Montana Backpacking in Big Wilderness

Our home state of Montana is not just “Big Sky Country”, but it is also big wilderness country. That’s because there are three distinct regions or “wilderness ecosystems” in Montana that are dominated by numerous large proximate chunks of wild country that’s mostly protected Wilderness. Ironically, though, each of these mountainous wild regions is along one of Montana’s borders, shared with neighboring geographic entities. So when backpacking in Montana with Big Wild, you will never be far from either Wyoming, Idaho or Canada. For example, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is shared with Wyoming and to a lesser extent with Idaho. In addition to our numerous wonderful guided Yellowstone backpacking adventures (in both Montana and Wyoming), we run wonderful treks through the rugged and spectacular Beartooth Mountains of southern Montana, the highest range in the state, just a few miles north of Wyoming. On Montana’s western edge is the Greater Salmon-Selway Ecosystem, mostly in Idaho, except for a big chunk of the vast Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in far western Montana. Here, adjacent to the Idaho border, is where we run a scheduled backpack trek in some of the most beautiful but unknown (to those from other regions) lake-strewn and rugged mountain areas in the West: the crest of the Bitterroot range.  And in northern Montana along the Canadian border is the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, which includes Glacier National Park and its wilder but equally beautiful “sister”, the vast Bob Marshall Wilderness. That’s where we run one scheduled trek each summer, within the east slope of the Bob Marshall where the Rocky Mountain Front rises like a fortress above the Great Plains. Make no mistake, Montana backpacking is about really big wilderness in some of the wildest big wilderness regions of the U.S. south of Alaska. “Montana” is Spanish for “mountains”, and you’ll never be disappointed when backpacking in Montana’s magnificent mountain wilderness.

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Utah Backpacking Highlights 2015

The wild and colorful Canyon Country of southern Utah is a true highlight of the American West! We ran two guided Utah hiking treks in 2015: the Escalante Canyons in the spring, and Canyonlands National Park this recent October. We had a small group in the Escalante and two groups in Canyonlands because the first group filled to the size limit allowed by the Park Service. So I led one group and our longtime trusty guide Bob Clark led the other.

For me the Escalante Canyons trek is all about canyons and slickrock: deep spectacular sheer-walled canyons of red sandstone with cool streams and verdant foliage topped by vast open “slickrock” mesas with big vistas of southern Utah’s amazing canyon and mesa wilderness! Although the entire week was a wonderful mix of canyon and mesa exploration, my personal highlight was the last night of the trip, camped high on the slickrock mesa with big wild vistas from Navajo Sandstone domes punctuated by sheer-walled canyons falling away beneath us!

Canyonlands National Park is also a land of sandstone canyons, but the canyons are more open and the rock colors are a kaleidoscope of red, orange, tan, white and purple. The colors are unbelievable! Ancient ruins of the near millennia-old “Ancient Puebloan” culture abound, and over most of the route there is good water so we don’t have to load our packs with any more than a liter. On this relatively easy-walking trek, our layover camp in the cottonwoods and day-hike up a big wide-open spectacular side canyon was one of many trip highlights (note that I usually do not divulge the specific place names of our routes and the features therein).

These are two of our three wonderful guided Utah backpacking trips. Both of these trips will be offered in 2016. In addition, we will also offer our Grand Staircase Back-country trek, in the heart of the Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument. In summary, backpacking in Utah is unlike backpacking anywhere else on this planet! If you’ve never backpacked in the other-worldly Utah Canyon Country, any one of these trips will provide an experience you’ll never forget. For the canyon country truly is a land like no other!

 

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Yellowstone Backpacking Highlights 2015

We at Big Wild are extremely lucky to have had the privilege of guiding for 37 years in the incomparable Yellowstone backcountry. Each of our guided Yellowstone hiking trips is unique, because each different area of this magical diverse park is a unique landscape, with it’s own particular moods, scenery, biota, weather and geology. So while each trek is distinctive, and a “highlight” in its own right, here are just a few samples of the many memorable moments we shared with our clients in the Yellowstone wilds in 2015.

A personal highlight for me was the boar grizzly that our group safely watched in Northeast Yellowstone in early July. The bear was simply grazing in the adjacent meadow, clearly visible from where we stood at camp, about 400 yards away, aware of our presence, non-threatening, and simply minding his bear business (feeding!) as we watched this wonderful after-dinner show. Some drama occurred when a couple appeared on the pack-trail, heading straight toward the bear, oblivious to its presence. Seeing this potential trouble, we intercepted the grateful couple who opted to camp with our group that night, instead of continuing down the trail and approaching the grizzly. Good choice! We had another great griz sighting at one of our favorite hot springs soaking pools on our late summer trip in the wilds of Southern Yellowstone. David was the lucky guide on that trip, and everyone in the group got a great look at the bear. There was another great griz encounter on the August Southwest Yellowstone Bechler Waterfall trip, too.

Highlights galore! There were also plenty of spectacular sunsets, wildflower-strewn meadows and so many more wonders of this forested plateau and mountain highland. Another personal highlight was the entire September Southwest Yellowstone Bechler Waterfall trip. We had a full group, great weather for 7 days, colorful autumn foliage, bull bison, bugling bull elk and of course our traditional long and relaxing soak in one of the great back-country hot pools in America. What a great way to end another Yellowstone summer guiding season!

 

 

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Yellowstone Backpacking Light Tip: Beware of Salespeople!

Walk into most any store in the United States and chances are you’ll encounter a helpful salesperson. That can be a good thing, but when looking to purchase gear and clothing for a Yellowstone backpacking trip, it can also be dangerous. After all, the goal of salespeople is to sell things to people. Read More »

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Bears and the Menstrual Myth

We’ve all heard it: “Grizzly bears are attracted to women who are menstruating, so stay out of the woods if it’s time for your period.” It’s been repeated so many times that it must be true, right? After all, repetition is convincing. For example, look at network news. It is amazing what “truths” people will accept if the lies are repeated often enough! Read More »

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Yellowstone Backpacking Myths: Mosquitoes

“The bugs are awful; do not go backpacking in Yellowstone until September!” But that is a myth, because if you know what you’re doing, you needn’t be deterred by Yellowstone’s greatly exaggerated population of mosquitoes, horse-flies, deer-flies and other biting insects. Read More »

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Common Birds Encountered on Yellowstone Guided Hikes

Let’s start with my favorite, the gray jay, formerly known as the Canada jay. They are also known as “camp robbers” because they are bold. Turn your back for a few seconds and watch that chunk of tortilla disappear into the nearest pine tree! Read More »

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Trees You’ll Encounter On Yellowstone Backpacking Tours

Our guided Yellowstone backpacking tours are in the wild back-country of Yellowstone, the world’s first national park. Big Wild Adventures has been leading Yellowstone hiking tours for about 37 years, and most of our treks are in forested wilderness punctuated by mountains, canyons, lakes, rivers and large beautiful meadows. Read More »

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Yellowstone Backpacking Myths: Don’t Drink the Water!

“Don’t drink the water” may be great advice for traveling in parts of Mexico, but while backpacking in Yellowstone some of us drink up, right out of the stream, no filter and no iodine…and no problem! That’s because the waters of most of the high country throughout the Rocky Mountains are some of the purest on Earth. Read More »

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Yellowstone Backpacking Myths: Crowds

Backpacking in Yellowstone is an experience that no outdoor-person should miss. There are many reasons to explore this natural wonderland, but there are also a number of widely-held misconceptions about backpacking in Yellowstone that we will consider in our latest blog series, “Yellowstone Backpacking Myths”. This post about the myth of over-crowding will be the first of the series. Read More »

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