2016 Bob Marshall Wilderness Open
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It doesn’t bode well for late summer, but it’s hard not to enjoy the great weather we have had the last couple weekends. May as well enjoy it while we can – it looks like we are on track for fires and closures in the Bob again by late July. I love the Memorial Day date for the BMWO. It works well to have it over a long weekend, and you could get any weather/conditions that time of year. It does make sense though to move it up for a year after multiple mild springs in a row to ensure a year with more snow. I think a permanent move would see less participation and probably limit the entry/exit point options due to accessibility.
You never know, we might get a winter storm over Memorial Day, but for now it’s looking like mid summer out there. 70+ degrees felt like 90 to me on Saturday. It felt like a July walk in the woods, without the horse flies. Below are some thoughts and pictures from Bear Creek to NF Blackfoot trailhead.
-The Bob complex is awesome, especially before most people start going in there. I love the transitions from trail to snow and back to trail with animal tracks being the only evidence of activity.
-Mineral Creek would be a fun area to ski. Fires clearing out entire forests have their perks.
-You can find lots of snow still, but you have to be well above 6000′ and on the right aspects
-Mineral Creek has too much wood to float. The East Fork looked fast and fun, but probably not floatable for long enough stretches to be efficient (narrow gorges and big wood jams near the NF). The NF looked like a good float at 1200 cfs from the cabin down to near the first pack bridge. Too much water for my liking below that, but there were kayakers out running it.
-Brought a raft thinking I might need it to cross the NF, but walked across in thigh high water
-downfall could be a problem in some areas this year. Most of the area I was in had burned long enough ago that there isn’t much left to fall, but there was a good windstorm last fall and the short stretch from Bear Creek TH to McDermott Creek was pretty bad.
-this route would be a fun nearly marathon distance trail run later in the summer for you crazy ultra runners out there. I shuttled with a bike, but you’d be near 30 miles if you ran the shuttle.
Follow the Griz over the pass
Snow
Lower East Fork
Snow?
Scott – if you haven’t already, I would definitely pick up the Cairn maps for the Bob. You would just need the South half this year unless you are getting wild with your route. The trails are far more accurate than on the old USGS topo maps. I spend quite a bit of time looking at the Cairn maps and Google Earth to make sure I have a good idea of where the trail is going to be. Probably not relevant to the BMWO, but here is a good idea of how different the actual trail location can be from where USGS maps have it located. My route from Saturday is in black, which is more or less where the trail is and drawn so on the Cairn maps. Incidentally, if you can pick up a bear track, they know exactly what they are doing. The bear I followed Saturday went straight down drainage from the pass, side hilled a bit, then glissaded into the creek bottom and popped out on the trail about 100 yards below continuous snow. If Cairn and bears don’t help, just follow Derek’s trail of snow angels.
Dave, I’ll be countering your prayers with my own wishing for 50-60 degree dry days and 30 degree nights. I’ll take mild. It would be a hard sell to head out into the junk we’re getting in Bozeman these last couple days.
You are all welcome to a ride. I just want to be clear this may be a miserable ride, I have a windshield, and a roof, but it is open and can be cold if the weather is cold.
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