WHITEFISH — The Bob Marshall Wilderness is one of the great pristine wilderness areas in Montana.
Normally, the crews and the mules who take care of this area are out in the backcountry, but on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, the packers and mules were in Whitefish.
“Horses and mules have been used in the backcountry since the Forest Service started managing these wild lands, that's how they've got crews in and out and whatnot. So they're really important part of of the job of maintaining public access to our lands,” said master packer and Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation board member Frank Vitale.
The Bob Marshall Wilderness encompasses an astounding 1.6 million acres of remote wilderness. A portion of maintaining the land is done by the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation.
“We provide stewardship opportunities for folks who want to go into the backcountry and volunteer, be a part of a group and give back to this incredible resource," said Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation Executive Director Clifford Kipp. " We do a fair amount of trail clearing, a fair amount of fixing the tread, a lot of brushing back encroaching vegetation. We also do campsite restoration and a lot of invasive species mitigation."
But none of this important work could be done without packers and their mules.
“They would not be able to do their voluntary trail projects without having pack support, because we carry their food, all their tools, their kitchen supplies. And if we have room, and we have enough stock, we can usually carry a lot of their personal stuff," Vitale said. "So without the pack support, whether it's mules or horses, the foundation wouldn't be able to get a lot of the work done back there, because we're talking some very remote areas and long distances."
Vitale and his crew of mules will walk about 7-800 miles a summer through the Bob carrying tools and equipment for crews to maintain the wilderness area, often spending days if not weeks in the backcountry.
“There's so many memories and so many good experiences. I wouldn't know where to begin. We'd have to sit around a campfire and have just bring back a lot of memories. So it's been all really good. And I'm still alive to talk about it,” said Vitale.
Master packers are not only in charge of the mules and packing gear, they also have to train the newer generation of packers through an apprenticeship program.
“It's incredible. It's kind of like the best thing I think I've ever done. There's so much history to packing and especially packing in the Bob and to be a part of that has just been such a cool experience," said journeyman packer Jessica Bonomo. "The way the foundation has this program set up, I get to pack with all of these different packers. So getting that, like, years and years and years of experience all in two summers has been like, just incredible."
Thanks to the packers and their mules, the Bob Marshall Wilderness remains a pristine wilderness for all to enjoy.
“It's a place to seek solitude. It's a place to be away from the trappings of civilization and just kind of enjoy being out in nature,” Kipp told MTN.
