Adventure in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Glacier National Park
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I’ll post a few photos here from my recent adventure (July) with two friends, hiking from Benchmark Trailhead Montana (Bob Marshall Wilderness) to Chief Mountain border with Canada (Glacier National Park), along the Continental Divide Trail. About 175 or so miles, depending on which map or app you use.
We flew into Great Falls, MT and overnighted there, getting our last minute supplies. We got a shuttle into Benchmark Trailhead from Darwin, owner of the Benchmark Wilderness Ranch. Friendly helpful guy, and it would have been fun to stay at the ranch a few days. We hiked 11 miles the first day, all level trail following a river. We had planned a 10 day food carry so our packs were loaded, but ended up finishing that leg in 8 days, taking several CDT alternates. All of the trail in the Bob was amazing, mostly well traveled and easy to follow, brushy in some spots. Hardly any blowdowns at all, in case you’ve done this stretch in other years! Signage was abysmal however, so if you don’t have a map, you might struggle a bit finding your way. (We had maps and FarOut). Glacier OTOH is well signed at every junction, trailhead and campsite, and the trail manicured with bridges at every water crossing. In the Bob during the last alternate trail, we crossed streams/rivers at least 10 times, wet feet all the way.
We took a zero in East Glacier, got our Glacier permits and resupplied, and did 8 more days hiking in Glacier. No trouble getting permits, although we didn’t get the itinerary I had sketched out; ended up just fine. Serendipity can bring you amazing sights, like the Ptarmigan Tunnel, not on my radar or in my plans. That was fantastic! We also had a nearo day at Red Eagle Lake, hiking from one end’s campsite to the other end for our next night, making for a lovely .9 mile day and lots of lounging by the lakeshore, dips in the water, and great birding. And eating. Lots of eating; I lost about 10 pounds anyway.
During the 16 days, we experienced great weather (60-85F), a few thundershowers and some high wind, biting flies, almost no mosquitoes, and I got two beestings. Lots of bumps and bruises, sore muscles, hot hours on trail, cool mornings, great campsites and even some cowboy camps. Very little litter; we picked up what we could carry. That seems amazing despite the heavy use by horsepackers in the Bob, and many backpackers in Glacier. Steep climbs and descents, head-high bushwhacking, stinging nettles, and even some easy strolling in places. Incredible scenery! Interesting people met along the way. A few wildlife encounters (bull moose are definitely scary but so are Spruce Grouse when they’re mad), glorious flowers, and delicious huckleberries to munch on trail, and in morning oatmeal. Two of the three had some medical issues, but we managed to finish our trek; this is a tough crew! Too many details to remember it all. The memories will come back over time, when I need them the most.
Happy to answer questions or post a gear list if you’re interested in that. Our pack weights were 35, 32, and mine was 29 – with 10 days food and a bear canister.
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