Judith River Club Run June 26, 2021 (1 Viewer)

[406Camper]

@90WT
We are headed out around 130 today. Meet you up there. Will be monitoring 146.46. Also, will send coordinates from inreach if there is no reception.

Awesome. I'm leaving in 30 minutes. Just picked up the last cb radio in Billings.

 

[90WT]

New camping Coordinates.

46.85817, -110.29734

Mike is up there and found a spot. It’s near our original pin but a little up road 6524. We’ll be monitoring the radio.

 

[Boondocker_153]

New camping Coordinates.

46.85817, -110.29734

Mike is up there and found a spot. It’s near our original pin but a little up road 6524. We’ll be monitoring the radio.

Since I'm probably the only one driving up in the morning do you want me to meet you at the campsite or the trailhead that was pinned in the earlier post?

 

[90WT]

Since I'm probably the only one driving up in the morning do you want me to meet you at the campsite or the trailhead that was pinned in the earlier post?

Let’s do Trailhead as pinned earlier.

 

[406Camper]

This official Club run will be headed up the Middle Fork of Judith River near Utica, MT. The trail runs into the Middle Fork Judith River Wilderness Study Area (appropriately named!) within the Little Belt Mountains. The Club hasn't run this trail in several years, and many of us have it on our bucket list. This is an absolutely beautiful area of MT.

Each of our official club runs are designed to be flexible. You can run one long day (Saturday) or come out Friday night and camp and enjoy a leisurely monring on Saturday before airing down. Also, you can choose your own adventure and stay after the official club run and explore some more...It's up to you. The official run ends after Saturday's adventure.

Details:

Where: Trail head is near Utica, MT (roughly 3 hours from Bozeman). We are going to meet Friday night for those who want to camp and leave from roughly the same location on Saturday morning. We will circle the wagons here CAMPING SPOT (46.85224, -110.30512) for camping. Saturday morning trail meetup and trail start is here TRAIL START (46.85318, -110.30788). The two points are only a few hundred yards apart. Camping at the exact point may not be possible if another group/person is there. But there are several camping spots very close by to accommodate our group. So look for the group. We'll make every effort possible to be obvious. Post up if you're arriving late, and we'll keep the lights on for ya.

When:
Friday night for camping, roll up anytime you like.

Saturday Morning: We are going to start the trail at 10am... please note, that means we are heading down the trail at 10am, not starting to kick tires and air down. We will start the trail at 10am sharp, please plan accordingly. Due to the nature of these trips, the group size and trail conditions it is hard for us to guarantee we will keep to the plan. If you want to ride with the club on Saturday be there on time.

Trail/Vehicle Requirements:
This is a moderate trail with many river crossings. Trail is an out-and-back approximately 8 miles one way. Water levels vary with storms and runoff, but we're expecting the water depths to be manageable without snorkles or special equipment. But no guarantees. Be sure to drive within your own ability. It is advised that vehicles should stick to the main river crossings and not choose side routes without testing the water depth (there are a few deeper holes about). Please have your rig ready for the trail, don't bring a project truck that hasn't been proved and be ready for a long day of driving. Below is the route we are shooting for... as always trail conditions may vary and we may alter the route accordingly.

The two snapshots below both have Judith Guard Station Cabin in lower right for reference.

View attachment 2706172

View attachment 2706173

Other Details:
Coms: CB Channel 4 and HAM 146.460
Gas up as close to the campsite as possible (gas up in Eddie's corner from the North (46.98292, -109.74518) or White Sulphur Springs from the South. If coming from the South, you can take the Judith River Backcountry Drive and end up very close to the trailhead. Or take that scenic drive on your way home.
Bring you own food, water, supplies for camping etc.
We are a family friendly club so bring the fam along.
Well behaved dogs are welcome.
This is a driving trip, but there should be places for short hikes and photos and splashing in the water. Bring your camera.
Remember you live in MT... plan for cold evenings and hot days and possible rain/snow/hail/blizzard/wind/blazing heat/fires at any moment.
Forest Fire season is here early this year. Be responsible.


That is about it. Feel free to post up any questions here. If you want to convoy down to the trail post up that too.

So who is in!? I am hoping to leave Friday afternoon.

Here’s who’s in!

Camping Friday
@90WT Black LX470
@BluMoose Blue Taco
@ttFJC (90%) FJC with strips
@nohermosa White FJ60
@406Camper Sand Taco
@James Hartly (with fixed AC)


Leaving Saturday
@Boondocker_153 White FJC

A few pics.

 

[406Camper]

More pics

 

[406Camper]

More pics

View attachment 2715185

 

[Boondocker_153]

A few pics.

View attachment 2715183

 

[Boondocker_153]

 

[Boondocker_153]

This is on the way out.

 

[nohermosa]

Some Photos

 

[nohermosa]

 

[nohermosa]

 

[90WT]

Epic Trip. We had 6 rigs camping Friday night, and 2 more joined us for the run Saturday morning. A fair bit of campers up in this area, with several horse trailers. But there was still plenty of room for us to spread out.

The trail has a lot of brush, so it's a pinstripers paradise. Some of the deeper water crossings were about 2 foot but most were shallower for the current river flow. I can see where they would get much deeper at higher flow. Check the flow station at Utica for river levels. I'm guessing this is an odd year with levels pretty low, where most folks would do this run in August/September. We only saw a handfull of side-by-sides, so nearly no traffic. I bet that changes in the Fall.

I've got a few videos of crossings and some pics. @ttFJC Are you setting up a google drive folder for photo dump?

Camping Spot:

Just one of the 28 crossings:

Lunch Spot at the end of public road:

 

[ttFJC]

i will be setting up a google drive photo dump. WIFI at work today is VERY SLOW

 

[ttFJC]

Middle fork Judith 6/25 - Google Drive

drive.google.com

ill add you guys if you DM me your email.