy; easy, with lots of trout that regardless of their size fought like crazy. I kept some of the smallish ones to eat.
The last day was cold starting off, as the now deep river canyon hid the sun until 1030. By then I took out at Mid Creek to walk around the (very impressive) Meadow Creek Gorge. By noon I put the boat back in below the gorge, and with the sun high I was able to finally strip down to shorts and enjoy more gorgeous scenery and great fishing as I langorously floated down to the Spotted Bear ranger station over 4.5 hours.
I took quite a while to get used to the idea of being back home in town.
The Bob is a remarkable place, I'd encourage everyone to try to go there at least once.
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