There's a thousand different ways that every decision we make in life impacts us. We don't always see them right away, but the impact is made none the less.
When I became a whitewater rafting guide, I never would have thought that down the road, the skills I learned would later open up a door that allowed for one of the greatest experiences of my life. The experience I'm talking about is a solo packrafting trip through some of the most remote wilderness in the US.
Many of you have probably never heard the word "packrafting." It's a little bit more popular these days, but when I first came across it back in 2012, I had no idea it was even a thing. In a nutshell, packrafting is when you integrate backpacking trips with rafting trips. Generally you'll hike for miles through the wilderness and hop on rivers whenever you can to add another dimension to the adventure. This means you're not only packing everything that you need for a long backpacking expedition, but you're also throwing in everything that you'll need to boat while you're out there, including the boat itself!
As you can imagine that adds quite a bit of weight to your pack, but with the advancements in technology, you can actually get boats that weight ten pounds or less now. When I first came across the idea, I was immediately enthralled. Already being comfortable with whitewater and having a passion for long backpacking trips it was the best of both worlds. I could hike through amazing wilderness and then float down rarely touched rivers through pristine beauty. I was in, and my legs were all about it too knowing that they wouldn't have to be footing the load the whole time!
Gearing Up
Since I already had everything I needed for backpacking I was already half way to fulfilling my gear needs. Next up, gear shopping time! Talk about fun times. I'm the kind of person that will spend hours and hours reading reviews and scouting out all of my options before I buy something. Gear is no different. It took me a couple months to finally settle on my boat of choice. Packrafts are not cheap. Prices start around $500 and go up into the thousands pretty quick. It's definitely one of those hobbies that you can't half ass, you're either in or you're out. I was in. I told myself a lot of people will drop that kind of money on a single vacation and I planned on being able to get many a day of enjoyment out of my investment.
Of course there was more to buy than just the boat. I needed a good paddle, straps, and other river gear. Fortunately, I already had most of what I needed from my whitewater rafting gear supply, but I did have to drop another chunk of change on a nice paddle. After a few months of shopping around and gearing up I had everything I needed and was ready to start looking for my destination.
Finding Somewhere Magical
Having discovered packrafting in the fall of 2012, I ended up spending most of that winter and spring learning as much as I could and searching out any and all trip logs from other packrafters. I was on the hunt for an adventure and was wanting something epic. After months of research I had limited my two options down to either Alaska or Montana. Alaska was a bit more of a logistical challenge so I decided I'd head to Montana.
The Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana is about as remote as you can get in the lower 48 states. It was close enough that I could drive over and the scenery and wildlife are breathtaking. It also has some amazing rivers that flow through it, perfect for my big adventure.
To give you a better description, here's a quick snippit from Wikipedia:
Located in the northern Rocky Mountains along the Continental Divide, the region is as primitive as any found in the United States outside of Alaska. Indeed, the Bob Marshall region is the most ecologically complete mountain wilderness in the country, according to Wolke. Although renowned for excellent fishing and backpacking opportunities, most of those that enter the wilderness complex do so on horseback and there are outfitters that provide guided pack trips into the region. The Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex is also well known for being prime Grizzly bear habitat, and the population density of this species is higher there than anywhere else in the lower 48 states. Grizzlies migrating from the Complex range well out onto the Great Plains to the east, the only place this still occurs. Every species of mammal indigenous to the Northern Rockies still lives in this area and adjacent Glacier National Park (U.S.), except bison and woodland caribou. Huge herds of elk, bighorn sheep, and mountain goat roam the region's rugged peaks, big river valleys, large meadows, and vast coniferous forests
That description pretty much sounded like heaven to me and once it got in my soul, there was no way I wasn't going to go get the full taste.
Plotting a course
After gathering what info I could from the few other folks who had done such a trip, I was ready to start plotting my route. Normally, with a backpacking trip it's all pretty straight forward and you just stay on the trail. Now that I had a boat involved, I'd be moving on and off the trail and using the rivers to help get me where I wanted to go. I laid out my maps and started to dig in.
I had a blast working through all of my different options. It was such a different experience compared to my normal trips where you just show up at the trail head and start walking. For one, there are tons of trails in the Bob Marshall that you can hike. They weave and cross throughout and it allows for you to create your own adventure depending on how long you want to be back there. Then throw in the fact that I got to pick out some rivers and use those as throughfares for parts of the trip and it became a really fun process.
So I spent some time analyzing my options and different entry/exit points and finally after a couple weeks of deliberation I settled on a route. I was going to spend the first part of my trip hiking for about 20 miles and then float out on about 50 miles of river. It'd take me about a week after all was said and done but I'd have enough time to really enjoy it.
With my route established I had two big problems that I needed to solve. One, I was traveling solo and wouldn't be doing a loop hike, that meant I would need to figure out how to get back to my car, and two, I had never been on these rivers before and didn't know much about them, which can be dangerous, especially if you're out in the middle of no where all by yourself.
So I set to work tackling my first problem. Since I would be driving myself and didn't want to have to deal with traveling hundreds of miles to get back to my car after a long week in the wilderness I decided I would need to leave my car at the trail head of the exit point. I choose the route I did because the exit point happens to be near a forest service air strip. So I ended up hiring out a private cessna to pick me up there and then fly me to the otherside of the wilderness and drop me off. At that point all I had to do was hike back to my car. Problem solved!
The second issue was a bit more complicated. I had access to some satellite views of the water which helped me scout them a bit and also I had information about the different water flow levels from the park service. What I didn't have was first hand knowledge about the river or the critical points on it that I needed to be aware of. Fortunately I was able to get in contact with someone who had packrafted the section of river I was going to do and he was more than happy to share his knowledge of the river and what to expect.
The last piece of the puzzle was in place. I had a route, a plan and an adventure just waiting to be lived out!
The Adventure Begins!
After months of planning and preparing, the week of my trip finally arrived! I laid out all of my gear, double checked everything and packed it all up. I can't remember the exact weight of my pack, but it was probably around 60 pounds or so.
It's a long drive over to Montana, but the drive was beautiful. I passed fields of gold, went through thunderstorms, over mountain passes and past gorgeous rivers all the while knowing that my adventure hadn't even begun! It was wonderful and amazing.
Of course I also had my road trippin playlist ready to roll and that just made the trip even that much more enjoyable. My favorite song at the time was New Age by Marlon Roudette. I can't even tell you how many times I played it, so thanks Marlon!
My first Cessna Experience
It was late afternoon when I finally made it to the turn off that headed up to the trail head where I'd be leaving my car for the week. Now, just to give you a feel of how remote this place is, it took me almost two hours up a dirt road just to get to the trail head. It was a beautiful drive but by the time I arrived it was late and I was ready for a final night's rest before the morning light brought the start of my real journey.
I woke up early and had something to eat and then headed off to the airstrip. Having never flown in a small cessna before, I was a bit nervous. I watched the horizon and soon enough I saw the small speck of a plane as it approached. It circled around and landed on the strip and I headed over with my things. We tossed my pack in the back and I hopped into the passenger seat. We took off and before I knew it my eyes were soaking in an amazing view. Having studied my maps well I recognized that I was getting a good view of the land I would be crossing soon. It was beautiful and such an amazing way to start the experience. We flew over rivers and meadows, over mountains and between passes and then finally settled in and landed on the other side.
I side my goodbyes to the pilot. He asked if I knew how to use my bear spray. I laughed and said I did, he wished me luck and I headed out on the trail.
A Long Day
My goal for the first day was to hike all the way to where I would be putting my boat in to float. It would mean putting in about 20 miles but I wanted to get the hard part out of the way so that I could just enjoy floating the river for the rest of the trip.
As I walked through the forest service camp towards the trail there were numerous postings that warned of recent grizzly activity and to be aware. I couldn't help but think I was a bit crazy, but there was no turning back now! I pulled out my bear spray, found the start of the trail I would be taking and headed off.
It was a looooonnnnnnggggg day. I hiked through forested woods, over a mountain pass and then back down and across a long meadow before finally making it to the spot I'd make camp for the evening. I didn't end up encountering any bears but it was almost dark by the time I found a nice little stream to set up camp and call it a day. I was to exhausted to do much of anything so I set up my tent had a power bar and passed out. I slept great!
Time to hit the river
I awoke the next morning feeling great but starving. I made some breakfast and packed up all my gear I was excited to get down to the water and start my float. It promised to make for a much easier day than the last.
I hiked for about a half hour and made it down to the first creek that I'd be putting in on. I dropped my pack, pulled out all of my boating gear and was finally ready to hit the water. I was now officially a packrafter and if someone had been there to recount the tale, they'd start with the grin on my face that was wider than river I was on.
It was straight out of a fairy tale. The water was crystal clear and shallow in both depth and width. It cut a beautiful path through both forest and meadow and I don't think I've ever been happier as I got to experience the pure joy of being a part of that place for awhile.
I stopped for lunch part of the way down and pulled out my Tenkara rod to do some fishing. If you're not familiar with Tenkara, it's basically fly fishing without a reel. It's about as simple as it gets. Rod, line and person. That's it. I had just discovered Tenkara recently as well and had immediately been drawn to it because Tenkara rods are extremely light and compact and for about 7 ounces of weight you can have a full on fishing kit to take with you on backcountry trips.
This was a game changer for me. I absolutely love being able to fish when I'm out on my adventures and Tenkara itself is an amazing way of fishing. I'll have to go into that in another post, but suffice it to say that you don't go on a trip like I was taking and not bring a fishing rod. Montana is known for it's trout fishing and I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass me by.
Anyway, I hadn't fished with my rod yet at that point and I pulled it out, cast it and as soon as my fly hit the water a fish nailed it and I had my first catch. I couldn't believe it. I grabbed my camera and started filming. I caught many fish on the trip and it cemented the love for my newly found hobby of Tenkara fishing.
Pictures are worth a thousand words
I'm going to take you through the rest of my trip in pictures and let them speak in ways that I'll never be able to. Before you start scrolling through though, go ahead and hit head over and hit play on this song, "Down the River". Chris Cunningham is an artist from Montana and I came across his album "Madly Out the Cabin Door" while doing my trip planning and fell in love with it. It was played a ton on the trip as well. It'll set the mood nicely for you.
Wrapping up
The trip offered everything I could have hoped for. The river was calm and beautiful in some places and roaring and frothy in others. I enjoyed both and definitely had some intense moments as well. I also got to have some run ins with the locals. Lots of deer, woodland critters and a bear were all part of the journey and made it all the more special. Each night I also got to gaze up at a night sky that left me breathless. I had never felt more small and yet connected to something bigger than I did on that trip.
When I made it back to my car I experienced a wide range of emotions. It was hard to leave behind the world that I had just been living in. The combination of being in such beauty and experiencing it by myself was beyond words. There were places and moments that touched me profoundly. It was truly like stepping into another magical world. I saw places that my imagination had been creating all my life and there is not enough gratitude in the world to express how thankful I am to have been able to experience them.
I was also proud of what I had accomplished. I had gone out on my own, into the wilderness and done it in a way that I never had before and come out the other side. It felt good. I was ready to go home and share my adventure with those that I loved. After all, what good is an adventure if you don't get to share it?
Find What You Love In Life and Let It Help Shape You
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