Middle Fork of Flathead River runs wild through Great Bear

By Bert Gildart

Special to the Inter Lake

Spruce Park, a section of Montana's 60-mile-long Middle Fork of the Flathead River, is a river rat's delight.

It is a several-mile-long stretch of water laced with sinkholes, standing waves, whirlpools, and hundreds of boulders that challenge equipment and a rafter's skills.

No gradual easing into the frothing waters here. Suddenly the river grips oarsmen in its brawny hold. Water punches over bows, whirling crafts in eddies, thrusting them back into the major force of the current.

River rafters understand these challenges and are enamored of the Middle Fork, in part because of the challenge of the untamed and unpredictable sections. But they are also drawn to immerse themselves in all aspects of a wilderness waterway.

The upper portion of the Middle Fork offers such delights. Here the river passes through the Great Bear Wilderness, which, in turn, is nestled between Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Through the 1970s, the Great Bear represented an emotionally charged battleground between those for and those against the idea of endowing the area with wilderness status. The proponents won and today the Great Bear remains pristine, protecting a river whose headwaters are as interesting to reach as the river is exciting to navigate.

Now the Middle Fork is regarded as one of the most exhilarating rivers in the Northwest.

History helps support this contention. The river has toppled horses and riders end-over-end.

It has uprooted wilderness cabins, altered stream courses, and once bowed a bridge entrance to Glacier National Park. But approached properly in a raft, the river can be navigated, leaving indelible memories and earning lasting praise.

According to Onno Wieringa, one of the owners of the Glacier Raft Co., "The Middle Fork may offer the most diverse river experience in the West."

The Middle Fork is wild, the fishing superb, and the surroundings magnificent.

The headwaters of the Middle Fork can only be reached when toting a 100-pound raft and assorted gear - only by pack animal or light plane. If you elect to charter a plane, you'll be descending onto a small grass-covered airstrip grandfathered into the wilderness. Before descending between snow-covered mountains, pilots circle the strip to be sure it is clear of moose. Moments after landing you'll be loading your gear into Forest Service wheelbarrows, available from nearby Schafer Ranger Station.

You'll begin your float near the ranger station, a few miles below the confluence of Bowl and Strawberry Creeks, the origin of the Middle Fork. At this point along the river water levels are usually quite low, requiring you to pull your raft over jutting rocks, but as the day progresses, water levels rise. Schafer, Morrison and Granite creeks add water, as do Castle, Lunch and Long creeks. Still, the Middle Fork remains relatively calm.

Boulders in the river are huge, and if you wait until mid-July, the work of pulling and shoving your raft over rocks in shallow waters will increase.

June is the very best time to float, though almost any day in any month provides excellent fishing. Several trails provide access from the river to excellent lakes, such as Moose Lake, known for its sizable westslope cutthroat trout.

But beware, other creatures also use the trails, and you will more than likely see tracks belonging to both the grizzly and the black bear.

One attraction of floating this wilderness section of the Middle Fork is that your trip can - and should be - a leisurely one. From Schafer Meadow to the take-out point at Bear Creek is a distance of about 30 miles, offering time not only for fishing but for wildlife observations.

There are deer and elk and various birds associated with pristine waters. One intriguing bird is the water ouzel or dipper, a species that protects its young by constructing nests in only the wildest of areas: behind waterfalls, or along the banks of raging rivers.

For the first 10 to 15 miles there are only hints of the river's raging waters. By Morrison Creek, boaters should hang tight. More than once the Three Forks Series has bounced floaters seated along the edges of the raft into some mighty cold water.

Such incidents prompt questions about the river's potential, and about day two some unsettling sights begin to appear. How, for instance, did the Granite Creek log cabin come to perch on a dilapidated old platform?

According to Onno Wieringa, the cabin was uprooted and washed downstream during the flood of 1964, one of the Flathead Valley's unparalleled natural disasters.

"Imagine," said Wieringa, "waters so savage they can rip a cabin from its moorings, send it careening several miles downstream and then plant it on a cliff 20 feet higher than where we're now floating."

The shade of the old cabin provides a nice campsite, but there are some other disturbing elements nearby. From just downstream if you cup your ears, you'll hear the roar of waters from the canyon below.

Topographical maps indicate you are approaching Spruce Park. This area, depending on the volume of runoff, sometimes produces waters in the Class V category, considered the most difficult to navigate.

Much of the river's wildness is the result of its steep gradient. The river drops an average of 34 feet per mile from its headwaters to Bear Creek. And through the Spruce Park area, there's a four-mile section of the stream that drops an average of 41 feet per mile. In June, when water flows typically average 12,000 cubic feet per second, this makes for a raucous ride. That's where flows are at right now.

In other years, June flows have dipped to 4,590 cfs, and one year, 1959, they maxed at 24,700 cfs.

This section is the one so anticipated by whitewater enthusiasts, and one that can cause problems. Approach this area cautiously, for this is the source of that roar you'll hear just below Granite Creek Patrol Cabin. And from the time you first hear it the sound only increases until you confront a tortuous bend in a narrow canyon where water gushes into a wall, folding back on itself.

Then you're in it!

A relatively short stretch downstream and you'll see relief from the turbulence in the form of a sandy beach. Paddle vigorously for the opening, and plan to pull over, if for no other reason than to assess the challenge. Depending on your abilities, you may want to line your raft downstream from the beach.

But if you are skilled, then plunge on. Orient your raft so the bow points upstream, and then paddle so you are angling against the current. Pull hard, and try to counter the surging water that wants to slam you into the cliff's face. If you're practiced, you'll make it without swamping, otherwise anticipate a real dunking.

From Spruce Park to the take-out point at Bear Creek near U.S. 2 is a distance of about eight miles.

At this confluence, the river continues, forming the southeastern boundary for Glacier National Park. For a distance of 40 more miles, the Middle Fork flows freely through spectacular country. Still, this section is not a wilderness river. That designation is proper only for the upper portion - that portion where a person's thinking revolves around fish, bears and unpredictable waters.