One Reason to Go on a Pack Trip...
...is to get into country like this. Now that I'm back at my computer, word-working away, I'm pinching myself to believe that I actually WAS in country like this, just a couple of days ago.
Photo: With all our food, camping gear and other necessities loaded onto his pack string, Triple O's Rob Denny guides us to a part of America few people ever see.This is Rob Denny, head wrangler and guide at Triple O Outfitters , taking the pack string through one of 13 creek crossings on our way to a destination even deeper in the wilds of Idaho. The farther you get into this country, the more you realize that your chances of seeing any other people are pretty close to nil. If you're not horseback, you're not likely to get to see this remote part of America.
Photo: At home in the wilderness: The stock, wearing hobbles, gets in some grazing time after the gear's unpacked and the sleeping tents are up.And, if you're not on a well-traveled mountain horse or mule, like the ones furnished by Triple O, you also lessen your likelihood of coming back out in one piece. My two fellow guests and I lavished LOTS of appreciation on our assigned horses, for their ability to navigate whatever the Bitterroots put in front of them.
Photo: Triple O's base camp may be rustic, but it seems like the height of civilization after you've been out on the trail. (I'm on the left, fellow guest MaryJane B. is on the right. And camp-cooked grub awaits within!)Too bad you can't put all the sensory input from a trip like this into a bottle, and save some of it for later. Guess I'll just have to start planning another pack trip!
posted by Juli Thorson @ 11:00 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Yes Juli, Know just what you mean about wishing to bottle this feeling for use when things get looney. I haven't been on one of those for s few years and am now thinking that maybe next year would be a great time to get aquainted with the mountains and streams again and refill the memory bottle.
Lynette
Oh man, I would love to do something like that! My dad wants to get a mule string together and spend a week on the Mogollon Rim.
Going on a pack trip is just a grand way to press your Bliss button over and over and over. Good for whatever (or whoever) ails ya.
And some of us--like Lynette and me--are lucky enough to live where outfitters like Triple O still ply their traditional trade. Besides the trip into incredible backcountry, you also get the trip back in time.
Looks like a great time (and a bit of an adventure!)
The two weeks I spent back east a short while ago was the closest I've had to a vacation in about 8 years. (the joys of working in the family biz :p)
Gorgeous! I'm jealous!
Hey, do you ever go to the Lolo Hot Springs? I have visited the actual Lodge deal there, but south down the road, I think just into Idaho are pots on both sides of the road, you just hike back a ways. Best one I ever went to was off an unmarked turnout a dozen miles south of Lolo Hot Springs. Spent a lot of time there in college :)
Your post reminds me how beautiful that country is, and how blessed we are when we get to explore it.
I have been to Lolo Hot Springs, and also to the other spot Mikey mentions--Jerry Johnson Hots Springs, west of Missoula on Hwy. 12.
Triple O Outfitters isn't all that far from the Jerry Johnson area.
Once upon a time, I edited a book on Northwest hot springs, and went on a car camping trip to check out the places named in the book. (You may note that I have been into camping for some time, LOL.)
What amazing country. It makes me rethink my previous attitude about going anywhere with 'string' type horses. Maybe I'll give them a call!
Thanks Juli!
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