Shocking to say but Labor Day weekend is here so it's time for the Magruder!!!
This is a fun run and you can't get much further away from everything than on this trail... That being said the road itself isn't difficult but it is a long way out with zero cell service if there were to be any mechanical issues. There are a few fire lookout towers that have fun approach trails to them but this is not going to be a rock crawling trip.
So the details... This trail connects Darby, MT to Elk City, ID and runs the boarder for the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. It is 101 miles of unimproved gravel road with no services of any kind. No gas, no water, no outhouse, and no cell service.
HERE is a link to the forest service page.
HERE is the link to last years' trip.
The drive from Bozeman to Darby is approximately 4 hours and the drive from Elk City is 7 to 8 hours. Last year we drove east to west and it was a LONG haul home after leaving the trail. The recommendation is to put in the highway miles on the front end, so this time we will run the Magruder West to East. With that decision made there opens up a bit of discussion of when do people want to hit the road. I'm guessing there will be folks who want to get going Friday at various times. With that in mind I think there should be a set meeting point in Kooskia, ID Saturday at 1pm, as that is the last real town before moving on to Elk City. And top off your tanks at Kooskia!!! There are a few small towns after that but you start seeing small town gas prices. So folks that want to go Friday can stop in Missoula, Lolo, whatever you want to do...and there will be a convoy out of Bozeman Saturday morning. Saturday convoy will meet at the Belgrade Albertson's and be wheels up at 7. That could be adjusted depending on who's planning on Saturday. That should put everyone in Elk City mid afternoon.
Last year we had 4 rigs and went up to every fire lookout tower and stopped plenty for photos and I believe we were on the trail from Saturday at 10 until Sunday at 4-6. So obviously that will be shifted due to the reversed direction of travel but you can get a gage of the timing. We also had the place mostly to ourselves which may not be the case this year as cooler temps and smokefree skies may tempt more folks out.
So with all that blabbering done..... WHO'S IN????
Friday departure:
@elkun1
Saturday departure:
@RoverChris +1
@TommyGuns
@Saul Abel
@thetoyotaman
This is a fun run and you can't get much further away from everything than on this trail... That being said the road itself isn't difficult but it is a long way out with zero cell service if there were to be any mechanical issues. There are a few fire lookout towers that have fun approach trails to them but this is not going to be a rock crawling trip.
So the details... This trail connects Darby, MT to Elk City, ID and runs the boarder for the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. It is 101 miles of unimproved gravel road with no services of any kind. No gas, no water, no outhouse, and no cell service.
HERE is a link to the forest service page.
HERE is the link to last years' trip.
The drive from Bozeman to Darby is approximately 4 hours and the drive from Elk City is 7 to 8 hours. Last year we drove east to west and it was a LONG haul home after leaving the trail. The recommendation is to put in the highway miles on the front end, so this time we will run the Magruder West to East. With that decision made there opens up a bit of discussion of when do people want to hit the road. I'm guessing there will be folks who want to get going Friday at various times. With that in mind I think there should be a set meeting point in Kooskia, ID Saturday at 1pm, as that is the last real town before moving on to Elk City. And top off your tanks at Kooskia!!! There are a few small towns after that but you start seeing small town gas prices. So folks that want to go Friday can stop in Missoula, Lolo, whatever you want to do...and there will be a convoy out of Bozeman Saturday morning. Saturday convoy will meet at the Belgrade Albertson's and be wheels up at 7. That could be adjusted depending on who's planning on Saturday. That should put everyone in Elk City mid afternoon.
Last year we had 4 rigs and went up to every fire lookout tower and stopped plenty for photos and I believe we were on the trail from Saturday at 10 until Sunday at 4-6. So obviously that will be shifted due to the reversed direction of travel but you can get a gage of the timing. We also had the place mostly to ourselves which may not be the case this year as cooler temps and smokefree skies may tempt more folks out.
So with all that blabbering done..... WHO'S IN????
Friday departure:
@elkun1
Saturday departure:
@RoverChris +1
@TommyGuns
@Saul Abel
@thetoyotaman
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