Sept 2015 - Back Country Horsemen of Montana

Volume 44, Issue 3 — September 2015
Published by Back Country Horsemen of the Flathead
www.bchmt.org/flatbch/
170 Members Strong!
Meadow Creek by Jonah Libsack-Maynard
Our annual Meadow Creek project took place during Memo- Herb Knuth, Beryl Garvin, Dave Moore, Alicia Fagerland,
rial Day weekend, May 22 - 25. We had good attendance, Bryant Sandefer, John Ladenberg and Margo Frownfelter.
about 35 people including some new member sign-ups.
Those that were added in 2014 were David “Doc”
The trails that were worked
Kauffman, Dulane Fulton
are as follows: River trail from
(Founder), Phyllis Clark,
Meadow Creek to Spotted
Grace Pettit, Gene Thompson,
Bear (cut open the entire trail
Larry Schultz and Linda Klapleaving no walkovers plus
perich, and those added for
over a hundred yards of tread
2015 were Patti Morris, Helen
work), Lost Jack (brushing and
Morris, Jeannie Morrison,
cutting about five miles from
Ray Knotts and Ken Ausk
junction), Meadow Mountain
(Founder).
(cut open to the top which
A big ‘thank you’ to Ralph
had four to five feet of snow),
and Keni Hopkins for outfitMid Creek (cut open about
ting the cook trailer and doing
BCHF
members
gather
for
remembering
members
who
have
gone
before
and
to
thee miles from junction), place new name plates on the Memorial Kiosk. photos by Jonah Libsack-Maynard
most of the cooking. Thanks
Sunburst Lake Trail (cut open
to Joe LeFaive for hauling the
to Stadium Creek crossed Gorge Creek and went up Stadium trailer out there. Thanks to Greg Schatz for having the name
for three to four miles on first day. The second day proceeded plaques made. Thanks to all who attended and helped in
up Gorge Creek getting within a mile or so of the lake).
camp and out. Many hands make small the work.
Meals were heavily attended with good wholesome food
As I write this on August 23, 2015 fires are raging in the
in abundance. Camp fire gatherings were a hit with lots of backcountry. In Northwest Montana the air is filled with a
tall tales and interesting conversation. The only casualty was choking smoke that also stings the eyes. We will have plenty
a flat tire on the BCHF food wagon. We held a small service of work next spring/summer to get trails open again. But
at the BCHF Memorial Kiosk to add some new name plates take heart... out of the fire springs new life.
and honor those members that had come and gone before
us.
The names of those already on the Memorial kiosk at
Meadow Creek were as follows: Barbara Baxter, Dennis Swift
(Founder), Lester Morris, David Morris, Matt Mateka, Ed
Quigley, Bernard Lund, Kenny Averill, Jack Watts, Buck
Watts, Kerel Hagen, Marvin Jones, George Moore, Bud
Calvin, Jack Cusick, Harry Westley, Harry Byrd, Russ Baeth,
Jim Baker, Darlene Baker, Emery Smith, Bonita Fulton, Avery Ferguson, Lloyd Fagerland, Lavern Clare, Neil Sauebier,
Enjoying a campfire after a hard day’s work on the trail.
BCHF Officers & Directors
President's Corner by Ralph Hopkins
President— Ralph Hopkins
Vice President— Steve Barker
Secretary— Patty Barberio
Treasurer— Keni Hopkins
State Directors—Ron Stuber and Deborah Schatz
Alternate State Director—Keni Hopkins
Board of Directors—
Verna Barker
Ed Langlois
Greg Schatz
Gary Dalen
Kay Lewis
Stu Sorensen
Rick
Klein
Jonah
Libsack-Maynard
Jim Thramer
We have seen many changes
in our Chapter this year and
I would like to thank and
praise all the members who
have stepped up to meet
the challenge and continue
to move our Chapter in a
positive direction in line with
the BCH purpose. We also
lost a long standing member, Don Burgau; please keep his
family in your prayers.
I also would like to remind all of our members of why
this club got started.
Our purpose tells us we are to work to promote
common sense use of horses in the back country. When
the club formed, many user groups were degrading the
resource through bad habits - controls or loss of access was
coming.
As a service organization, this means we are to set a
shining example, as well as teach Leave No Trace principles,
Light on the Land principles and the Wilderness/back
country concept to ensure these lands are available for
generations to come. Some of our members are doing
an outstanding job of teaching in these areas, but more
members could be involved. Please consider volunteering
to help.
We are to assist in maintenance of the resource with
work parties (like Meadow Creek) to repair damage and
write grant applications to aid our club and other boots
on the ground organizations to perform maintenance
activities.
By staying current on management issues, techniques
and resource conditions, we can help the agencies in their
decision making efforts. By attending the Bob Marshall
Complex annual meetings and Forest planning meetings
we can stay involved and foster relationships with agency
personnel.
These things have always been a part of our Chapter
and how we operate. Please consider getting more involved
and active in YOUR Chapter to keep the bulk of work
from falling on a few members.
Calling Committee/Email Chair—Ralph & Keni Hopkins
Historian—Jack Meyer
Hospitality Chair—Vicki Bartlett & Phyllis Ausk
Issues Committee—Mark Brust, Don Holman, Deborah
Schatz, Greg Schatz, & Ron Stuber
Leave-No-Trace Chair—June Burgau
Library—Ed Langlois
Membership Chair—Keni Hopkins
Newsletter Editior—Ron Stuber; Newsletter Committee: Keni
Hopkins, Deborah Schatz & Chris Jolly (Production)
On-Time Drawings/Prizes—Kay Lewis
Parliamentarian—Russ Garvin
Publicity Chair—
Safety/Training Coordinator—Gary Dalen
Trails Project Coordinator— Ralph Hopkins
Website—Deborah Schatz
THE PURPOSE OF BCH The Back Country Horsemen is organized to:
a) Perpetuate enjoyable common sense use of horses in the back
country.
b) Assist government agencies in maintenance and management
of the resource.
c) Educate, encourage and solicit active public participation in wise
and sustaining use of horses and use by people commensurate
with our heritage and the back country resource.
BCH Meeting Calendar
All GENERAL meetings are held on the SECOND
Tuesday of each month. All BOARD meetings are held on
the FOURTH Tuesday of each month. Everyone is welcome!!
Meetings are held at the Fish, Wildlife and Parks building,
490 Meridian Rd. in Kalispell and begin at 7:30 PM.
Oct
13th — General Meeting
27th — Board Meeting
Nov
10th — General Meeting
24th — Board Meeting
Dec
8th — General Meeting
22nd — Board Meeting
18th — BCH Christmas Party
Before you complain VOLUNTEER
Check out BCH of the Flathead’s new website at:
Before you are asked VOLUNTEER
http://www.bchmt.org/flatbch/
- Ralph
Please send comments/additions to your webmaster
Deborah Schatz.
“In wildness is the preservation of the world.”
- Henry David Thoreau
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Fun in the Sun - Bond Creek Trail #21, June 5-6, 2015 by Ed Langlois
Back Country Horsemen of the Flathead members, along
with Swan Lake Ranger District personnel, partnered to do
maintenance work on Bond Creek Trail. The trail is used by
horsemen and hikers. The trail accesses Bond Lake, Trinkus
Lake and the Alpine Trail, and for the most part is in good
repair. Numerous water drains and dips had filled in with
debris, and there was also water bar deterioration. Clogged
drainage had caused a washout of tread on one section.
I contaced Joleen Dunham, Recreation Forester, early
spring about the project. Along with her
full spring schedule,
the District was also
getting a new trail
crew leader, Derrick
Mercer, who has many
years of trail experience. They were also
training a new trail
Gary Dalen filling buckets with gravel.
crew. Joleen and Derrick both embraced the project. The three of us hiked the
section of trail we had selected to work on. Forest Service
personnel then flagged water bar locations and drainage areas
that needed to be cleaned, and selected a time and date for
the project.
In one of our discussions, I asked if anything would make
this type of project more efficient. I was told that packing in
the water bars before the project date, not the morning of the
project would allow for more work time for F.S. personnel as
they can hike in and get right to work and not have to wait
for materials to arrive. Gary Dalen, Ron Stuber and I packed
in water bars mid week. Nine foot water bars are always
interesting to pack! We had some good looking loads and no
problems occurred. You will
have to take my
word for it as
I mistakenly
erased the pictures when I
was taking others of packing
gravel.
One of the Gary Dalen installing a water bar to prevent trail erosion.
reasons Derrick liked this project was it gave him the opportunity to teach the new crew members the correct way
of installing water bars before their busy summer schedule
started. The water bar installation and drainage cleaning went
well. Gary Dalen won the prize
for installing two water bars.
Nobody else did more than one
which shows that experience
counts more than age as his
competitors were under 30
years of age while Gary is 30+.
The next day the BCHF
members were on their own
for gravel packing as FS
Kay Lewis leading a pack string
hauling gravel.
personnel had the day off.
It was an extremely hot day,
but we managed to pack
5,400 pounds of gravel using
5 gallon gravel carriers. This
was no easy task as this gravel
had been there for years and
had to be loosened with a pick Mules loaded with buckets full of gravel.
before it was shoveled into buckets. Much work was done
and all had fun. Big thanks to BCHF members: Ron Stuber,
Gary Dalen, Eric Johnson, Diane Johnson, Kay Lewis, Janet
Holter and Joey Kowing.
P.S. This work project is ongoing. If anyone wants to do
some maintenance work on the trail, they could maybe work
1/2 day then ride!
Flathead BCH Elections by Deb Schatz
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Your nominating committee is made up of your three
past presidents. It is their job to nominate people who they
feel will do a good job representing our members here at
our local and state level, as well as representing BCH to the
public and to the land management agencies.
The nominating committee presents its slate of officers
and directors at the November general meeting.
At the December general meeting, we will accept
nominations from the floor. So we hope you will consider
nominating someone or letting the committee know if
you are interested in running for office. There are many
knowledgeable and talented folks in our membership.
And be sure to attend the December meeting, YOUR
VOTE IS IMPORTANT! We will be electing a president,
vice president, secretary, treasurer, four directors, one state
director and one alternate state director.
Farewell to Don Burgau By Greg Schatz
Long-time Back Country Horsemen of the Flathead
member Don Burgau passed away this summer. Don
and his wife
June were at
the very first
Back Countr y Horsemen meeting
in 1973 but
didn’t join
until 1975.
Don grew up
with horses
and spent his
life hunting
and packing horses in the mountains. Don loved cutting
out trails in the summer on Back Country Horsemen
projects and if you watched Don closely you figured out
he was cutting open his hunting trails and scouting for elk
at the same time.
Don and June went on many pack trips in the Bob
during the summer where Don loved to fish. They were
packing in the Great Bear in the late ‘60’s before it was
designated as Wilderness. Don spent many hours training
his horses and always had treats for them in his pocket.
Wolf Creek By Stu Sorensen
Derek Mercer from the Swan District, contacted me
for assistance packing in a trail crew. The crew leader was
John Boubrau and his crew was made up of seven volunteers
from Montana Conservation Corp out of Kalispell.
The project was to cut brush and repair tread. They also
pulled some stumps, removed large rocks from the trail,
and eliminated a number of trees that were too close to the
trail. The crew met me at the trail head of the Broken Leg
Mountain Trail. John had the loads well organized and six
head were loaded with tools and equipment averaging 85
pounds per side. The camp site was on Wolf Creek about
4-1/2 miles in.
I rode back later to the Wolf Creek camp to pull their
camp out, taking seven head. The trail was in great condition and John and his crew had most of the camp ready to
load when I rode in - much appreciated!
Christmas Party
It’s just around the corner...
Friday, December 18th, at Jagz Restaurant.
Jagz is located at 3796 Hwy 2 E, Kalispell.
Cocktails start at 6:30 p.m. and dinner is at 7:00 p.m.
Dinner will be prime rib and one or two other entrees, to be decided at the
next general meeting; full salad bar, herb-roasted baby potatoes, fresh
green bean amandine, bread and dessert. Price will be $27.60 or $31.20,
including gratuity, depending on if we choose one or two extra entrees.
Come to the October general meeting to sign up, call Jonah at 212-1491, or send her an email at
[email protected]. We need to give Jagz a number of how many people will attend by October 15th.
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Big Prairie Trip - Steve and Ralph - June 2015 By Steve Barker
Here are the field notes that Steve Barker kept while he
and Ralph Hopkins were
volunteering on a two week
trip to Big Prairie. They went
to work with two other volunteers, Fred and Patty, clearing
trails and doing maintenance
at Big Prairie.
for dinner.
June 9
Cut firewood till noon. Fixed 3 gates, fixed boards on pack
bridge. Had pork chops for dinner.
June 10
We started to cut trail to Hahn Cabin ( took horses) crossed
Gordon Creek. Took us 4-1/2 hours to clear 1-1/2 miles!
Went total of 6 miles. Back to Big Prairie. Had chicken
and dumplings for dinner.
June 2
L e f t Me a d o w
Creek headed to
Salmon Forks. 22
miles took west
side trail.
June 3
Left Salmon
Fo r k s t o B i g
Prairie, 12 miles.
Arrived at noon
Cut firewood for
4 hours.
June 11
Starting cutting on trail to Hahn Cabin again (with horses).
Got 3-1/2 miles in 8 hours, stepped over rest that we could.
11 miles to Hahn total. Stayed at Hahn Cabin. Had stew
for dinner.
June 12
We started back to Big Prairie cutting everything that we
had stepped over. Did 3 cuts on one log that took us 1-1/2
hours. Back at Big Prairie, had steak for dinner.
Ralph Hopkins crossing the Salmon Fork bridge.
June 13
Cleared 3 miles of east side trail. Left
at 8 am got back at 4 pm. Guy and
family came in (Forest Service ranger).
June 4
Cut fence poles - 35 of them. Cut
out trail – 2-1/2 miles toward Shaw
Cabin. Walked 5 miles. Back at Big
Prairie, had steak for dinner.
June 5
Cut out trees on main trail – Fred,
Ralph, Patty and myself. Walked 10
miles. Back at Big Prairie, had chicken
for dinner.
June 14
Got up and headed to Black Bear
Cabin took east side trail. Spent night
at Black Bear Cabin.
Preparing to pack up from the Salmon Fork cabin.
June 15
Left Black Bear Cabin headed to
Me a d o w C r e e k . T h e n h o m e !
Fun trip!
June 6
P .S. If you ever need a good cook call Ralph Hopkins!
Cut trail from Big Prairie to Shaw Cabin – 15 miles. Left
at 8 am arrived at 6:30 pm. Spent night at Shaw Cabin.
Had macaroni and cheese, mixed with chili beans for dinner
June 7
Shaw Cabin back to Big Prarie – 15 miles. Left at 8 am
arrived at 4:30, so we spent total 40 hours in 4 days clearing
trail to get to Shaw Cabin. Bob and Bill, the packers for
forest service, came in with 18 mules loaded. We unloaded
them, that was fun for me! Fred made stew for dinner.
June 8
Bill and Bob left and we put up a wall tent for Forest
Service. Ralph and I went on a nature walk, we saw an
eagle’s nest and a couple of old Indian graves. Had chicken
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Ralph Hopkins cooking a delicious meal while at the Salmon Fork
cabin.
The Event at Rebecca Farm, July 2015 By Bob Friedman, BCHF Member & Jump Judge
The “Event”, a triathlon consisting of cross-country
jumping, arena jumping and dressage was, as ever, beautiful
to behold. The horses and riders performed brilliantly
to bring credit to this world-wide competition. This is
a premier summer event in the Flathead Valley. “The
Event” competition is a
world-class horse contest hosted at Rebecca
Farms since 2003. Each
horse, in its skill division, must compete in
all three rigors with the
lowest fault scores being
the winners. Close to
600 riders competed
in the event, a new
high. The first-ever
CCI 3-star division was
added which consisted
of 27 jumps, including
11 combination jumps.
This is an international
competition and horses entered came from not only
the USA but also from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Great
Britain, Hungary and Puerto Rico. The contest ran from
Wednesday, July 22, through Sunday, July 26, with generally increasing skill divisions. The
winner of the new international
CCI3* was Kurt Martin, on the
horse Delux Z, with an overall score
of 47.0. He and the horse came all
the way from Middleburg, Virginia.
The “Event”, for spectators, is
free except for a voluntary $5 fee
for parking, the proceeds of which
are entirely donated to cancer
research. Spectators are provided
free shuttle service to the many
vendor displays and to the “hill”, an
excellent vantage point to witness
the cross-country jumping. The host family for this great
international competition is the Broussards, who make this
possible each year by utilizing over 300 enthusiastic volunteers. They strive to make this entire activity a financial
break-even, very much to their credit. Sarah Broussard is
the prime mover to make “The Event” the great success it
has become.
The Back Country Horsemen of the Flathead heartily
endorse the activities and contribute many of its members
as volunteers for the many required supporting duties such
as jump judging, crowd control, shuttle service, score running, steeple chase and road and track monitoring, arena
activities and other tasks. As coordinator for volunteer
members of the BCHF,
we work closely with
Kurstie Hammel, a
long-time friend of the
Broussards, who is barn
manager for Rebecca
Farms and coordinates
and schedules volunteers for jump judging,
crowd control, score
running and steeple/
road and track events.
Kurstie finds time to
participate riding in the
Senior Open Novice
division.
About 5,000 spectators attended the competitions. The largest crowd was on
Saturday when the highest ranking divisions ran their more
challenging cross-country courses. The jumps were all
beautifully decorated and varied from large wooden trains
to jump over to holes in brush
that the horses had to jump
through. There were jumps that
the horses had to land in water
or up to a ledge about four feet
from the approach. The challenges were many but the vast
majority of horses and riders
prevailed successfully. The sport
is exciting for the participants as
well as the spectators and we are
grateful to have this world-class
event in our own community.
Welcome New Members!
Please welcome new members: Robert Pewitt; Charlene Gartner and Sean Reynolds. Also welcome back
returning members: Les and Monica Brush; and Vernon
Kiser.
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CTD Montana to the Rescue By Deb Schatz and Fred Fitzpatrick
Greg and Deb Schatz recently provided some packing support for a trail
crew from CDT Montana. The trail crew was working on their longest trip
of the season- nine days in the Bowl Creek drainage of the Bob Marshall
Wilderness.
While the trail crew was working on a new 50-foot turnpike, two black
Cocker Spaniels came along the trail. The crew enjoyed playing with the dogs
while waiting for their owners to come along. The dogs were shivering from
the cool weather, very tired, hungry and had sore feet. When no people came
along to claim the dogs, the crew decided they would take the dogs back to
camp and care for them. Shannon Freix’s brand new gravel bags seemed the
perfect conveyance to hold the dogs on Greg and Deb’s pack horse, Dusty,
for the two-mile ride back to camp. We heard no complaints from the dogs!
The two lost dogs, Molly and
Abbey, with CDT volunteer,
Tracy.
One of the Spaniels, Molly, had a dog tag with her owner’s
phone number. The CDT crew leader, Sonny, was able to radio
the Forest Service and ask them to call the phone number.
Sonny found out that the dogs belong to a gentleman from
Conrad, who had been staying in a cabin near the West Fork
of the Teton trailhead. The dogs had wandered away two weeks
ago!
For the next three days, one of the trail crew stayed in
camp to care for the dogs, while the other volunteers went
back to work filling the new 50-foot turnpike with gravel and
re-crowning an additional 80 feet of turnpike with gravel. The
packing support supplied by Back Country Horsemen was
a great complement to the ground work by the CDT crew.
Sonny and Nick, the CDT co-leader, ran a very well organized
project, and kept everyone on task.
Molly and Abbey hitch a ride on Dusty.
During the evenings, everyone enjoyed caring
for the dogs and deciding what to feed them, since
we had no dog food. It didn’t take the dogs long
to figure out who cooked (Sonny) and who was
willing to share their dinner (everyone!) The days
were cool and the dogs shivered whenever they
left their bed, so Sonny was tasked with letting
the dogs sleep with him in the comfort of his tent.
Each day the dogs grew stronger.
At the end of the project, the CDT MT trail
crew carried Abbey back to the trailhead. Molly
walked on her own. The pack horses were all full
of gear and tools. The dogs’ stepmom picked them
up and they were later reunited with their dad. The
ending of the story is the dogs had a cash reward
for their return, so CDT Montana got the cash
donation. Way to go BCH and CDT Montana.
We are all heading home.
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Back Country Horsemen
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S POSTAGE
PAID
KALISPELL, MT
PERMIT NO. 20
of the Flathead
P.O. Box 1192
Columbia Falls, Montana 59912
A 501(c)(3) Non-profit Organization
A Must See -- Stu Sorensen’s Museum by Ron Stuber
A little know secret lies in the Flathead Valley. At a Stu’s background and knowledge of times past make this
recent BCHF meeting, the members had an opportunity is a must see experience. Thank you, Stu, for this most
to witness some memorabilia and artifacts from 200 years interesting and elaborate history lesson.
ago from the historic frontier life of the old west. If there
is anyone who lived a hundred years too late, it is probably
1ST AID FACTS
Stu! In an era when there were only Indians, trappers, and
Current CPR guidelines: Call 911, then give
sometime later, cowboys, what was life like pre-1900 in the
No breaths - 100 chest compressions per minute
to the beat of ah, ah, ah, ah... “Stayin’ Alive, Stayin’ Alive!”
west? Well, check out this rare collection of memorabilia
that Stu has been collecting for most of his life.
Become a member in 2016 ! ! !
Not only does Stu’s museum consist of hundreds and
hundreds of artifacts, but each piece has a story to go with Dues are $45 per year for a family, or $35 per year for single
it. Stu’s most fascinating and intriguing stories are told membership. This price includes all newsletters - local, state
and national. Please fill in this form and mail it to BCH of
as if he were really there and stepped back in time to tell the Flathead, P. O. Box 1192, Columbia Falls, MT 59912.
us the history of those times. Articles such as clothing Name____________________________________________________
made from animal hides, eating utensils, knives and axes,
Spouse's Name____________________________________________
bows and arrows, traps and snow shoes, and all the other
necessary equipment to sustain the pioneer in his daily life, Mailing Address____________________________________________
are a part of this historic collection. The museum consists City/State/Zip______________________________________________
of a trapper’s cabin, general store, trading post, saloon, Phone (very important)______________________________________
blacksmith shop and more. Remember all transactions E-mail:___________________________________________________
were done by bartering with pelts as there was no currency ____ $45 Family (# in family _____) ____ $35 Single
____ New Member ____ Renewal
in those times.
A 501(c)(3) Non-profit Organization
All in all, the experience is like stepping back in time.
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