2013 Bob Marshall Wilderness Open

Bumping this as a requested discussion/planning thread.

As noted above the organized start will be Saturday May 25th at 0800 (mountain time) at the Benchmark TH. Mandatory safety meeting in the parking lot at 0740.

This is not a race. If you think you're ready, but would rather sleep a lot and take a ~week to make the journey, do it. Depth of experience is prioritized above all else.

Most likely I'll be offering limited spaces in my truck for those who wish to leave cars at the finish and have a ride to the start Friday evening. We'll camp at the Benchmark campground Friday night.

Any questions, ruminations, recriminations, etc; post here.

I should also note that, based on a conversation with a fellow-traveler this weekend, I'll be taking the Bob Open into broader areas (Frank/Selway, GYE) in years to come. The date will remain late-May, contrary to many comments I've received to the effect of "That'd be fun/I'd do it if it happened in July." In fact, it would be a trail run in July, and that is boring. So if you want to experience this course, get off the couch now.

…it would be a trail run in July, and that is boring.

Hear hear. I like the idea of seeing this event hopscotch around the country to other locations.

Such was the luxury of Dave's vehicle last year that I'll put my carpool reservation in now :)

I have not, nor will I, fix the latch on the tailgate. ;)

I did scout out a good place in August to get burgers Friday night.

I am envisioning a half dozen half-drunk-with-tiredness hikers lolling about in the back of a mid-nineties Tacoma.

Are we going to the Buckhorn Friday night? Count me in for a shuttle ride.

What are your recommendations for maps and planning resources?

I tried really hard to make it last year but couldnt swing it. So I promised myself I'd make it this year.

I may be out on the PCT, but we'll see!

This year's course seems great for my skillset too!

Sounds great. I really like the thought of camping at Benchmark the night before and getting in a little chatting. Last year I was so tired from that 14 hr drive…

Tyler, you can get a lot accomplished with:
– Google Earth
– CairnCarto Maps (North and South Bob)
– Gmap4 – http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php

With Gmap4, switch to the USGS topo's in the pull down menu.

That's what I had in mind Cyrus. I take it you became acquainted last year?

Tyler, I'd start by getting the Cairn maps. They're quite recent, were built with GPS data, and most significantly don't include trails which no longer exist on the ground. Once you think you have a doable route, use Google Earth, sat photos, Snotel, and USGS streamflow data to fill in the blanks (i.e. how snowy will this pass be, how high will that crossing be) as best you can. Aside from last years reports you're going to find almost no first-hand accounts of being out in the Bob that time of year, so some of the crucial stuff will come down to educated guesses (I'm in the same boat, though my guesses are probably more educated than most). Do your best and be mentally prepared to improvise on the ground.

I am very interested in this… I've been looking for a new challenge to sink my teeth in to. However, never having been to MT before, I'm hesitant to do this solo. Anyone looking for a partner? I'm not planning on racing- my thoughts were somewhere around 4-5 days.

If I can make it, I will definitely not be racing.

I've been chatting with Andrew about this and I'm in. Will likely have a few questions forthcoming.

Dave, if you have room for Chris and I in your truck, that would be awesome. Otherwise we will probably rent 2 cars at the airport and might be able to carpool with others.

Time to buy some plane tickets…

Andrew

For those who haven't had the pleasure: my truck is an Xterra with no back seats and a hatch which has to be held shut with a bungee. Not particularly luxurious or comfortable. 5 total in the car is the max with gear.

In early April I'll take a survey of for-sure participants and if numbers dictate suggest that we split the costs of renting a minivan which will get us all to the start. I'd take payment as a reservation at that time.

Out of towners are more reliable, both in this respect and as participants generally. Local participation will largely depend on the weather.

Dave, is the truck you've been speaking of the one that took a recent turn for the worse? If so, sounds like s/he had a good run!

Yep, the Xterra is no more (guy pulled in front on me on the way to work last week). We got our money out of it for sure.

Whatever replaces it will be a lot smaller, so that will have to be taken into account.

I highly recommend something of the EJ22 or 22RE variety as they've served me well in my day. Currently very happy with my 3F-E but that's definitely in a small vehicle. Never thought I'd get into a car discussion on BPL… weird.

EDIT: My apologies for the thread drift. Now back to our regularly scheduled BMWO discussion.

Smaller as in a Versa or Yaris.

Event participants better get their names in the hat soon 'cause Dave's future car isn't going to have room for many!

Well, Chris and I bought plane tickets, so the proverbial gauntlet has been thrown down. We have a flight to catch on Thursday morning, which is soon enough for me to feel some tIme pressure to have a speedy journey but should give us enough time to deal with any complications.

In terms of routes, neither of us have been to the Bob before so we are content to take the obvious way. The efficacy of a packraft this year is obvious, but neither of us have any rafting experience, and I don't think near-peak snowmelt is an intelligent time to learn. So I think our main challenge will be stream crossings sans floatation. This will largely come down to conditions at the time, and I was depressed to learn that Dan's swim last year was during significantly lower than average flows. There are options if Strawberry or Lodgepole are not crossable, but they are unpleasant enough to provide motivation to get across. I will be watching the streamflow gauges and snow sensors with great interest.

Dead on across the board w/r/t your assessment, and glad you two will be coming.

I was out on the Rocky Mtn front skiing this weekend, and while the high altitude snow pack is in good shape, warm weather the last few weeks has the low stuff already melting off. All that could change quite drastically, and we won't have a good sense of streamflow until the week before. If the Middle Fork is over 8000 cfs at West Glacier I'll be nervous.

Montana spring and summer snowpack is almost always best gauged by March snow.

@ Chris & Andrew

Way to get after it guys! A few of us were just discussing this the other night. The general thought was "there's no way I'm going to MT into unfamiliar wilderness solo". Well… now we know who the California contingent will be! I'm really looking forward to hearing how you guys do and gleaning your post trip assessments.

Sooooo……

Give me an idea of how big Strawberry, Cox, and Lodgepole Creeks might be. They look like they might have rather large drainages.

Just curious. I'm totally NOT going that way!