Straight Arrow
Well-known member
Our BOB MARSHALL STORY: 1941 & 2017
August 1941 my wife’s mom, then a twenty-year old 1939 Great Falls HS graduate, her eighteen-year old brother, and a friend embarked on an epic ride through the mountains of the then recently designated Primitive Area of what is presently the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. They rode three saddle horses and trailed a pack pony behind. Navigation was sketchy, as they employed only a one-page map showing trails in the Flathead and Lewis and Clark National Forests. They packed relatively light as they opted to discard originally-packed gear and rations in order to ease the load on their one pack horse. They planned to eat pretty well the first part of the trip, then get by more conservatively on the last legs. At one point they gulped down cold tomato soup right out of the can, as the wet weather, hunger, and expediency dictated.
Mom Lucy compiled a journal of the adventure entitled “Ah, Wilderness”, including black and white photos of several points of interest, often with the foreground showing her saddle horse’s ears.
August of 2017 (same week 76 years later) found my wife and I (Great Falls HS ’63) on the same route attempting to replicate that 1941 trek, but this time with packs on our backs. As we hiked the same trails and marveled at the same beautiful still pristine natural places, the navigation was much easier with updated maps. Lightweight meals, cooking, and camping gear added comfort, but the seventy-six miles did not get any shorter seventy-six years later … nor did the forty-one switchbacks climb over Switchback Pass become any less steep or long. The view of Pentagon Mountain across Dean Lake was as spectacular as it has always been, making the climb well worth the effort.
Approaching the Chinese Wall at the headwaters of Moose Creek, I hollered loudly “Ah, Wilderness! Lucy was here!” The strong and amazingly clear echo stunned us in our tracks as we realized the deeply felt significance of that natural phenomenon.
We compiled our own journal, noting the same spots visited by the earlier trio and updating photos with color shots and additional views.
The 2017 journal and photos were presented to Grandma Lucy at her 97th birthday in September. She was delighted. It was timely … as Grandma Lucy passed April 2018.
As a fitting tribute to her active adventurous outdoor life, her ashes were carried to the gravesite on the packsaddle of a mule lead by her adult grandsons.
My point is: Don't procrastinate!
August 1941 my wife’s mom, then a twenty-year old 1939 Great Falls HS graduate, her eighteen-year old brother, and a friend embarked on an epic ride through the mountains of the then recently designated Primitive Area of what is presently the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. They rode three saddle horses and trailed a pack pony behind. Navigation was sketchy, as they employed only a one-page map showing trails in the Flathead and Lewis and Clark National Forests. They packed relatively light as they opted to discard originally-packed gear and rations in order to ease the load on their one pack horse. They planned to eat pretty well the first part of the trip, then get by more conservatively on the last legs. At one point they gulped down cold tomato soup right out of the can, as the wet weather, hunger, and expediency dictated.
Mom Lucy compiled a journal of the adventure entitled “Ah, Wilderness”, including black and white photos of several points of interest, often with the foreground showing her saddle horse’s ears.
August of 2017 (same week 76 years later) found my wife and I (Great Falls HS ’63) on the same route attempting to replicate that 1941 trek, but this time with packs on our backs. As we hiked the same trails and marveled at the same beautiful still pristine natural places, the navigation was much easier with updated maps. Lightweight meals, cooking, and camping gear added comfort, but the seventy-six miles did not get any shorter seventy-six years later … nor did the forty-one switchbacks climb over Switchback Pass become any less steep or long. The view of Pentagon Mountain across Dean Lake was as spectacular as it has always been, making the climb well worth the effort.
Approaching the Chinese Wall at the headwaters of Moose Creek, I hollered loudly “Ah, Wilderness! Lucy was here!” The strong and amazingly clear echo stunned us in our tracks as we realized the deeply felt significance of that natural phenomenon.
We compiled our own journal, noting the same spots visited by the earlier trio and updating photos with color shots and additional views.
The 2017 journal and photos were presented to Grandma Lucy at her 97th birthday in September. She was delighted. It was timely … as Grandma Lucy passed April 2018.
As a fitting tribute to her active adventurous outdoor life, her ashes were carried to the gravesite on the packsaddle of a mule lead by her adult grandsons.
My point is: Don't procrastinate!
