Montana Pack Trips into the Bob Marshall Wilderness
 

Flathead Trip Adventure Tour Code: RTMT01 Rates include all meals, overnights, guides and camping equipment, 7 riding days 5 days/ 4 nights $ 1,125 2007  Dates: 07/17-07/21 Meeting:  Augusta Airport:   Great Falls Transfer:  included Horses:   Quarter and Morgan Mix Tack:   Western Pace:  Western Level:  any Note: bring your own sleeping bag

Guided Fly Fishing Trips are also available !   Slide Show

Pre trip day  Pick up from Great Falls and transfer to Augusta. Check into local motel (not included). Afternoon check of baggage and re-organizing into duffle bags.
DAY 1  Early morning pick up and arrival in Benchmark just after daylight.  The wranglers should just be finishing up with the saddling of the stock. After an introduction to safe horsemanship, you will be introduced to your horse for the trip. Riders are matched as closely as possible to their mounts according to individual skills and abilities. Our stock is good, gentle stock. You should be on the trail early in the morning, and riding into the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.
Our trail takes us 18 miles up and over the Continental Divide. Follow the South Fork of the Sun River Benchmark to Hoadley Creek and Climb to the top of the ridge. Watch the change from lodgepole to subalpine vegetation and then back again as the trail descends into juniper flats, aspen groves and the gracious meadowland of the South Fork of the Flathead.
LAYOVER DAYS (2-4) This trip is designed for those who are thrilled by an abundance of trout and glorious landscapes. In addition, there is a special day trip for fossil buffs. Following are some possible options during the layover days:
- Dramatic, 6-hour ride up Jumbo Mountain. Ride follows ridge through a variety of systems, from mountain-meadow gardens to old-growth Douglas fir forest. Stunning view from fire lookout to neighboring ranges and into Canada and Idaho. Good chance to see mountain goats.
- Easy 3 1/2 hour ride or hike up friendly Sentinel Mountain. Open summit is strewn with shell fossils from the Mesozoic Era.
- Excellent fly or bait fishing for cutthroat trout in pools of the Flathead.
- Follow the water upstream 6 miles to the Danaher Meadows, site of an historic homestead. Great, rolling grassland and slow-moving river complete with fishing and swimming holes.
DAY 5 Move camp 10 miles northeast up Camp Creek, dropping just over the Divide into Pearl Basin. A strong contrast to our first campsite, this one offers sub-alpine vegetation, along with the cooler air and open expanses of higher elevations.
DAY 6 Spend the day exploring the Continental Divide on foot or horseback, traveling south into isolated alpine meadows, or north among the high peaks of the Flathead Alps.
DAY 7 Return 16 miles to Benchmark, completing our loop. As we descend from Pearl Basin, our route takes us through several distinct environments: a mature Douglas fir forest that sees few people, the meadows of the West Fork, and the lodgepole pine of the South Fork of the Sun River.
We should be to Benchmark by mid-afternoon, and you can be to Augusta by 6:00 PM, checking into a motel with a hot tub to pamper your tired body after the trip (not included).