Category: Uncategorized

by Yve Bardwell

 

If you come out on a trip into the North Fork of the Sun, Teton or Dearborn River Drainages you might notice some old, high stumps and wonder what the story is. They pop up into the air 3 feet sometimes 5 and look soft and muted amongst the standing timber. I was told once they were the result of giant beavers.

But the truth is retold in a great historical piece by John Vollersten about the tie hackers along the Front, featured in the January 2018 issue of the Montana Magazine.

In 1887 the St.Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba railroad, owned by James Hill, pushed from the northeast corner of the territory to Great Falls in six months. Ten thousand men and 6,600 horses built that bed by hand and tie-cutting operations along the Rocky Mountain Front provided nearly half a million ties that were cut, hewn and floated from the mountains. Many of those ties came from deep within the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

In the winter of 1886 (this may ring a bell for many of you as that famous brutal winter that Charlie Russell captured with his sketch of the humped up calf “waiting for a Chinook or last of 5,000) a contract was let to provide the Manitoba line with 600,000 ties to build the line from Great Falls into Canada.

 

The work was divided among the drainages, but to me the work done up the Sun River is the most fascinating. In the heart of the Bob Marshall a camp of seventy some men was spiked at the mouth of Headquarters Creek and supplied through the winter with pack stock and burro’s. The men cut on average of 20 trees a day and drug their quarry to the rivers edge to await spring after the trees had been hewn flat with a broad axe on two sides and cut to 8 foot lengths. Teams of oxen would drag the ties to the river and “bank” them.

The real winter came in February and it is reported that it snowed for 6 weeks with temperatures routinely sitting at 30 – 40 degrees below zero. Some of the hovels these men lived in were no more then that. There are remnants of shacks near Gates Park where men would have crawled through the door on their bellies and not been able to do more then sit-up once they were inside.

Due to the rugged winter the spring run-off was high and because of some calamities that happened with the ties on the Teton, hackers in the Sun waited until July to unbank their ties and float them down the river. After two months and 121 river miles the ties reached the mouth of the Sun River where they were caught in booms. The banking of ties was reported to have taken place at a rate of ten thousand per day. They were then immediately loaded onto freight trains and sent down the line.

 

It was an amazing feat and an even more astounding piece of wilderness history. It is hard to believe when spotting one of these old specters the men and the story behind it. If you’d like to read more you can find a more detailed version of this history in Montana: The Magazine of Western History the January issue. The magazine is available at the Montana Historical Society as well as most newsstands around the state.

What are a few tips to get ready for the summer hiking season?

It’s getting to be that time of year where we all start dreaming of the trails we want to explore and the peaks we want to climb. There’s still snow in the mountains, but the flowers are out, the grass is green, and our summer adventures are just around the corner.

Besides the plain fact of just getting out there, we wanted to share some of things we do to get ready for the hiking season.

Check out those boots. See how your boots look after last season – if you need to get new ones, do it soon so you have plenty of time to see if they work or not. I usually like to get a new pair of insoles every season even if my boots are in good condition to make sure my feet are well supported. Also, if the boots are all leather, give them a good oil.

Get out the daypack. Go through your pack to make sure you have everything you need. A lot of the gear in my pack lives there for the entire summer season so it’s easy to get ready for the next outing. Below is a list of what I carry in my pack when I go out for an all-day hike.

1. Rain gear – BOTH top and bottom because you never know when afternoon thunder storms will appear
2. A light pull-over for cool mornings
3. Small 1^st aid kit that has plenty of blister care products
4. Matches/lighter
5. A couple of emergency granola bars when your lunch runs out but you still have many miles to go
6. Hat and gloves – Only need to be light weight. This is particularly necessary for those early summer hikes when the weather might change.
7. Sunscreen
8. Pocket knife
9. Bear Spray
10. Water bottles or hydration system. We usually take about 64 oz. for a good day in the hills.
11. Water filtration method if you will be refilling.
12. Maps – either paper or GPS
13. And the most important – FOOD! Can’t enjoy a long day hike without it.

Check that bear spray. If you are hiking in Griz or Black Bear country, you will want to carry bear spray. Make sure it isn’t expired, doesn’t have any dents, and that it still has a safety clip on it. If you have an old can, go out and practice spraying a time or two (be careful of your wind direction!)

Start getting outside. The best way to get in shape is to go on short hikes or walks several times a week. This will help get your legs in shape for those longer days on the trail. You can even wear your daypack to get used to carrying a little weight and to check that it is properly adjusted.

Explore your maps. I love starting the season by pouring over my maps and thinking of all the places I want to adventure. Then I think about when would be the best time to go there and who I might like to go there with. A little planning (and dreaming) goes a long way.

 

The lower elevation trails are opening up so now is a great time to start hitting the trail!

Few moments tick by slower then a long, cold night. Here’s a few tips to keep you warm and toasty on your next camp out.

Insulate your body against the ground – You lose a lot of heat through conduction. Depending on the time of year or the trip, take two sleeping pads. A foam pad on the ground and your blow-up pad on top of that makes a pretty cushy pad. If you’re traveling lighter, lay down the clothes you’re not using and place your pad on top of that. If you have a ¾ length sleeping pad place your backpack at your feet to keep your legs off the ground.

Many inflatable pads have differing R-values, so check that out. Another good tip is to re-inflate your pad before you go to sleep. You use hot air during the day to inflate your pad. As the air cools down at night your pad will deflate perhaps leaving you on the ground.

When choosing a sleeping bag look at the EN number. This is a more accurate representation of what temperatures the bag will keep you warm at. Down bags tend to be warmer and lighter, but are expensive and don’t do as well in wet conditions. Synthetic bags are less expensive and do better in humid environments but are bulkier. You can also bulk up an old bag by adding a liner. During the fall I line my bag with a light 40degree bag and stay pretty comfortable that way.

Use a hot water bottle or hand warmers in your sleeping bag. These can give off delicious heat at your feet, butt or arm-pits. Hand-warmers often run upto 8 hrs., plus you don’t have to worry about spilling them.

Keep your head warm. Everyone knows we lose a lot of heat through our heads, but we really do lose a lot of heat through our heads. So keep that puppy bundled and those gaping earholes covered.

Use your sleeping bag properly. Zip it up, flip the hood over and cinch it down.

Last but not least….GO PEE. Don’t lay there and think about how cold you will be if you get out of your bag. Your body is spending a lot of energy keeping all that liquid at 98.6 degrees. Just go for it, you’re always glad you do.

One of the most important questions (and one that we often get) in hiking is the good old “what kind of hiking boots should I wear?”

Unfortunately and fortunately, there is not an easy answer to this question. It depends on your preferences and what peculiarities your feet have (all of our feet have ‘em. Could be you have sweaty feet, or long feet, or no arch etc. . . ) We recommend that you find a gear/shoe store that you trust and is good at fitting boots/shoes.

However, there are a few hiking boot/shoe rules that we adhere to no matter what kind of boot we have. They are:

1. If you are going to be off-trail, wear a shoe with some ankle protection. I.E., not a low-top hiking shoe.
2. Wear a new pair of hiking boots for at least 2 months before coming on a trip. Wear them for several days in a row and on uneven terrain. We often find that folks bring shoes that are broken in, but they still get blisters because they A) have not worn shoes several days in a row and/or B) they have not worn shoes on rough terrain to see where the rub spots in the boots are.
3. If the sole of your boot is starting to come off before the trip, do not bring your shoes on the trip. Sole repair during the trip takes a lot of time, limits your day hiking potential, and is only moderately successful.
4. Little hot spots are okay as long as they can be managed with the application of duct tape or Leukotape.
5. Make sure shoes have a sturdy sole
6. We highly recommend using in-soles like Superfeet or Sole.

What is the best kind of hiking boot/shoe for you?

There are several varieties:

– All-leather, high top boots (often with Gor-Tex).
• Pros: Great ankle support, perform well on rocky terrain, keep feet drier in rainy/wet environments, usually have a longer lasting life than synthetics
• Cons: Leather Gor-Tex boots can be very hot. For some folks, this causes additional blister problems. Also leather boots are generally more expensive, and can be heavier than synthetic boots.

– Synthetic, high top boots (sometimes with Gor-Tex)
• Pros: Great ankle support, perform well on rocky terrain, if they have Gor-tex they keep feet drier in rainy/wet environments, less expensive then leather boots, generally lighter than leather boots.
• Cons: Synthetic boots usually do not last as long as leather boots. If they are Gor-Tex lined, they can make feet hot, although usually not as hot as all-leather Gor-tex boots.

– Leather/Synthetic mix high top boots (sometimes with Gor-Tex)
• These have a combination of pros/cons of all-leather and all-sythetic boots, but they tend to be lighter than all-leather boots, but not as long lasting.

– Low-top to mid-top hiking boots
• These tend to be synthetic or synthetic/leather mixes. If you do not need additional ankle support and don’t tend to roll your ankle easily, many folks like these because they are lighter and typically breathe better. These kinds of boots work well for on-trail hiking, but do not perform well off-trail where more durability and ankle support are needed.

The big things to keep in mind when buying hiking shoes/boots:

1. Comfort – do they feel good and are there any rub spots you can feel from the get go?
2. Structure, durability and stability of shoe
3. What is your intended purpose for the shoe? On-trail hiking only? A mix of on and off-trail? Scrambling?
4. What kind of environment is the shoe going to be used in? I.E. wet, dry, cold, hot etc. . .
5. Price
6. How long do you want shoe to last?

We hope this helps you find the right shoe. Remember, you can always bring a shoe home and wear it around your house for a while to decide if they are right for you!