Hello!

I've just arrived back in civilisation (Butte MT) after completing Ryan's excellent Ultralight Backpacking Boot Camp in Montana's Anaconda Pintler Wilderness. I've had an wonderful time with a fantastic crew, but I've got another two and a half weeks in North America and I'm hoping someone might be interested & able to join me on a trek in this period?

I'm 33, relatively fit and reasonably equiped (just missing a sleepingbag - currently stuck in US customs!) and I'm really keen on tackling a dramatic traverse in dramatic scenery. Perhaps somthing short, or perhaps the Teton traverse (http://www.backpackinglight.com/backpackinglight/images/WT2-EXT.kmz), or some other epic route near here or in the general US North West (I'm flying back home - the UK - from Vancouver at the end of the month.)

Fingers are crossed, and looking forward to hearing from any intrepid takers!

Oliver

The northern rockies should be getting snow anytime now, if they haven't already been hit. Just make sure you are prepared for that if you go out on an epic trip. My most epic day yet was hiking out of the Colorado Rockies in a surprise snowstorm that wasn't in the weather forecast.

If you need a sleeping bag REI stores rent them, not UL but not expensive either.

Here are some ideas off the top of my head.

1. Can you afford to rent a car? If so I'd head down to Yellowstone if its still open. do a couple days of wildlife watching then go hiking there. Be careful where you leave a car however because you don't want to hike out in a blizzard and find your car stuck in the snow (been there, done that).

2. Its a ways off but Hell's Canyon is a good option if the high country is too cold/snowy.

3. Teton Crest seems a bit optimistic this time of year but I'm sure you talked to people like Ryan Jordan about it.

Wish I could afford a plane ticket right now.

Edited by Cameron on 11/03/2012 11:53:09 MDT.

Thanks Luke.

I may have to resort to hiring a car - thumbing lifts has worked marvelously well so far, but I'll never know when my luck will run out.

Hell's Canyon might be a long way off, but it's in the right direction for getting me towards Vancouver. So too would be the Sawtooth range, but that's snowy bear country.

My biggest worry with many locations out here is bears and other scarey wildlife - issues better not faced on one's own. Again, I'm equipped for snow, but out there alone the risks are multiplied. Ryan suggested that the Teton Crest may still be an option, but not once heavy snow has fallen and not alone.

Rgds, Oliver

Hum, I'm mightily tempted to check on plain tickets to Jackson Hole, but I really shouldn't.

I was thinking Hell's Canyon is in the right general direction. However I don't think hitchhiking in that area would be easy. I doubt there would be enough traffic for that to work well there. The Wallawalla Mountains look cool from what I've seen in pictures. I would not pick them over mountains in Wyoming or Montana but they are an option to keep in mind if weather in other areas looks bad.

The Tetons and Yellowstone are probably your most accessible spots with or without a car. If bears make you nervous get a big can of bear spray. One good thing about Hells Canyon and the Sawtooths would be no grizzlies. However I wouldn't worry as much about bears as about weather. The advantage of a hike in the Tetons or Yellowstone is you could hike out of there faster they say the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Well I went ahead and checked and air fairs are about $900 plus so one way I can make it. Hope you find something cool to do though.

If bears bother you just look for a place with no grizzlies, lots of place between Montana and Vancouver fit the bill. I'd look for a place that is not accessed by a long remote road that won't be plowed quickly if there is snow. Some possible options might be...

1. Sawtooths - Don't know the area real well but they look less remote and no grizzlies. Might be enough people in the area for you to get rides but I'm not sure.

2. Hells Canyon/Seven Devils Range - Probably bad for hitching rides but easier to access even if there is some snow.

3. Wallawalla Mtns - No grizzlies, access PROBABLY easier by road if there is snow. Probably need to rent a car.

4. Bitterroot Mountains - sort of on your way to Vancover. Not prime grizzly country. Can be very, remote.

5. Tetons - some grizzlies but great scenery and if you plan your trip well you could just hike out to civilization if the weather got nasty. You could plan a trip a bit less remote then the crest trail (although that looks pretty tempting).

6. Yellowstone - Grizzlies but easier to hitch rides. Some areas would be easier to get out of in bad weather. Rangers might be able to steer you to areas with less bears.

7. Cascade Mountains - No grizzlies to speak of. Might have nasty weather though. See if there are any good options on the east side of the range (its drier on the east slope then on the west slope).

If you don't have it already download Google Earth. Its a great tool for taking a look at different areas you might want to hike in.