2022 Bob Open

You’re keeping Tom up at night :)

Very cool. That would put the Finish either somewhere in Northwest Glacier or Downtown Missoula , hmmmm.

I smell some road slogging. :(

Longtime lurker, hoping to be a first time BMWO participant. With a distance like that I’m guessing pack rafting is going to be the method of choice this year.

If my finish line guess is correct a raft would not be my accessory of choice.

Like Scott, I’m seeing only two likely finishes (unless Dave is messing with us which would be pretty funny): Kettlehouse in Bonner (hoping for a finish during business hours) or Bowman/Kintla Lake area. If that’s the case it seems like it would be advantageous to utilize the Blackfoot or Middle Fork as opposed to what would likely be ~150 miles on a land only route.

What are y’all’s thoughts on ‘packbiking’ (essentially disassembling your bike and hiking it on your back in terrain where biking is either not possible or not legal). The  article below describes the process and loosely explores the legal concerns. I have heard of thru riders doing this for sections of the Arizona Trail that aren’t open to biking. It’s easy to imagine a lot of quality and efficient bikeable miles if the route ends somewhere near Missoula.

https://www.bikemag.com/inspiration/packing/

I think we had two folks that were very close to doing exactly that last year, but changed their minds at the last minute

Dave can pipe in as the final authority, but my understanding if you’re willing to pack (and sometimes ride) the bike the entirety of the trip you’re good- much like having the raft with you the entire trip.

Rob,

The areas you are referring to on the Arizona trail bikes are “legal” to carry not to ride. Within the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat, and Great Bear it is illegal to ride and or possess a bike period. https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5413632.pdf

I was always under the impression you could carry, but not ride- good to know!

Thanks for the replys. I understand (and support) the no-bikes-in-wilderness policy. I do wonder though if the author of the bikemag article has a point when he says, ‘if a bicycle is disassembled, is it still a bicycle? Or is it a bunch of bicycle parts?’.  It feels like word play, but legally he might have a point.  For what it’s worth, I don’t think carrying a bike on your back and only riding where it’s legal violates the spirit of the wilderness act, legal or not. I’d be curious to know if there’s smart people out there that have already thought through this.

Has anyone ever used a mountain bike in a proud style for an Open. It doesn’t really seem possible without the option to packbike.

Mike,

I also see that cutting switchbacks is also a crime…. Just saying

Mike,

I also see that cutting switchbacks is also a crime…. Just saying

well there was that one time I slid and tumbled down a couple hundred feet a$$ over teakettle, so at least I had an excuse :)

Bonner seems too random to be the ending, although the weigh station boat ramp is the correct distance. It would require a terrible highway hike in the canyon for people without rafts. It also seems like the fastest route to Bonner would be too similar to last year’s route, which was a long float on the mainstem of the Blackfoot.

That was my thought as well about a Bonner area finish. A route that has the option of going through GNP would certainly be attractive, but would be logistically…interesting

I’ve been wrong before………… but I took Dave’s 95.29 miles tongue in cheek; but as I said I’ve been wrong before :)

So many possibilities.

Just realized the Rattlesnake TH is also 95 miles from the start…. Not gonna lie, I love speculating about all the possibilities!

Public House café is also within the range. Long float trip.. :)

+1 for Rattlesnake

For anyone wishing to have a little fun speculating on the end point for the 2022 Bob Open, I started a new discussion.  Link is below:

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/the-gamble-before-the-ramble/

I’ll take the dumb money on a finish somewhere between Ruple Meadow and Antice Knob in the Flathead even though it looks horrific for non-boaters. Rattlesnake would be quite similar to last year’s start and endpoints, floating the whole middle fork from strawberry to confluence would be really cool, and I think Dave likes to punish the packraftless.

The Flathead/GNP probably is the dumb money but I think that would be my preference. A Rattlesnake finish would be really cool, but, as you say, it’s quite similar to last year

Parallel line but I would think unlikely to cover the same trails. Except for those pesky packrafters… 😄