We are guiding three Montana trips this year. 
Please scroll down for a detailed description of each one.

TRANS BOB FROM NORTH TO SOUTH
WHITE RIVER ODYSSEY: Middle Fork Flathead to
the Sun River’s South Fork

BOB MARSHALL/GREAT BEAR WILDERNESS—MONTANA

July 2-13, 2010 (12 days, 11 nights)

Gateway City: Great Falls, MT (for those flying) or Choteau, MT (for those driving). Note: Guests will stay in Choteau the evening of July 1 and in Great Falls the evening of July 13. High Country Adventures will make motel arrangements.

Price: $1495 if you bring your gear. Rental packages (sleeping bag, sleeping pad, backpack, cover, two-person tent) are available for $75. The price includes all food during the backpack, a food drop to reduce pack weight, community gear, trip planning, permit fees, route map, trip and equipment information, guiding, travel to and from the trailhead, airport shuttle service to Choteau and back to Great Falls, and DVD of our trip. A nonrefundable deposit of $400 is needed to hold your reservation.

Trip Description: From wildly churning whitewater of the Flathead River’s Middle Fork to the limestone reefs of the Rocky Mountain Front, this 90-mile point-to-point backpack expedition traverses some of the most varied and unspoiled wild country in the sprawling 2.5-million acre Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. Our average pack day will be 10-12 miles with 3 or 4 non-pack days to explore our pristine surroundings. We’ll traverse a wonderland of serrated peaks, verdant old growth forests, and waterfalls pouring from cliff faces, clear trout streams, and wildflowers in early summer glory. The centerpiece and highlight of this amazing thru-hike is the wild White River—the most remote drainage in the Bob. Our route traverses the entire south-flowing portion of the river with several nonpack days from two different base camps for fishing and day hiking. We’ll have a chance to climb non-technical but challenging peaks never before summited on an HCA trip—Lone Butte (8475’), Turtlehead (8185’) and Gladiator (8236’). Our journey to the Front Range continues over the southern terminus of the Chinese Wall and from there to the spellbinding cliffs of Hoadley Reef. Before exiting at Benchmark we’ll parallel the South Fork of the Sun River, sparkling with the vibrant colors of its red and green argillite bed. These final two days of our route pass through a fascinating mosaic of burned and unburned forests transformed by the huge 2007 Ahorn Fire.

Maps: The 1:24,000-scale topographic maps covering our route are “Red Plume Mtn-MT,” “Capital Mtn-MT,” “Gable Peaks-MT,” “Trilobite Peak-MT,” “Bungalow Mtn-MT,” “Amphitheatre Mtn-MT,” “Haystack Mtn-MT,” “Prairie Reef-MT,” and “Benchmark-MT”.

Difficulty: Strenuous. Minimum Age: 14. Backpacking experience necessary.

Guides:Bill & Polly Cunningham (406-466-5699, email: billpoll@3rivers.net).

    “...There is exultation...in subsisting...miles from the closest human being, which adds tone, vitality, and color to the entire functioning of life.”    --Bob Marshall

SCAPEGOAT MOUNTAIN: The Dearborn Loop

Walking with Pack Animals

July 16-22, 2010 (7 days, 6 nights)

Gateway City: Great Falls, MT (for those flying) or Choteau, MT (for those driving). Note: Guests will stay in Choteau the evening of July 15 and in Great Falls the evening of July 22. High Country Adventures will make motel arrangements.

Price: $1260 if you bring your gear. Rental packages (sleeping bag, sleeping pad, two-person tent) are available for $40. The price includes all food during the trip, community gear, animals to carry our food and gear, travel to and from the trailhead, Great Falls airport shuttle service to and from Choteau, trip planning, route map, trip and gear information, guiding, and a DVD of our trip. A non-refundable deposit of $400 is due with your reservation.

Trip Description: This 43-mile “lollipop” loop explores the remote southern reaches of the vast Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. With pack stock carrying most of the food and gear we’ll hike in a spectacular wildland of massive limestone peaks, thundering waterfalls, deep chasms, and a towering four-mile long limestone reef that is a southern extension of the famed Chinese Wall, all within the backdrop of land recovering from the monumental 1988 Canyon Creek fire. Two sub-alpine base camps in secluded high basins will give us time to explore classic “Sound of Music” country along the continental divide. A highlight of our trip will be a day hike to the plateau apex of 9,202’ Scapegoat Mountain—highest continental divide summit in the Bob. Our trek will include a visit to awe-inspiring Half Moon Park, nestled directly below sheer 1500-foot high cliffs. From there we descend the Dearborn River and traverse the Sawtooth Range to our exit trailhead on Elk Creek. 

Maps: The 1:24,000-scale topographic maps covering our route are “Steamboat-MT,” “Jakie Creek-MT,” and “Scapegoat Mtn-MT”.

Difficulty: Moderate. Minimum Age: 12.
Guides:Bill & Polly Cunningham (406-466-5699, email: billpoll@3rivers.net).

    “. .the wilderness is the one thing on earth which as furnished complete and perfect.”    --Aldo Leopold

THE CHINESE WALL: Headquarters Pass to Benchmark

BOB MARSHALL WILDERNESS—MONTANA

July 25-31, 2010 (7 days, 6 nights)

Gateway City: Great Falls, MT (for those flying) or Choteau, MT (for those driving). Note: Guests will stay in Choteau the evening of July 24 and in Great Falls the evening of July 31. High Country Adventures will make motel arrangements.

Price: $900 if you bring your gear. Rental packages (sleeping bag, sleeping pad, backpack, pack cover, two-person tent) are available for $50. The price includes all food during the backpack, community gear, trip planning, permit fees, trip and equipment information, route map, guiding, travel to and from the trailhead, Great Falls airport shuttle service to and from Choteau, and a DVD of our trip. A non-refundable deposit of $200 is due with your reservation.

Trip Description:Our trip includes a spectacular 56-mile point-to-point backpack from the most scenic gateway to the Bob, Headquarters Pass, to historic Benchmark along the sparkling South Fork Sun River. After three pack days and 29 miles we’ll reach the center point of the fabled Chinese Wall—a continuous Continental Divide cliff face of limestone in the heart of the Bob that soars over 1000 feet and extends for 13 miles. On our layover day we will scramble to the top of the Chinese Wall by way of a secret pass for an unforgettable view of both sides of the Great Divide with 360 degrees of wild country as far as the eye can see.  From Cliff Mountain—apex of the Chinese Wall--we’ll descend along the meandering West Fork Sun River with superb views of the sublime Red Buttes, which are composed of flaming red argillite rock. The final 15 miles of our route to Benchmark pass through an intriguing mosaic of burned and unburned forests transformed by the monumental 2007 Ahorn Fire.

Maps: The 1:24,000-scale topographic maps covering our route are “Our Lake-MT,” “Gates Park-MT,” “Glenn Creek-MT,” “Slategoat Mtn-MT,” “Amphitheatre Mtn-MT,” “Prairie Reef-MT,” “Pretty Prairie-MT,” and “Benchmark-MT”.

Difficulty: Moderately strenuous. Minimum Age: 12.

Guides:Bill & Polly Cunningham (406-466-5699, email: billpoll@3rivers.net).