The Bob Marshall Wilderness

We woke in the night to the sound of rain. DP wasn't feeling well through the night, but after breakfast he was feeling right as, well, rain. We went to the PO to send home some extra warm gear and our crampons. As we were leaving town, we ran in to Rolling Thunder (RT), Mike and Jack. Jack was staying in town due to knee injuries, so we hiked out with the other two. We were wandering around, past the lodge and golf course, trying to find the trail, when a local lady kindly pointed us in the right direction. We came upon the boundary of the park, and in honor of Hike Naked Day, Mike and RT stripped, had their photo taken, re-robed, and we marched on. We wandered in and out of gullies, slipping and sliding in mud, in the drizzling rain. We met Mike's wife, Naomi at Highway 2 at Marias Pass. We all crammed into her car to get warm (if not stay a little dry). We pressed on, choosing the lower route due to thunderstorms reported for the next few days. We mostly followed jeep trails, crossing the South Fork Two Medicine Creek, where we eventually made camp.

The next morning was clear and bright, and we had to keep crossing and re-crossing the river. My feet would be numb, then wet and warm, and so on. We saw a few deer leaping up the hillsides. Not much else in the way of views. We followed the river for most of the morning before following a jeep trail to a guard station (guarding what, I have no idea). My knee was starting to swell, but it seemed strong, just stiff. We cruised throught the rest of the day, following South Badger Creek to the junction of TR147 towards Blue Lake and Muskrat Pass, around Beaver Lake then up to Badger Pass. There, we met Nina, Tim, Yas, Dan and Anna (Team 3D) camped out in the snow. We pushed on towards Strawberry Creek and a snow free meadow, which is where we set up camp.

The morning was cold. We got moving quickly and followed Strawberry Creek to a junction with Gateway Creek. There we met a Forest Service employee witha 3 mule train. Team 3D caught up to us here, took a break while the four of us moved on. We followed the creek until it joined MIddle Fork Flathead River and had lunch at the guard station there. Here, we had a really bad ford, so the four of us linked up holding each others' packs and waded across. It really wasn't as bad as it looked, but the way we crossed made it more comfortable. We waited for the others to make sure they made it across okay, and moved on, now following Clack Creek. We climbed up many switchbacks to the Trilobite Range. A massive wall of rock! WE followed the trail past Pentagon Mt., Dean Lake and up to Switchback Pass, all due to Yas' (Rocksteady) superior trail navigation. RT and Mike fell behind, while the rest of Team 3D (Tim=Hawkeye, Nina=Kombucha, Dan=Candyman, Anna=Queen Frostine) pulled ahead. We followed their tracks in the snow down to where water would be. We were dry, and had no real way to melt snow, so we had to push on until we got to Pentagon Creek. My knee was swollen and painful, but we had to push on. We finally made it to a side creek where a perfect little campsite was. Team 3D didn't take it, so we set up camp. We hoped to see Mike and RT, but they must have stayed closer to the top.

We woke later than usual, but needed the rest. We made our way down to Pentagon Guard Station, then cruised along Spotted Bear River, stopping to chat with a man and his dog. We were doing great until Spotted Bear Pass, where we just fell flat. It was tough sloughing up the pass towards the Chinese Wall, an even more impressive wall of rock than Trilobite. We followed Team 3D's footsteps in the snow, before making camp near the Moose Creek Trail junction. We watched the cornices above crumble down above us, sounding like thinder all the way down.

Next morning, we followed more of their footsteps in the snow, before finding clear trail. We passed a group of four who had seen Team 3D the night before. The rest of the day was fairly easy river walking through the woods, only my knee was so swollen, it hurt to bend it. Walking was painful, and we had to slow down. It took was seemed forever to reach a pack bridge, where Mike and RT caught up to us. We walked with them towards Benchmark, not looking forward to having to pick up more food and therefor a heavier pack. Mike and DP went to get our packages, while RT and I waited by the trail for them. Nest thing we know, they come pulling up in a red Ford truck! Apparently, they saw Team 3D talking and drinking it up with a man named Barry, who knew the owner of a cabin in the area. We pulled up, was handed a beer, made myself an ice pack for my knee, and met Bob "Tom Dooley" Stephens, a retired state representative who was happy to have company. Awesome trail magic!