2015 Bob Marshall Wilderness Open

Solid effort, Greg. Just showing up and heading into the woods this time of year is worthy of praise. It was very cool to be at the start point for these intrepid hikers and to meet a few of you as well. A wide array of people, talking gear and plans of attack all culminated in a single, "Have fun, don't die" from Dave C. followed by which the entire posse heading out.

Our family camped on the other side of the lake at the start point all weekend and it was the first time our four month old baby has been camping. It was an absolute delight!

Got a phone message from Derek Larson this afternoon at about 4:00. He made it to the Spotted Bear River crossing at the Beaver Creek TH and found the route impassable due to high, swift water. After scouting his options he reluctantly elected to do the prudent thing and head back down river to the Spotted Bear Ranger Station and call for a ride out. He wanted people to know that he did not have internet access so he requested I post that he is OK and out.

Made Swift about 2:45 this afternoon. I think Dan was a few hours ahead of me, meaning he missed out on tailgate beers. It was a beautiful walk with great weather – can't believe it is over. Didn't see a human footprint between Upper Holland and MF Birch Creek. Ran into some bears. Had some trouble with my Delorme costing me quite a bit of time and stress. More to come.

Greg and Derek – nice to meet you guys and I'm glad you're both out and well. I am looking forward to hearing about everyone's trips.

What a great event. Nice to meet everyone and hike with a few of you.

I finished Monday morning (8:45 AM / 48.75 hrs). I laid on the grass until 10am hoping Tanner would show up with beers, but alas I had to get to work.

Trip highlights:
– Watching Tanner swim the SF Flathead (I have video)
– Black Bear, Elk, White Tailed Deer
– Red Tailed Hawk, Harlequin Duck, Common Merganser, Spruce Grouse
– Glacier Lily's, Shooting Stars, Blue Virginsbower
– 4 interesting off trail sections inc. a splendid new pass into the Burnt Creek drainage
– Dipping a paddle into the SF Flathead, Spotted Bear, MF Flathead and NF Birch
– Entire NF Birch drainage

Brief trip summary:
From Upper Holland Lake, Tanner and I hiked over Waldbillig ridge and wrapped around past Lena Lake. I tried a new pass into Burnt Creek, which worked great and I arrived at the SF Flathead River and put in at 4pm. The river was at 6000 CFS and 6-7mph. I paddled everything, no swims but where I swam in 2013 was still a sketchy spot with crazy whirlpools and down currents. I took out at Mid Creek at 8pm and walked Harrison/Corporal Creeks until 3 miles shy of the Spotted Bear where I camped from 11:30 – 4:30.

I was too wired to sleep, so I laid there for 5 hours until I heard some crashing at 4:30am. It was Derek. We hiked together to the Spotted Bear where I split off, paddled across and bushwacked to a trail on the fair side. I ascended Whitcomb which was awesome. Nice walk out Schafer Creek. Forded Schafer and Dolly Varden, paddled across the MF Flathead and headed upstream to Cox Creek.

Badger Pass was snowy. I lost the trail soon after and pushed for the NF Birch pass before dark. I crested the pass in the last light (9:50 PM). Wow that valley is cool. I went nose to nose with a large male elk at the pass, as we both crested from opposite sides at the same time. I just made it off the steep slopes before it was too dark to meso-navigate and camped at 11pm at the main fork in the NF Birch Creek.

Monday morning I wanted to raft the NF Birch but the volume was too low until Killem Creek. It was still too low, but I put in here and skimmed a few hundred rocks as I rafted 2-3 miles to where the trail leaves the creek as it drops the reservoir. Really fun rafting with some fun class III spots and a few little canyons scarcely wider than the raft. Hiked the last 2 miles and then napped on the lawn at Swift.

Full trip report coming in a day or two.

Nice to meet you on Saturday, Dan. Super solid effort, thanks for sharing your initial thoughts – lookin' forward to reading more on the subject.

Brillant, unintuitive route Dan, and a smashingly fast time. The math is there, but had you asked me beforehand I probably would not have thought that would go in 2 days.

I finished at 1100 this morning. Mike M and his crew turned up two hours later. Les and Mica made it out at 1030pm Monday.

Should be some very good stories to tell.

The 2015 Bob Marshall Wilderness Open was over for me as soon as I saw how treacherous the Spotted Bear River would be to cross, given my relative inexperience in those sorts of things. I made a brief attempt to ford, but when the water reached the level of my backpack, I was pushed downstream a ways. Returning to shore, I checked out a few alternatives on the map over an open fire and a hot meal, but the only feasible option was to return to Meadow Creek Gorge and get a ride out. After 23 hours and 55(?) miles of continuous hiking, this was a hard pill to swallow. The next 15 miles back to Meadow Creek were the toughest to endure.

The highlights of my trip:

-Meeting a great group of extremely experienced outdoor enthusiasts and making a few new friends. I learned a lot from all of you.

-Hearing Dan's voice in the middle of the night as I was at my whits-end trying to weave my way through a maze of deadfall with a dying headlamp. 

-The avalanche shoot on Big Salmon Lake freaked me out. I nearly caused another, and travelled with it, as loose rock under my foot plunged into the lake below. Phew!

-Hiking through a burn area isn't fun when it's windy and trees are falling. 

-The wildlife: Zero bear, or other dangerous critter, sightings, which sucks, but the lone elk at the Black Bear Ranger Station, mingling with the grazing horses was neat. A few whietail were also spotted. Greg, I also saw the moose carcass and dead golden eagle. Did you see a vertibrae on that trail, too? It looked human. 

-Deja-vu trail, aka Sergeant-Corporal Trail, Trail 88 or The Snake Eyes Trail (I made up 2 of those 4 names): Going up Harrison Creek at the beginning of this trail, I got lulled-into thinking it was going to be a piece of cake shortcut to the river crossing by Beaver Creek. Things changed, however, as the trail turned north. Deadfall after deadfall after deadfall was in my way, frequently causing me to lose track of the nearly-extinct trail. I began to see patterns in the deadfall, as if it was the same deadfall I had already negotiated. Was I doing loops on the Deadfall Circle of Death? When I heard Dan's voice later that night my prayers were answered, all of the deadfall disappeared and I was able to put in cyanide pill back in my pack…that is, until I had to return on this same trail a few hours later after my failed river crossing. On my next Deja-vu Trail experience, this time in daylight, I crossed the same deadfall over and over again. I should have carved something into a tree, just to see if I would pass it again. There are also a small chain of lakes at the top of the pass, not seen at night, or on Google Earth for some reason. At least, I think it's a chain of lakes, it could've just been the same lake on replay-mode. As I passed a lake, I would see where it was in relation to the mountain behind it. No change! At one point, I thought God was f'ing with me, and that in order for me to get off this trail I had to pass a test of deadfall torture. I finally won! It might be a coincidence that I won after taking a few Aleve and Hammer Endurolyte pills. 

Wayne and I spent last night in Many Glacier and hiked the Iceberg Lake Trail this morning. Now we're in Missoula and it's time for my first hot shower.

Thanks for a great adventure, Dave, and all I came across on this journey.

We finished tonight at 10pm. Lots of hiking 112+ miles. Sore ankles from south birch today. Larch Hill pass and the traverse to Spotted Bear pass was tough, especially because it was getting dark. Saw 3 black bears, tons of fresh Griz sign, and lots of Elk. Lots of fun! Photos and report to come after some sleep.

Was really nice to meet everyone Friday evening and Saturday morning. I've almost got to meet up w/ Dave C a couple of times, but never quite worked out. Also got to meet w/ Sam H Saturday morning, another Montanan I was hoping to cross paths with.

We (Kevin and John) made it out yesterday (Tues) at 1:30 PM. We heard from Les and Micah (another team from Helena), they made it out Monday late (10-ish PM).

It was great to chat w/ Dave at Swift (and share a well earned beer!) and meet again w/ M (and family :) ). We stopped at Augusta at the Buckhorn and consumed the best 1/2 # bacon/cheese burger of my life!

We had a great time (and a few not so great times) and took a ton of photos, what a canvas! This was our first foray into the Open and we learned a ton.

My hats off to all the entrants (finishers or not), past and present- you all have my utmost respect.

It's going to take a while to get my thoughts together, but will try to put a trip report together soon along w/ some photos.

Mike

It was a treat to meet you finally as well, Mike. And keep the stories coming, everyone, I just eat this stuff up!

Nice job Nick. That trail down South Birch was impressively horrible.

According to Spot data Morgan and Justin got down White River pass to the West Fork of the Sun this morning. Morgan will be missing his raft right now.

FYI: I have a Delrome Inreach contact message form Chase and Alex from 11:18 yesterday stating that they were still working their way out. Alex was a little beat up but game to finish.

Thanks Greg. I believe Justin/Morgan and Chase/Alex are the last folks left out there.

There is some great reading already. I eagerly await more.

I did my abbreviated mini-BMWO, starting and ending at Owl Creek, approximately 60 miles in 5 days. A meager effort compared to most. I got back to Owl Creek about 6pm yesterday, the 27th.

When I have time to assemble and digest my notes I will issue a report. Unfortunately I see that I neglected to take some photos in one of the more spectacular areas; apparently I was so absorbed in the navigation process that all other considerations were dwarfed.

I spent most of the first two days with Justin and Morgan. The three of us ran into Chase and Alex at the Big Prairie pack bridge. They were anxious to continue another 7 miles whereas I was only good for about 2 more. That seemed like a good time for me to leave the group and circle back toward Owl Creek.

As was briefly mentioned about 10 days ago I will monitor Justin and Morgan's SPOT messages and will drive to Swift to pick them up. Please be advised: anyone (David C?) who is also receiving their messages should know that the messages may not be necessarily what they seem. Morgan devised a slightly alternative meaning to the message "Changing plan or route. Delayed by conditions." aimed at making my drive a little shorter if they are able to hitch a ride. Yeah, I'm a little confused, too, but it will work out in the end. If I see an "OK" message located at or near Swift then I will start driving.

I am asking for some help and opinions. It appears that Morgan and Justin have changed their exit point to Gibson Reservoir judging by their latest SPOT message. They are only about 4 or 5 miles from the pavement. Also their use of the SPOT message "All Good, on route." is code for me to drive over to pick them up. Where I am having trouble is that I see several trails headed north from Gibson that conceivably (?) could be used to go north to Swift. How likely is the latter scenario?

It is too late tonight for me to start driving. SPOT messages can be a little cryptic, not completely explanatory. I hate to leave them hanging overnight but mind reading is a little tricky, too. It seems that my best choice is to start driving early tomorrow morning. They will have to find a camp spot near the trail head tonight. They might send another SPOT message tonight from Mortimer Gulch; that would clear up the issue.

Any thoughts?

Most likely that they will end up right there at the end of the paved road to Gibson dam and not decide to start a new adventure north to Swift. I'm sure they will be happy to see you in the morning.

On a another topic I got a message at 7:00PM from Chase and Alex that they are out and leaving Swift.

At this hour of the night it seems unlikely they'd expect you to come get them any earlier than tomorrow. Once they hit whatever trailhead they opt to exit to and subsequently camp at they will probably send a couple more "come get us" messages and they can wait patiently until your arrival tomorrow morning.

Hey Sam, any chance of sending a decent quality version of that group shot at the start to me (durston.dan@gmail.com)? BPL drops the quality so much I can hardly recognize faces.

Working on my trip report now.

mytripreport

All I can say is good stuff guys. I enjoyed your report Mike.
I'm highly jealous…this always happens at a time of year that's impossible for me to attend.

As of about 10:30 pm Morgan and Justin appear to be back in civilization in or very close to Mortimer Gulch Campground. Road trip tomorrow! I get to see some more new country, never have been to Gibson Reservoir. Gotta remember to pick up some beer and chips before I get there.

Edit to add that I am almost done with my trip report but it might be tomorrow night before I am able to post it.

Loving reading all the reports. Great job everyone.

Thanks for the trip report, Mike. And, Dan, I'll send you those photos at lunchtime or when I get home from work this eve.

Mike – It was great to read your perspective of the route, as mine was nearly the same. It's funny how similarly we described certain parts (my report is finished, just adding some pictures and cleaning things up). I also crossed on that sketchy log jam, but really don't remember it. I was more concerned about what the bear was doing that I had seen prowling near the Gooseberry cabin. I think I lucked out finding the trail in Wall Creek using my GPS to take me to where I had seen the trail on Google Earth when planning the trip.

Great work to complete a very difficult and committing route!

Kudos to everyone who showed up and gave this a go. Especially those of you who live out of state – this had to have been an intimidating experience for you. I know it was for me.

Thanks for setting it up once again, Dave. It is a fantastic, unique event and I am glad to see it bounce back strongly from last year. We should hike together one of these days.

Here is my report:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B21hDTb_MWMqMFoxSkwyVGQ0WWs/view?usp=sharing