2021 Bob Marshall Wilderness Open

What is ‘linear travel’?
Even on ‘the surface of a paved road’? Can you do it above or under the surface?

Cheers

Let the route planning begin. No raft is gonna equal a terrible road walk at the end. Passing Trixies at the end is just cruel and unusual punishment…

the end is not looking superb at this juncture

Yikes! Looks like another good on. Those ranges look crazy

Come visit Roger, then you’ll understand.

The Blackfoot-Clearwater WMA is open May 15, and is a very cool place to walk through.  But, yes punishing the raftless more than usual this year.  Sorry not sorry?

The Blackfoot-Clearwater WMA is open May 15, and is a very cool place to walk through.

that could definitely be an option, but walking into Trixies with a 100 mile hunger sounds pretty good too :)

mike, tom , here we go again ! its looking like the michigan crew is coming back-  covid or not , we’ve got some scores to settle with the “Bob”- haven’t looked at the route yet , but judging from your comments—

@danqm
I live in south bend about 30min from you and have tried sending some DMs. I’d love to talk to you about the Bob Open as I want to do it! I’m not sure about 2021 yet but soon!

Am I crazy for thinking the best route from Benchmark to the Blackfoot is off trail over Observation Point and down the Dry Fork? Maybe @twofeathers has seen that section before?

Andrew I have been to the pass between Flint and Observation point a few times. I guess all would depend on how you plan on getting there from the CDT (202 or 246).

Interesting indeed! Andrew, what happened to keeping route info a little close to the vest this far out ;)    Put on some skis and investigate!

Hope everyone is doing well out there.

Kyle

I hope at least a few folks float the Dry Fork.  It deserves more attention.

Check out the patchwork of land ownership in the southern portion of the route…

@davec can you clarify the start point:

• the trailhead at the corrals (off of road 190-D) that starts right at the S Fk river crossing, or
• the end of the road TH that heads up to HQ Cr Pass?

If I make it out there this year I imagine I’ll do the bottom 4 or 5 miles of the Dry Fork into NF Blackfoot. Hope it’s not a huge water year so the NF isn’t too high to boat.

Dave, I was eyeballing the Dry fork and reading your notes on it in the ” Packrafting the Crown” book. Sound intriguing along with the N. Fork of the Sun. Both of which are on my to do list.

My big question is what part of the N. Fork of the Blackfoot and the Blackfoot proper is going to be reasonable to float in run off? If I recall from the 2018 event where we started from the N. Fork Blackfoot TH, there were some sketchy sections below the TH. But that was epic runoff year also.

Ive paddled the NF Blackfoot twice, once at around 1200 CFS and once at like 450.  1200 is legit Class IV, my guess from that flow is that somewhere around 1500 or 1800 it gets a bit technically easier but the consequences of a swim continue to get worse. I can’t access the USGS data for the flow on the first day of the open in 2018, but from my memory of the hike up I think that whatever that flow was is probably the province of big water Class V kayakers.

I probably wouldn’t get on it alone above about 1800 or with a partner above 2500. For many other packrafters those cutoffs are likely to bet lower; I think it mostly depends on your comfort level in the boat. Of course we wont know the flows to that level of detail having spent the last 36 hours in the backcountry, but it’s a useful reference I think. If you’re dropping in from the North (and so can’t scout the river on the hike in) the availability of a wood report from the current season is also a factor in the decision matrix.

Below where the NF Blackfoot comes out of the mountains it looks like Class II, ditto the Blackfoot proper. So probably fine during runoff as long as you’re heads up about wood. But other folks who have paddled that stretch will probably have more info.

I concur with Will. The N Fk is pretty serious water at high levels up there.

At high water levels, even the N Fk below the TH and above Kleinschmidt flats is pushy and technical. I’ve had to paddle like mad to avoid being pushed by big waves into corners. An inexperienced boater would likely be a little scared even in this section if the river is running at 1500+.

End of the road for the start.

Will encapsulated the range of possibilities well.  2018 was as big as I’ve seen the North Fork, and at least 1 in 5 years it never gets that big.  That said, at any flow the crux 4 miles is not to be taken lightly.  It’s been remarkably wood free for years now, but who knows when that will change.

Is it too early to scout some BMO short cuts? Mike M and I found a dandy this weekend. -8 on the old mercury was refreshing.

Yeah refreshing, that’s it :D

-8 C (or -8 F) beats the hell out of +40 C!

^ true that! :)

What are the chances the road to S. Fork Teton trailhead is passable in March. I’ve got a week off over spring break and was thinking of doing some scouting testing out some gear.

If not there; any other suggestions on early season access into Bob trailheads? Are some of the ranger stations even open right now?