Lessons from Red Mountain

By Abigail Gans, 2021 WR Intern

Location: Red Mountain, Elevation 9411ft
Date: July 7th 2021

While on hitch number two my crewmate Hannah and I had the opportunity to clear/summit Red Mountain, which is the highest peak in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. We started off our day at Webb Cabin in the Scapegoat Wilderness, and more specifically the only backcountry cabin in Lincolns’ district. We had to hike down the Mainline Trail a mile before reaching the start of the Red Mountain Trail. Upon reaching the beginning of the trail I started to realize just how hard this day was going to be.

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Allison Siems
Hitch 3 Haikus

By Sloan Miles, 2021 WCC Intern

July 6, Day 1:
Rock-skipping at night
Bear roaring? Multiple bears?!?
Sleep with bear spray tight

July 7, Day 2:
We forgot the stove
But, the bears didn’t eat us!
We gon’ be alright.

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Allison Siems
WCC Interns as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

by Clare Wirzbicki, 2021 WCC Intern

As the 2021 Wilderness Conservation Corp crew got to know each other better, they each found their role within the crew – eventually realizing that each of them personified a member of the 1980s classic, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. WCC Intern Clare Wirzbicki explains how each of their personalities fit their animated counterpart.

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Allison Siems
Stories from the Backcountry: Wilderness 101 Affinity Group trip with Here Montana

By Erynn Castellanos, BMWF Education & Partnership Specialist

The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation recently partnered with Here Montana to provide an introductory backpacking and stewardship experience for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals. The trip brought eight participants into the 1.5 million acre Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex with the goal of making the wilderness more accessible to those who did not grow up recreating in the outdoors or haven’t traditionally seen themselves as part of the outdoor community.

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Allison Siems
We're Hiring! Partnership & Education Specialist

by BMWF Staff

The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation is excited to announce a new full-time, year-round position beginning in 2021. The objective of this position is to meet an organizational commitment to building Wilderness connections in an equitable and inclusive manner, and to develop new pathways for the Foundation to engage and educate a more diverse set of constituents.

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Allison Siems
Meet our Winter Intern: Sloan Miles

By BMWF Staff

This January, we’ve been lucky enough to have some extra help from Sloan Miles, a student at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, AL. We asked Sloan a few questions about his connection to the outdoors and what drew him to volunteering his J-term to the foundation.

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Allison Siems
Help us Build a Gear Library!

by BMWF Staff

Calling for gently-used camping gear! Put your gently-used gear to a good cause and help us build a gear library so that we can loan out quality outdoor gear for our volunteer projects to anyone who needs it.

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Allison Siems
Volunteer and Packer of the Year 2020!

By Meg Killen, BMWF staff

Every season we have the pleasure of selecting a Volunteer of the Year, as well as a Packer of the year. As most of you know, this season was a little different as we didn’t have quite as many volunteers or pack trips as we would have liked. But when we sat down to discuss…two names stood out for us. And there was one theme with both of them. Dedication. These two young ladies were dedicated to BMWF in more ways than one, and we are thrilled to recognize them this year!

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Allison Siems
Ten Lessons Horsepacking Taught Me

By Zane Roush, 2020 WR Intern

All summer I wondered what I was going to write about for my final project. Would I talk about backcountry weed management? No, that sounded too much like a school project. Would I do a photo journal? No, it turns out it was too difficult to take pictures while we worked. On my final hitch, Jackson Holte, the Lincoln Ranger District Wilderness Ranger, and I were sitting around camp shooting the breeze. We got onto the topic of horsemanship (as we often did) and he said something that stuck out to me. "Horsepacking makes you a better person."

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Allison Siems
Weeds in the Wilderness

By Marty Maddalena, Weeds Crew Leader

The Wilderness is undisturbed, untrammeled and beautiful just the way it is, right? Well, sort of. The Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex as well as every other piece of public and most private land is in a constant battle with noxious/invasive weeds.

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Allison Siems
Where Are They Now?

By BMWF Staff

Our Wilderness Internships are designed for young, college-age students to gain the experience they need to continue on with their natural-resource related careers. So sadly, after three months of time with us, they move on. However, we LOVE to keep in touch and hear from them from time to time. Here we check in with a few of our past interns to hear what they’re up to now.

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Allison Siems
Wildflowers of The Bob

By Emily Clark, 2020 WCC Intern

Whether it’s hiking through open burned areas or quaint green meadows, I am always able to find a pop of color. Sometimes it’s more obvious than others, like the hillsides covered in arnica or fields full of beargrass. And sometimes, on my way to get water, I find lone wildflowers, often enjoying the shade of a nearby shrub.

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Allison Siems
The Food Clock

By Sean Anderson, 2020 WCC Intern

BEEP BEEP BEEP, BEEP BEEP BEEP, echoed throughout our camp at an early 6:30 AM wake up. Groaning at the thought of climbing out of our warm safe spaces and entering the cold harsh Bob Marshall Wilderness made everyone dive deeper into their sleeping bag. Eventually it would be time to emerge from that sanctuary and start the day.

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Allison Siems
So you want to build a puncheon?

By Briana Bienusa, 2020 WCC Intern

I hear you are sick of trudging through the mud. Maybe your horse got its shoe plucked right off. Or you even got your shoe plucked right off? It’s time for a structure to be installed.

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Allison Siems
Safe River Crossings

By BMWF Staff

The rivers in The Bob are renowned, magical places -- and powerful forces of nature. The recent tragedy on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River is a heartbreaking reminder that river crossings can be the most dangerous thing we do on a trip in the Wilderness. If you're planning a hike that will cross a river, please review safe stream crossing techniques before you head out. We've included some tips here.

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2019 Trip Highlight: Big Prairie 

By BMWF Staff

The Bob is always a great place to explore and early summer is particularly grand. On June 30th of 2019 six trail volunteers, three packers and BMWF Crew Leader Ian Bartling set out from the Benchmark trailhead for nine days of Wilderness Stewardship on the most strenuous BMWF volunteer project of the summer.

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