Recon into the Bob Marshall Wilderness

M

mtwarden

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Sep 27, 2009
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the 2016 Bob Marshall Open is quickly approaching and we wanted to get a good training/recon trip in this weekend into the Dearborn area

this year we want to try to mix a little running in so we revamped our kit around the largest running pack made- the Fast Pack 30 liter (made by Ultimate Directions), this meant really cutting our load down both in weight and volume

we packed everything we would take for a 3-ish day trip, including snowshoes- our packs were in the 15-17 pound range including food/water

we picked a 25-ish mile out and back figuring that would give us a pretty good idea if it was going to work

of course typically spring weather in the mountains- a combination mist, rain, snow and sleet, temps in the mid to upper 30's

the Dearborn is a gorgeous drainage with numerous waterfalls and deep cut canyons

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about 6 miles in we forded the Dearborn

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shortly after the ford, our route really starts climbing for a pass on the Continental Divide separating the Dearborn (east side) and Blackfoot (west side)- a mile or so into our climb we had to don snowshoes

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it was a steep climb and we had several somewhat dicey avy chutes to cross

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some really pretty Phlox popping up high

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when we finally dropped into the Blackfoot drainage we still had a lot of snow to contend with along with numerous stream crossings

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we weren't the only ones winding our way down the drainage, at our turnaround spot we found some really large grizzly tracks

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we ate a quick lunch and headed back out

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Blackfoot side of the pass

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Dearborn side

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we were socked in for most of the trip, but got a few good views on the way out

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we stopped in at Augusta to the Buckhorn Bar for much deserved 1/2 lb bacon cheeseburgers and a pitcher of local IPA

were pretty happy with the packs, our hope is that in four weeks we lose enough snow that we can ditch the snow shoes- that would put our packs closer to 12-13 lbs

thanks for reading
 
Hi! Beautiful landscape there! Also the conditions looks very similar to what we have on the pre-Alps here. Spring is coming but slowly, snow is still there higher up. We got 10 cm of fresh snow on 1st May above 1500 mt. :eek:. Thanks for "taking me along" :).
 
Really beautiful terrain! Do you pack a handgun for the bears? That large track would definitely put me on edge!
 
Great photos! Looks like a gorgeous hike, if pretty strenuous! Thank you for taking the time to post 'em up.
 
Thanks Gents!

tk- no handgun, but religiously carry bear spray anytime I'm in grizzly country
 
Very cool, thanks for sharing. I spend a lot of time in the Bob, Scapegoat and Great Bear. Some of the finest country in the world.
 
mtwarden, you are my absolute favorite poster because of posts like this.
 
Would you mind listing your load-out for 3 days at 15-17 pounds including food? That's some impressive packing. I'm also curious what footwear you chose for this trip. Awesome pics, Montana still pulls at my heart and I can't wait to return.
 
sure :)

the pack is a Ultimate Direction Fastpack, 30 liters- it's the largest (most volume) running pack on the market- I replaced the pad that it came with another, now weighs 19 oz

sleeping/shelter consists of a 30 degree down quilt (17 oz), an older neoair mattress (12 oz), a eVENT bivy (13 oz)- bivy is chosen mainly because of ease of "setup"- roll it out, climb in :D

cooking- we are changing things a bit this year and only cooking supper, we're doing breakfast "cookies" and cold coffee in the morning, not the most pleasant, but we want to get on the trail quicker and that will do it; we're going to continue to cook supper (boil in the bag meals- most from packitgourmet) on the trail- no cooking scent where we sleep and gives a much needed break and calorie dump- so a liter titanium pot (and lid) w/ an older Snowpeak Ti canister stove along w/ a long plastic spoon pot is 5 oz, stove is 3 oz, spoon is a fraction of an ounce. we might throw in plastic cups just in case we want hot coffee on morning :)

clothing- we have to expect rain and possibly snow, so a rain jacket (7 oz), rain pants (5 oz) and rain mitts (1 oz)- a 100 weight fleece jacket (7 oz), a syn insulated jacket (10 oz), balaclava (1-ish oz), fleece gloves (1 oz) and spare wool socks- reserved for sleeping only (2 oz)

water are two washed out 20 oz Gatorade bottles- ounce each and 20 Aquatabs (fraction of an ounce)

misc includes a small first aid kit, small fire kit, small repair kit, TP, headlamp with spare batteries, toiletries (not much), sunscreen, anti-chafe, map/compass, iphone 6 w/ Gaia software- basically gives you a full functioning gps w/o an cell signal (solely satellite) and a SPOT transceiver- 21 ounces

snowshoes are a MSR youth model, but work pretty well 2.5 pounds- a good chance we won't be taking them this year
bear spray- I found a smaller OC fog sprayer that contains the same concentration, but in a smaller package- 6 ounces

food- we'll carry three full days of food w/ some emergency only bars- a little over a pound/day

shoes we both wear plain old trail runners- your feet are constantly (constantly) wet and there isn't a shoe or boot that would prevent that (but would never dry out, unlike trail runners which will)- between water running on the trail, dozens and dozens of creek crossing and usually a couple of major fords- not to mention snow on the passes and possible rainy weather, you just put up with wet feet

we air dry our feet at lunch and supper and throughly dry our feet at night, we apply a salve to prevent maceration of the skin and then dry socks to sleep, the salve usually fully soaks into the feet and will reapply in the morning- the lubrication reduces blisters as well

we had very few foot issues last year which is pretty impressive given the daily mileage and constant wet feet - knock on wood, the same for this year :)
 
great post, great info!

What foot salve are you using?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
also since this bladeforum :D, here's the knife I'm taking (currently receiving a custom kydex sheath)- cord wrapped Sargent PSK

will be worn as a necker

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What trail shoes are you choosing?

Like all the others have said, really, really enjoy your posts.
 
Camber said:
What trail shoes are you choosing?

Like all the others have said, really, really enjoy your posts.
Click to expand...

thanks :)

I'll probably go with my Pearl Izumi N2 Trail's- they fit my feet well, I have some others (LaSportiva, Hoka, Altra) that I rotate around for running; but the N2's simply fit the best- I have weird toes- other than the little toe they are all almost the same length as my big toe- so I need a really roomy toebox, which the N2's have

I do have a pair of a new model from LaSportiva- the Akasha, that has a pretty roomy toebox, but I won't have enough miles on them to trust them yet
 
Thank you and sweet. I just got a pair of Pearl Izumi N1's to give Trail Shoes a try. Sounds like a made a decent choice then.

I went with them over the Altra's bc of the reviews made me thing their soles could be more durable.
 
definitely durable soles- in fact a lot of PI shoes I retire look amazingly good, but after 500-ish miles or so they start breaking down internally- it's a slow process and one you don't really notice, that is until you put a new pair on :)

Altra is a decent shoe, but not perfect- good roomy toebox, tread is only so so (could be more aggressive imo) and the zero drop I'm not 100% convinced is best- I've found a mild drop better for me- 3-5mm
 
That's great to hear. Thank you for the feedback. I really like the feel of the PI's and the look is solid too. So many trail shoes are way over done in terms of colors for my tastes anyway.

I really do like the looks of the Altra's, and the roomy toe box would be nice, but like you said seems to have it's quirks.
 
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