Up The Selway

This is how clear runoff water is when the water shed is undisturbed by development.

It is an old trail often carved out of the rock.

The boys are being told to stand still, and not eat while I get the picture.

Evening shadow comes early in the canyon.

Second camp in a beautiful grove of ceders next to the river.

The boys are waiting while I walk around looking for a camp site. They stand pretty still after 7 hours on the move.

The only camp site was at the other end of this bridge.

Look at this goose testing out a possible nest site. That first flight to the water for the babies will be a real challenge.

Here we are ready to go. Spud got the hard job...that is to carry me.

This is the trail head camp. I slept on a camp cot in the trailer.

On Wed. the 17th I took the two horses and drove 160 miles to the edge of the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness Area. This vast wilderness is separated from the Frank Church/River of No Return wilderness Area by a single crude road called the Magruder Corridor Road. Put the two together and you have millions of acres of roadless wilderness to explore. This is my second modest probe into this area that holds so much promise for adventure. I wish I were twenty years younger.

I camped at the trailhead, then started up the trail the morning of he 18th. I covered about 16 miles. I camped next to a pack bridge that is part of a north-south trail. This trail covers about as many miles as the Selway River trail. This is a huge area. I had considered riding another day into the Moose Creek Ranger Station, but reconsidered due to a few factors. I think the main reasons were not being able to get good sleep, and no flashlight. The nighttime temps were well below freezing. The combination of a mummy type sleeping bag and a strained right shoulder made finding a comfortable position an elusive proposition. Tending two horses through the long dark night hours in an area known for both wolves and grizzly bears, with no flashlight, kept me uneasy. I spent the day of the 19th going back out about ten miles where I camped the second night, then came out on the 20th. I saw all this as a test for a longer trip that a friend and I are planning for early next month.