Wanting to explore some remote / wilderness areas of Montana this summer

[Quixote1818]

Last edited Sat Mar 30, 2013, 08:43 PM - Edit history (1)

Two years ago I came up from Yellowstone to Livingston and cut through a number of ranges and was blown away! As beautiful scenery I have ever experienced! Want to go back and spend more time camping and backpacking. Any suggestions? Not places like Glacier which I have already seen. I want more remote places like perhaps the Flathead Nat. Forest, Gallatin Nat. Forest or the Montana / Idaho border. Also, the Big Snowy Range south of Lewistown looks interesting. Any suggestions? Links to photos would be awesome! Thanks!

Sample of what I came across back in 2010:

[LiberalLoner]

1. Whenever my family wanted to camp, we always went to North Fork

The North Fork of the Flathead river. Polebridge is the town that serves that wilderness area. Might be too close to Glacier for you though.

Sorry I can't figure out how to post links with my ipad. It's easy to google north fork of flathead river.

[Quixote1818]

6. Thanks, I will check it out. nt

[southernyankeebelle]

2. We lived in Great Falls, MT. OMG Its truly god's country, Big Sky country for sure.

The best fishing and hunting if you are into that kind of stuff. Remember taking long rides and seeing bears, elk and even deer. I would think anywhere you go would be great for picture taking.

[Quixote1818]

10. I agree! Here are some of the photos I took going through Montana last time

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1415542302259.2057417.1043616037&type=3

The Montana images start just after the Yellowstone photos.

[southernyankeebelle]

20. For some reason it won't show your pictures. I remember us going to Alberta, Canada and

going thru the park on that side and coming out on the US side. Alberta was like going through europe it was so beautiful. Going thru the park was also. I don't think I ever had a bad day. The people in that part of the country are great and friendly. My husband was a Army recruiter in Great Falls. We stayed only 1 yr. You have to be an outdoor person to really enjoy all the beautiful things MT has to offer. I'm not an outdoor person and I missed my family back on the east coast. So I was ready to get back there to the things I enjoyed. I liked the museums in DC, the Baltimore Harbor. I lived by some of the best places to visit.

[LiberalLoner]

3. You can go see Libby if you want to see a huge superfund site (asbestos) say hi to my family there

Iffen u go....

[montanacowboy]

4. But the Cabinet Mtn Wilderness in Libby

and the Ross Creek Cedars are spectacular

I lived in Libby for 20 years and my kids live there

[LiberalLoner]

5. Nice!

there needs to be a horse riding cowboy symbol!!!!!

[Cleita]

9. I just suggested that in my post below. n/t

[Cleita]

7. Western Montana is where to look for remote wilderness.

There is a road through an area called the Cabinet Gorge. It goes from Missoula Montana to Clark Fork, Idaho. I think the Hwy is called the 200. It goes through some little towns following the river. There is still old growth forest in the area. While you explore it, drive up to Sandpoint, Idaho around the biggest and most beautiful lake in the Inland northwest as far as I'm concerned. While on the road you will see wildlife out in the open that hide elsewhere, like a variety of eagles, bighorn sheep, elk and the occasional bear. There are plenty of campgrounds but they are very rustic.

On Edit: You are making me very nostalgic. That are used to be a second home to me and my husband when he was alive.

[Quixote1818]

11. Thanks! I love seeking out old growth forest! nt

[jeffrey_pdx]

16. Thompson Falls Montana

Thompson Falls is one of those little towns along the river on Hwy 200. I spent a week in a cabin about 15 miles outside of it about 5-6 years ago. Very beautiful country and even going on a short hike, my gf and I were sure to see at least one deer and several eagles or hawks. About 6 months later, my gf went back with her family (it was there property, and I couldn't take another week off work). She went for a short hike by herself and was startled by a cougar staring at her just down the trail from her. She slowly backed away, walked back to the cabin, always keeping an eye out, and then immediately called me because it scared her so much.

Oh and btw, that big, beautiful lake is Lake Pend Oreille, and yes, its very big and very beautiful.

[Cleita]

17. Yes, I actually had a camp ground job up near the Canadian border in Eastern Washington.

Staring down cougars and bears became sort of an occupational hazard, but I found out after the first fright that they just wanted me out of their way. I always kept my distance and the high ground if I could and I had some really loud noises I could make just in case.

Yeah, I know it was Lake Pend Oreille. I just thought I would let it be a surprise for them to ungift wrap.

Another really wild place is the Selkirk wilderness between Washington and Idaho. Maybe for their next trip.

Oh and Thompson Falls, Noxon and Heron are must stop and look places.

[jeffrey_pdx]

18. Sorry if I ruined your surprise.

I've lived in the NW my entire life and I had never heard of Lake Pend Oreille. When we were driving over the bridge from south to north, my jaw just dropped. I had seen it on the map, but I had never seen pictures of it, so I was completely unprepared for the beauty and size. I had checked a lot of the route out on line before we started our drive, but we had to make a detour in Coeur d'Alene up to Pend Oreille, then into Montana, and SE towards Thompson Falls since the mountain pass we were planning on taking was closed. It was about this time of year and we were hoping the pass would have opened up, but apparently there was still a lot of snow. It added over 2 hours to our trip (after driving straight through from Portland), but it was worth it to see the lake.

[Cleita]

19. The bridge. First time we did it we broke down. So we were there several hours.

We had to hike back to make a phone call because then we didn't have a cell phone. So while we were there waiting in the middle of the bridge to be rescued by a tow truck, we just took in the breathtaking beauty. I know you know it was worth it to see the lake and all of it no matter what time of year. It's breathtaking any season of the year.

[htuttle]

8. 20 years ago (the last time I was there) the place to go was The Bob

The Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, near the Idaho border. There used to be some remarkable natural hot springs to sit in.

The Chinese Wall in the Bob:
http://www.concierge.com/images/destinations/destinationguide/usa+canada/usa/montana/montana_023p.jpg

Big Salmon Lake in the Bob


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Marshall_Wilderness

Here's a pretty interesting resource:
http://matadornetwork.com/trips/9-montana-backpacking-trips-that-will-blow-your-mind/

[Quixote1818]

12. That is the area that looked the most interesting on the map.

Such a HUGE area and so many classic glacial Vallie's! Man I wish it were July already!

[htuttle]

13. Found a pic of the hotsprings -- they're across the border in Idaho

You definitely want to wear sensible hiking boots for this trip. It's a very long walk, IIRC.

Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=217080869802686360699.00045a95d06033ea6edaa&ll=46.47103,-114.882746&spn=0.02069,0.036478&z=14&source=embed

[LiberalLoner]

14. Oh yes how could I have forgotten???

[grasswire]

15. Do you canoe?

One time my family & friends group floated the Missouri River to the Fred Robinson bridge, in three canoes. I can't remember exactly where we put in, but it was a six day float through beautiful back country including a spectacular natural bridge.

And I have backpacked the Spanish Peaks which is also a beautiful trek.

[rdharma]

21. Have you heard about Clay Jenkinson's "Lewis and Clark" trek?

http://www.odytours.net/LCM2012xdItinerarypg1.htm