Well, the Mountain Man made it back as well and had an amazing time! He resembled Grizzly Adams a bit, but we were still beside ourselves to see him! All 11 guys coming from 4 states, 6 cities, on three different airlines made it within about 10 minutes of each other! That was a big sigh of relief for my dad......he's been working on this trip for over a year!
They spent their first night in Augusta, Montana. Jay described it as a "very small, cool town." Augusta basically consisted of 3 bars and four churches and the people there said two things:
*they are an equal opportunity town
*they are a drinking town with an agricultural problem
I guess that wouldn't be our first choice of places to live in Montana if we ever move there!
The next day was the big ride. Jay said he was making fun of John (Brother in law) who is known for sleeping in (not a morning person) about having to get up for a 4:45am breakfast.....needless to say my dad had to shake Jay 3 times to make sure he was alive and then Jay almost missed breakfast (I"m sure John got a big laugh)! There is a first time for everything!
It was 25 miles on horseback into the Bob Marshall Wilderness (Federal Forest Reserve). Jay said it took 9 1/2 hours and it was tough, but the most beautiful place he's ever been or seen! His horse was named Tracker and he said he was a good one! After the looong ride/day they made it to camp, ate dinner...and Jay said he turned down apple pie for the first time in his life and went straight to bed after his last bite of dinner!!!!!! He had lots of firsts on this trip!
They spent the next 6 days, fly fishing, hiking, riding, eating like royalty, fly fishing, and did I say fly fishing? One day they rode to the Chinese Wall (a natural formation named because of it's likeness to the real thing)! Jay said "The view from the top would make anyone speechless."
They all continued to catch cut-throat trout throughout the trip. Jay said John looked like an Orvis Catalog, but he also caught the most fish!!!! They hiked a ways down the river together and caught 25-30 fish that day!!!!
The next day they rode a few hours to the South Fork of the Flathead River.....they continued to catch the fishies....Jay said he, dad and John had a great lunch together just sitting on the river bank and enjoyed the view. He said that Amy (the wife of the owner) made amazing food for every meal. He was amazed at what they had in the wilderness....he felt like a King! They all continued to have a wonderful trip together. They saw many animals, played some Texas Hold 'em, ate and fished more, etc.
Then came the day to ride out...another 9 1/2 hours on horseback. Jay said it was just as beautiful as the ride it and totally different!
My three favorite quotes from Jay about his trip:
*"This is most definitely God's Country"
*"It has been great not thinking about work and enjoying this once in a lifetime (hopefully more for me) trip."
*"Apparently I kept a few people up by being loud" (this during the Texas Hold 'em game)
We feel so blessed that Jay was able to have this experience (thanks, Popa). We are so thankful that they all came back in one piece. We are in awe of God's awesome wonder!
In front of "hotel" in Augusta
Downtown Augusta???
Transportation
The beautiful views on the ride "in."
More pics from the ride in, my dad catching a fish, camp, and more of God's Country.
The Chinese Wall...in Montana, and John on the top of the Wall.
John "A River Run's Through It" Campbell (brother in law)
http://www.millswildernessadventures.com/home/index.htm
This is the outfit that they used....they ALL highly recommend them....FYI!
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