Pack-rafting the South Fork of the Flathead: 6 Days in the Bob Marshall Wilderness
There is something special about the Bob Marshall Wilderness no matter where you are within the more than one million acres that make up the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. There are no roads cutting through the wilderness, and access is limited to foot, horseback, or non-motorized travel on the waterways.
For us, that meant one thing: packrafts.
My boyfriend and I had heard from friends that the South Fork of the Flathead River was some of the best fishing around for cutthroat trout, with the added opportunity to see the highly sought-after bull trout. For anyone who doesn't fish, bull trout are a native species to the area, and opportunities to legally target them are limited in Montana.
After hearing enough stories from friends, we knew we had to experience the South Fork for ourselves.
The only problem?
We had never packrafted before.
Step 1: Find Packrafts
The first step was figuring out how we were actually going to get onto the river.
Packrafts seemed like the perfect solution. They are light enough to carry into the wilderness but capable of turning a long hiking trip into a river adventure once you reach the water.
We had plenty of rafting experience, but packrafting was completely new territory for us. There is something very different about carrying your entire raft, paddle, camping gear, food, and everything else you need for six days on your back.
And as we would soon learn, "lightweight" doesn't necessarily mean light.
Step 2: How Do We Get to the River?
There are several ways to reach the South Fork, but after talking with friends and doing our research, we decided to take the Lodgepole Trail and connect with Youngs Creek.
The plan was simple on paper:
Hike in → get on Youngs Creek → float to the South Fork → float the South Fork → hike around the gorge → put back in → float to Spotted Bear.
Simple, right?
Well... sort of.
Step 3: Actually Commit to the Trip
This was the hardest part.
Planning a wilderness trip is exciting, but when you start looking at weather, river levels, transportation, food, gear, and the sheer amount of stuff you need to carry, it can start feeling pretty daunting.
It actually took us a few years to finally commit to the trip.
We wanted to go in early to mid-June, which comes with its own set of challenges in northern Montana. Snow can still be hanging around, trails may not be cleared, and river levels can change dramatically depending on the weather.
And then the rain came.
We were getting rain nonstop, and the South Fork was running much higher than we wanted. The river was sitting around twice the flow we were comfortable with for our trip.
Our cutoff was around 5,000 cubic feet per second. With the river still running much higher than that, we started looking at completely different trips. Then, three days before we were supposed to leave, things changed. The weather window started opening. The river was dropping roughly 1,000 cubic feet per second per day. Suddenly, our original trip was back on. There was just one problem: we still had to get everything together.
Getting Everything Ready
The next three days were a blur of late nights, phone calls, gear organization, food preparation, and figuring out transportation. We needed packrafts, paddles, camping gear, fishing gear, food, safety equipment, and everything else required to spend six days in the wilderness. We also needed to get a vehicle to our take-out.
On June 10, we dropped our truck in Spotted Bear. After that, we headed home and packed up my car so a friend could drive us to the Lodgepole Trailhead the following morning.
One thing we learned during the planning process: call the Forest Service for the district you're traveling through. Early-season trail conditions can be completely different from what you expect. When we dropped the truck in Spotted Bear and talked to people there, we were told the trail hadn't necessarily been cleared. Luckily for us, a rancher had cleared the remaining section on the day we arrived. Talk about good timing.
Day 1: The Long Approach
We didn't reach the trailhead until around 11 a.m., which was later than we wanted, but we still had enough daylight to make some serious progress. We were carrying roughly 60–70 pounds each. And with that much weight on your back, every mile feels a little different. By the end of the day, we had covered 13.6 miles, gaining approximately 1,819 feet and losing about 2,251 feet of elevation.
It wasn't an enormous amount of elevation change for the distance, but 13.6 miles with a massive pack is still a long day. The trail took us through a mountain pass with some low snow before dropping down toward Youngs Creek. We had mixed feelings about getting into the water right away. The creek was running high, but higher up there was still too much deadfall to make floating practical.
Eventually, we came to several water crossings. The first couple were high. By the time we reached the third crossing, it was around 10 p.m., and we decided it was time to stop. We set up camp and called it a night.
Day 2: Youngs Creek
After packing up camp, we finally got to do what we came here for to raft the river. We were able to start floating surprisingly far up Youngs Creek because of the high water levels. Later in the season, you wouldn't be able to start this high. It didn't take long before we encountered our first major obstacle: a log jam. We portaged around it, which honestly didn't feel too bad compared with carrying our entire packs along the trail. There were a few more portages along the way, but overall we were able to float a good portion of Youngs Creek.
We eventually floated approximately 5.5 miles before taking out at roughly 47.42, -113.18, just before the Youngs Creek Gorge. The gorge is floatable, but we had heard stories of people popping rafts in this section and that it can get pretty tricky. Since this was our first packrafting trip, we decided not to push our luck. Looking back, I think I would probably run the gorge if I did the trip again. But for our first time, playing it safe felt like the right decision. From there, we hiked about two miles and made camp just above the confluence where Youngs Creek becomes the South Fork of the Flathead.
Day 3: The South Fork
We packed up camp, inflated the boats, and started floating almost immediately. The river opened up enough that we could start fishing, and the scenery was exactly what we'd hoped for. The South Fork has a series of S-turns through this section. From above, some of them looked pretty intimidating. Once we got into them, though, most were very manageable. There were a few more technical sections with sweepers, but nothing that felt completely unreasonable given the water levels we were experiencing. The S-turns also turned out to be great places to fish. We saw bull trout, but unfortunately couldn't fish for them in the sections where we encountered them. The cutthroat, however, were absolutely beautiful and a really nice size. This was also where we started realizing how important it was to get comfortable controlling the packraft. The river was giving us a perfect place to practice turning, positioning, and reading the water before things got faster downstream.
By mid-afternoon, we reached Big Prairie. It looked like an excellent place to camp, but we still had plenty of daylight and decided to keep moving.
Just beyond Big Prairie, the river started getting faster. And then came the rapids. At first, they seemed to come one after another. It was a little intimidating, especially considering neither of us had packrafted before. But after getting into a rhythm, things started to click. The river became less about worrying about every individual rapid and more about reading what was coming next.The water was freezing. Because we were traveling in early June, this was the section where having a dry suit or wetsuit would have made a huge difference.Instead, we were wearing our base layers.
Let's just say...
We were cold.
Really cold.
Eventually, we found an incredible campsite around 47.59, -113.30. It had tall, open pine trees and incredible views surrounding us.
Day 4: More River, More Rapids
The next morning, we packed up and continued working our way toward the South Fork Gorge take-out.There were more rapids, but they weren't packed together quite like the previous afternoon. That gave us more opportunities to fish and enjoy the river instead of constantly focusing on what was coming downstream. This section of river was simply fun. If you have extra time, you can also hike up toward Big Salmon Lake. It's relatively accessible from the river, which makes it an interesting side trip if your itinerary allows.
Eventually, we made our way toward the take-out for the South Fork Gorge.
This is one place where I would recommend knowing exactly where you're getting off the river before you get there. Our take-out was around 47.799, -113.415, and the sign wasn't particularly obvious.To make things more interesting, there was a log jam immediately downstream of the take-out this year. There wasn't room to miss it.Fortunately, we knew where we needed to be and were able to get off the river in time.We camped there for the night.
Day 5: The Final Float
We packed up camp and started the hike around the gorge.Our plan was to hike approximately 5.2 miles to Cedar Flats Access, where we'd put back onto the river.Not everyone chooses to do this section, but I would highly recommend it.Once we got back on the water, the character of the river changed again.The scenery was incredible.There were waterfalls everywhere, and the river felt more like it was winding through a canyon.
After several days of hiking and floating, it was an incredible way to finish the trip.We floated all the way toward Spotted Bear.Eventually, we knew we were getting close.The Spotted Bear suspension bridge. That was our sign, the trip was officially over.
What We Would Do Differently
Looking back, there are definitely a few things we'd change.
First, I wish we had gotten to the trailhead earlier on Day 1.
Starting at 11 a.m. meant that we had to put in a long day right away. With 60–70-pound packs, an earlier start would have given us more time to enjoy the trail and take everything in.
Second—and probably most importantly—
Bring a wetsuit.Or even better, a dry suit if you're comfortable with one. The water was incredibly cold in early June, and spending hours floating in a base layer wasn't exactly comfortable.A wetsuit would have been a game changer.
We also would have considered running the Youngs Creek Gorge the second time around. Since it was our first packrafting trip, skipping it was the right decision for us, but with more experience, I would be tempted to give it a shot.
Most importantly, though, we'd do the trip again.
What We Packed
Our packs were heavy—around 60–70 pounds each—but we were carrying everything needed for six days of backpacking, packrafting, camping, fishing, and staying safe in a remote wilderness area.Here's the general gear list we'd recommend for a trip like this.
Packraft & River Gear
Packraft pannier / cargo system
4-piece paddle
PFD
Inflation bag
Inflation adapter
Packraft repair kit
Patch material
Glue
Tenacious Tape
Valve wrench
Spare straps/webbing
Zip ties
Multitool or knife
Paddle leash
Small sponge
Dry bags
Throw bag/rescue line
Wetsuit or dry suit
Backpacking Gear
40–60L backpack
Pack liner
Waterproof/dry bags
Compression sacks
Trekking poles
Headlamp + spare batteries
Garmin inReach Mini
Radios
Paper map
Compass
GPS
Power bank
Charging cables
Carabiners
Repair tape
Sleeping Gear
Lightweight tent
Sleeping bag appropriate for the temperatures
Sleeping pad
Pillow
Sleeping bag liner, optional
Groundsheet, optional
Clothing
Synthetic or merino base layers
Extra base layer for sleeping
Fleece/mid-layer
Puffy jacket
Rain jacket
Rain pants
Quick-dry hiking pants
Shorts
2–3 pairs underwear
2–3 pairs wool/synthetic socks
Dry sleep socks
Warm hat
Sun hat
Lightweight gloves
Camp shoes
Sunglasses
Wetsuit or dry suit
Fishing Gear
Fishing rod
Reel
Fishing line
Small tackle box
Lures/flies
Leaders/tippet
Pliers
Forceps
Line clippers
Fishing license
Current fishing regulations
Waterproof fishing bag
Cooking & Food
Backpacking stove
Fuel
Backup lighter
Waterproof matches
Lightweight pot
Spoon
Water bottles
Water filter
Backup purification tablets
Bear-resistant food storage
Six days of food
Electrolytes
Small trash bags
Safety & Emergency Gear
Garmin inReach
Paper map + compass
Radios
First-aid kit
Emergency bivy
Emergency blanket
Fire starter
Whistle
Signal mirror
Multitool
Duct tape/Tenacious Tape
Extra cord
Zip ties
Spare batteries
Sunscreen
SPF lip balm
Bug spray
Personal medications
Hygiene
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Toilet paper
Trowel
Hand sanitizer
Small pack towel
Wet wipes
Biodegradable soap
Zip-top bags for packing out waste
Final Thoughts
The Bob Marshall is one of those places that makes you appreciate how wild and beautiful Montana really is. From hiking into Youngs Creek to floating the South Fork, every day brought something new.
This trip challenged us in ways we didn't expect, especially with the cold water and our first experience packrafting. But learning as we went made the trip even more rewarding.
Looking back, I would definitely start earlier on Day 1 and bring a wetsuit for the early-season water. Other than that, there isn't much I would change.
The fishing, scenery, wildlife, rapids, and quiet nights around camp made this an adventure we'll never forget.
If you've been thinking about taking on a trip like this, go for it. Plan carefully, know your limits, and enjoy every mile along the way.
— Erin Soucek
