[cdt-l] Cut Bank Campground

[Remy Levin]

The park service is usually pretty good about issuing undesignated permits in the Coal Creek/Nyack Basin.  It's not heavily traveled and designated sights are few and far between.  However, be prepared to demonstrate your knowledge of backcountry travel (if you've thru-hiked anything else that should be sufficient) and LNT ethics.  And you will have to have a portable food storage system with you ie: sufficient rope to counterbalance hang your food, last time I checked you didn't have to counter balance, but it's good to have enough line to do so, esp. if their requirements have changed; or a bear cannister.  Depending on the ranger, they may have you demonstrate that you know how to hang your food properly, but it's not likely.  Walking is pretty easy downstream on the Lincoln Creek trail, but making it between Lincoln Creek CG and Coal Creek CG in a day would be rough, however, it is the boundary trail so even without an undesignated permit you could camp outside the park
 that night, although this would require a ford of the Middle Fork of the Flathead which can be quite sketchy except at certain points.  I wouldn't recommend it in the spring when SOBO's would be coming through.  But, honestly, getting an undesignated permit for  that area shouldn't be hard if you're competent in the backcountry.

-Anish "Heather"

Ginny & Jim Owen <spiritbear2k at hotmail.com> wrote: 
Cut Bank CG had a bear box when we were there.

Remy - if you take Jim Wolf's suggestion - what about camping?  Would the 
Park grant undesignated campsites for this route?

Ginny

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>From: Remy Levin 
>Reply-To: cdt-l at backcountry.net
>To: cdt-l at backcountry.net
>Subject: Re: [cdt-l] Cut Bank Campground
>Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2007 11:56:36 -0800 (PST)
>
>Just some thoughts on Jim Wolfe's suggestion:  The hike over Gunsight Pass 
>is one of the most phenomenal in the park.  In general Sprague 
>Creek/Lincoln Creek are well maintained, however, south boundary trail and 
>the Coal Creek Trails are among the last to be maintained by trail crew (as 
>are all other trails through the Nyack) so they are generally overgrown and 
>less traveled than other trails.  If you were to consider an alternate like 
>this I would recommend following Coal Creek Trail all the way out, past the 
>Elk Mountain Trail (which is worth the side trip) because it brings you out 
>to a railroad access road/trailhead parking area  from which you can follow 
>the hwy a few miles to the Autumn Creek trail which will bring you out to 
>Marias Pass. Alternately you could follow the highway the whole distance, 
>but it's a lot of blacktop with flying cars!
>
>I think the route that Jim and Ginny mentioned most hikers took 
>(roadwalking from Saint Mary to Cut Bank) would be the best option.  The 
>amount of time spent on road would be far longer than stringing up trails 
>(obviously) but the time savings may definitely be worth it.
>
>-Anish
>
>Ken Powers  wrote: I remember Cut Bank Campground well. 
>We were diverted through there because
>of grizzly activity on the official trail. When we arrived at the closed
>campground we found a sign telling us to store all our food in our car
>trunk. (Yes, this was our assigned campsite.) Since the campground was
>closed there were no cars in the camp and we knew grizzlies were active in
>the area. Strong feelings of insecurity! :(
>
>Being creative campers we found a reasonable storage solution. The garbage
>cans had been cleaned, washed out and turned upside down. We placed our 
>food
>bags inside the upside down cans and lowered the lid onto the can. (The 
>lids
>were fixed to be secure on the cans.)
>

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