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Tour
Code: RTMT01
Rates include all meals, overnights, guides and camping equipment, 7
riding days
7 days/ 6 nights $ 1,575 per person
2007 Dates:
July 14 - 20
Meeting:
Augusta
Airport: Great Falls
Transfer: included
Horses:
Quarter and Morgan Mix
Tack:
Western
Pace: Western
Level: any
Note: bring your own sleeping bag |
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Per 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.
A 10-mile ride through beautiful, water-sculpted, Devil's Glen and on up the
Dearborn River to the mouth of the Whitetail Creek. Here we turn west and ride
across slopes of open meadow, aspen, and juniper with extraordinary views of
the Continental Divide.
LAYOVER DAYS (Day 2-3) These days offer activities
for a full range of riding and walking abilities, as well as trout pools for
the fisherfolk. Options include
riding lessons and short outings for children. Glorious views are within reach
of all guests. Those desiring short hours in the saddle may ride onto open,
windswept Grassy Hills for a terrific view of the Dearborn drainage.
Hardy adventurers may ride up an unmarked trail through extremely varied and
exciting landscape for spectacular views form the Continental Divide and Crow
Point, a view extending north to Glacier and west to the Mission Mountains on
a clear day. There are any number of tempting hikes and rides that take us
where few other people go: steep meadows with great views, secluded alpine
basins, and even geologic formations that are reminiscent of the ruins of
former civilizations.
DAY 4 Move camp 15 miles up the Dearborn River to the
headwaters of the South Fork of the Sun River. Enter the impressive landscape
left by the Canyon Creek Fire that burned a quarter of a million acres in
1988. Our trail circles Red Slide Mountain, keeping the cliffs of Scapegoat
Mountain to the west.
LAYOVER DAYS (Day 5 and 6) Choose the short (7-mile) or long (12-mile)
loop under the stunning Scapegoat Wall. Our trail passes through splendid
alpine scenery, rockslides, and incredible wildflowers, with a good chance of
seeing mountain goats and hearing marmots and picas. An outstanding day for
anyone interested in photography or even remotely appreciative of scenery.
Make a 7-mile ride into the head of nearby Greenfork Creek,
which burned in the 1930's. This is a good chance to see 60 years of growth.
Those wishing to hike may take a game trail to the top of Scapegoat Plateau
for superb views of mountain wilderness stretching in all directions. A
pristine stream, mysterious sinkholes in the mountain, and the remains of a
wrecked plane all add to the interest of the hike.
DAY 7 For 15-miles, follow the route taken by the Canyon
Creek Fire when it raged out of control and jumped first the wilderness and
then the Forest boundary on September 6, 1988.
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).
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