# Upper Middle Fork of the Flathead River



## Treswright3 (May 20, 2013)

Im doing Gates of Lodore in late June and I have the over a week off after so looking into rafting trips in Wyoming and Montana for late June/early July and I came across this Upper Middle Flathead trip. I've already searched around for some info but I still have some questions about it that maybe some of you Buzz' guys can help me out with. 

So you have to fly in to Schafer Meadows in a little bush plane to start the trip, I found some aviation companies that take groups into the area but my main question is how the hell do I get 4 passengers and my gear into a tiny plane? I have a 14' Rocky Mountain Raft with a double rail raft frame w/ decking and the biggest Yeti cooler that could fit, and 10' oars. The raft by its self is heavy and does not pack down that small, and while my frame can be broken down its still a lot of frame.

Is it possible to pack my set up into a little plane? Or am I better off renting/buying a collapsible frame or set up? 

Also, some of the beta says this river is class IV, but this all seems to be very dependent on flow. The river seems to have a huge variance in flow from 1,000-15,000 cfs. Does anyone have more detail as to what level is to low and what level is too high? I'm very comfortable on class III+, I raft different rivers in CO almost weekly but don't know if this river is actually harder than stuff here. 

If anyone has other advice on nice Multi-day river trips (either no permit or possible to get a permit trips) in Wyoming/Montana or even Idaho I would be interested. Thanks, Tres


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## Whetstone (May 17, 2013)

Why dont you look at the North Fork of the Flathead. Canadian boarder to pPole Bridge or on down to West Glacier. Class II , III water. No fly in required. Lots of big brown bears. 

https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/1004/#tab-map

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## PBR62 (Feb 17, 2014)

We did that trip a couple years ago, awesome, awesome trip. For some perspective: we had 7 people, 2 super pumas with oar frames, and a 16' paddle raft. At least 4 trips in the plane to get all that stuff in. We had no food/drink that required coolers. It can be done in two days but we figured an extra day was worth it given how difficult it is to get there. 

It was "normal" flow, I think. Only a couple of big, technical rapids as I recall. Just a beautiful river. 

Go for it if you have the time and the group is willing to split the cost of flying in.


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## BigSky (Apr 2, 2015)

My brother in law did it with two or three other people last year. I think they just rented pack rafts, so that might be a good option if you can get by with less gear and food than you're accustomed to. If you're a fisherman at all, it'll be well worth the expense and trouble of getting in.


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## glenn (May 13, 2009)

It's one of the most beautiful runs I've ever been on. Only hiked in from granite so can't help with plane beta other than to say, people had big rigs on the river and red eagle says 1000lbs/5 passenger max. At 5500 it was barely a whitewater flow and barely CL IV through the harder gorges (2 or 3 from granite creek, rumors of 1 more upstream). 10,000 is probably a solid CL IV run. Keep in mind the gauge is 30 or so miles below takeout and at the 5500 flow we were floating on about 2K or less. The rafters we talked to were saying it was less than 1K at put-in. Even on my warm July 4th trip a drysuit was mandatory safety equipment because of the water temp. Expect bugs and bears.


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## Whetstone (May 17, 2013)

glenn said:


> It's one of the most beautiful runs I've ever been on. Only hiked in from granite so can't help with plane beta other than to say, people had big rigs on the river and red eagle says 1000lbs/5 passenger max. At 5500 it was barely a whitewater flow and barely CL IV through the harder gorges (2 or 3 from granite creek, rumors of 1 more upstream). 10,000 is probably a solid CL IV run. Keep in mind the gauge is 30 or so miles below takeout and at the 5500 flow we were floating on about 2K or less. The rafters we talked to were saying it was less than 1K at put-in. Even on my warm July 4th trip a drysuit was mandatory safety equipment because of the water temp. Expect bugs and bears.


This sounds like a "must do" for the river bucket list.

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## BigSky (Apr 2, 2015)

Whetstone said:


> This sounds like a "must do" for the river bucket list.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I535 using Mountain Buzz mobile app


The water color alone is enough to make you drool...


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## jesse711 (Aug 6, 2011)

Red Eagle flew myself and my partner, plus our two kayaks and gear into the meadow for 425. Even at low flows it was a great trip. The scenery is hard to beat. Bring a fishing pole and take your time time. Excellent trip.


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## PBR62 (Feb 17, 2014)

Didn't get too many great shots but here's one.


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## fiya79 (Feb 9, 2010)

Another river to add to the list. Dang. I better get started crossing more rivers off.


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## Treswright3 (May 20, 2013)

Thanks for the info! Anybody else want to weigh in on Drysuits? I have never worn a drysuit and don't plan on getting them for our group. I have been rafting in the snow on big water before and I have always felt fine in wet suits and splash gear or gore-tex, I can't imagine it being much colder then other rivers but who knows, it is by Glacier NP. 

Anybody have any idea what the flows will be like around July 1st? Only info I can find says average flows in July are above 8K.


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## Whetstone (May 17, 2013)

fiya79 said:


> Another river to add to the list. Dang. I better get started crossing more rivers off.


You and me both! This looks like a fantastic self support IK trip. 

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## slickhorn (Dec 15, 2005)

This is a fun thread to see. I IK'd the flathead a decade ago from Schaeffer down. 

I am really pleased to see so many folks who love the trip. It's one of a very very short list of rivers that I really feel no need to ever see again. I thought the scenery was average, except for very occasional views of the big peaks. It just wasn't a trip that really resonated at all with me. Not sure why.

The camps were mediocre, and either weren't well-established camps, or, if well-used, were ruined by the outfitters' open latrine practice. 

Hopefully it is better these days in that regard. 

Guess I'd better go re-evaluate my level of jadedness.


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## wildh2onriver (Jul 21, 2009)

slickhorn said:


> This is a fun thread to see. I IK'd the flathead a decade ago from Schaeffer down.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



You need to go to Alaska if you haven't been yet. Think pristine rivers with glacial views hourly at times. 

I've never run the MF of the Flathead (yet), but it sounds like it's off the beaten path, which is appealing. It's been on my radar for years.


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## Hey Zeus (Mar 19, 2007)

Red Eagle got us in without issues and I got a free RE hat, which I cherish. We launched in late July. Kate Upton has more dew between her cans in that video game comerical than we had in the river at Schaeffer. There was some dragging until a few creeks added water. We backpack styled the shredder so we were lite. We spent 5 days in there with layover days. The fishing is fantastic. Several moose and one bear. Can't wait to return....


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## mcmarcia (Apr 24, 2007)

*middle fork of flathead*

I worked this section for the outfitter who used the horrible latrine practice. Beautiful section in 1997 with no other boat traffic. The fly in tricks were break apart frames and carlisle oars, minimalist light gear. Not only groover, but no camp chairs, no stoves, just fire pan with driftwood for cooking. Lots of great scenery with bears and good fishing.


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## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

slickhorn said:


> The camps were mediocre, and either weren't well-established camps, or, if well-used, were ruined by the outfitters' open latrine practice.





mcmarcia said:


> I worked this section for the outfitter who used the horrible latrine practice.


Is this still happening?

Flathead NF policy is groover for all overnight trips.


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## Porterdog (May 18, 2012)

I second Red Eagle. They were very easy to work with and very knowledgeable. We used two planes to haul 2 dudes, 2 rafts, 1 frame, two kayaks and gear. I guided a paddle crew. One rowed the gear boat and two kayaked. The other folks hiked in with minimal gear. By the time my buddy and I shlupped gear from the run way and got camp set up the hiking crew showed up. I would take 4-6 days if you can swing it. I would have liked to hike into Castle Lake. We went in June. While I can't remember the flow it was not really high. I remember it was mostly read and run 3. We were able to scout almost everything of concern. American Whitewater has some good pics. My biggest concern would be wood. No one in our crew had drysuits at the time, but I would recommend them in retrospect. The water is always cold around GNP. It is an amazing float! 
The North Fork is also very beautiful. Glacier Park is the backdrop! At high water it has some rapids, but is more mellow. I ran it last summer at low water. We paid a worker from the Polebridge Merch 80 bucks for the shuttle from the Canadian boarder to Polebridge. I think you could negotiate lower with cases of craft beer and cash. If your looking for a whitewater trip my vote would be the Upper Middle Fork. I hope this helps.


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## geoinmt (Jun 4, 2015)

We are flying in with Red Eagle on June 20. This is a low water year. The only other time I ran this was about 30 years ago and it was way too low in July. Much dragging and lining. It's a short run so you might consider continuing down stream when you hit the road. There are four sections with put ins and take outs on the way to West Glacier. The upper two are my personal favorites. You don't have many camping options below the confluence with Bear Creek where you reach the road. A great non permit run with a pretty easy shuttle is the lower gorge of the Salmon.


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