South Fork Flathead

Apparently I have been slacking on the posts. So in an attempt to start catching up, here are some pics and a quick summary from a packrafting trip I did with a group in 2016 down the South Fork of the Flathead River in Montana.

My buddy Jason pitched this idea to me and I jumped at the opportunity. Backpacking and white-water rafting, of course I'm interested! He organized a great group of guys to go, most of which only had Jason as the common denominator going in.

We hiked in with heavy loads, carrying the equivalent of a week of backpacking gear, plus our rafts and associated paddling equipment. The Bob Marshall Wilderness has been hit hard recently by beetle kill to its Lodge Pole Pine Forests and Subsequent Wildfires.

(Picture heavy post)

We arrived at our first camp and put-in spot right at dark and right as the rain started. I tucked my bivy sack under a tree and got a very wet night sleep. The next morning the rain was still coming down. We had a couple of lay over days built into the schedule and decided to use one early to try and dry out some gear and let the weather improve.

But we made some time to play around in the rafts

The following day we loaded up the rafts and headed down stream. This was my new raft's (affectionately named Rafty McRaft-face) maiden voyage. Everything I had was strapped to the top in dry bags. I kept the backpack straps up to help with the inevitable portages.

 Of course stopping periodically to catch cut-throats. The fishing was fantastic.

After some runs of cold and bouncy class 3 boulder gardens we hit the South Fork of the Flathead River and a suitable bar to camp on for the night.

 Did I mention the fishing was good?

Great seats for the evening light show.

Back on the water the next day. The further downstream we get the more water and fortunately fewer portages.

 Young western toad. These guys will puff up and run the rapids just like us to disperse!

Columbia Spotted Frog

We reached our next camp, near the confluence with the White River and early the next day. This area was fantastic. The White River braided out dramatically into side channels at the confluence making a beautiful alluvial fan. Some of our group hiked up and ran sections of the White River, I fished. :)

Back on the water, still can't quite get over how clear the water is.

 We hit our next camp, and slowly trickled in throughout the afternoon. We would lay over here again, taking advantage of a horsecamp nearby for some fresh veggies and a non-dehydrated meal.

I usually let nature do it's thing, but when I found this I freed the fish. The trout is a bull trout (threatened species), and this is a super abundant gartersnake. There are plenty of cut-throat in the stream buddy, go find a less threatened species to eat.

The last day of paddling may have been the prettiest section of water overall. The rapids were growing in size too with the volume of water.

Our last take out for the trip is right in front of where the river narrows into a steep gorge. More rapid than I am ready for in my little raft.

We camped right by the take out before a short hike to the trailhead in the morning. Vehicles were shuttled around by family members and girlfriends (who earned serious points with the group by also supplying cold beer at the trailhead!). Was a fantastic trip, already looking for time to get back.