Suggestions for 5-6 day trip in the Bob

4shot

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Marshall or Anaconda Pintler Wilderness areas. Background - my wife and I have plenty of backpacking experience in the Eastern US and Europe but this is our first trip out West. We are staying away from the NP's for a reason.. We are looking for 10 - 15 miles pd, so any loop in the 50 - 90 mile range would be considered. Looking for easy to moderate terrain with a variety of scenery. This is not intended to be a grueling "see how many wiles we can log" trip but more of a relaxing vacation with time to hang out in camp and enjoy the experience of seeing new territory. The opportunity to fish would be a welcome bonus. Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
This might work for you.

78345

This loop is approximately 60 miles in length located on the east side of the wilderness, starts and ends at the trailhead at Holland Lake; follows Big Salmon Creek and Big Salmon Lake; heads north to Little Salmon Creek; follows Little Salmon Creek west, then back up and over the Swan Range at Smith Creek Pass, then south back to the trailhead. You would have to cross over the Swan Range twice, but the passes are less than 8000 feet.
 
This might work for you.

This loop is approximately 60 miles in length located on the east side of the wilderness, starts and ends at the trailhead at Holland Lake; follows Big Salmon Creek and Big Salmon Lake; heads north to Little Salmon Creek; follows Little Salmon Creek west, then back up and over the Swan Range at Smith Creek Pass, then south back to the trailhead. You would have to cross over the Swan Range twice, but the passes are less than 8000 feet.

Reading my mind @scatman. I was going to suggest a trip out of Holland Lake. Anything from there is great. Hard to go wrong in the Bob complex. Benchmark is also great jump off point, especially for the Chinese Wall. Gibson Res is also good access but hiking around the reservoir is less-than-exciting.

Anaconda-Pintlar is gorgeous but not really where I'd choose if I had so much time, too much backtracking over the same trails.

When do you plan to make this trip?
 
Reading my mind @scatman. I was going to suggest a trip out of Holland Lake. Anything from there is great. Hard to go wrong in the Bob complex. Benchmark is also great jump off point, especially for the Chinese Wall. Gibson Res is also good access but hiking around the reservoir is less-than-exciting.

Anaconda-Pintlar is gorgeous but not really where I'd choose if I had so much time, too much backtracking over the same trails.

When do you plan to make this trip?

we will be out there the second week in July. thanks for all responses!
 
Although I love the A-P Wilderness, I kind of agree with Outdoor_Fool that there aren't a lot of great loops to be found. If you could set up a shuttle, the CDT from Wisdom to Anaconda would be a great trip, though!
 
I’d look into doing the Chinese Wall trail as well. I’ve not done it myself, but some friends have and it’s supposed to be absolutely incredible!
I know there were multiple fires and trail closures last year very near the Chinese wall; probably best to check with the forest service to see which trails (if any) are still affected.
 
I would like to tack on some questions about possible weather conditions in the Bob in early July. Assuming I follow the route as suggested by scatman above, it looks like elevations would be at 8000 ft. or slightly below. I am thinking of a temp range of maybe 30's possible at night to 80's daytime?? Is this a reasonable approximation.

I am fully aware that while God is probably aware of this post, it is highly unlikely that He will respond directly. I am aware of all the caveats about weather - it varies, it is unpredictable, etc. etc. so any feedback you provide will be treated as your best possible guesstimate and not as a statement of truth. I post this simply because on other backpacking sites I look at, any weather related questions are usually dealt with in a snarky or dismissive manner and I hope to avoid that here.

In planning however, you do have to start with a reasonable set of assumptions on the front end. Thanks again for your thoughts. Regards.
 
Yeah, I think that is a fair estimate, from lows in the 30's to highs in the 80's. Up high, it might not even get above 60's or 70's. I doubt you'd see anything outside of that range, though, lower than 30 or higher than 80. Of course, it's tough to tell and you shouldn't be surprised to find yourself in a blizzard. LOL
 
Yeah, I think that is a fair estimate, from lows in the 30's to highs in the 80's. Up high, it might not even get above 60's or 70's. I doubt you'd see anything outside of that range, though, lower than 30 or higher than 80. Of course, it's tough to tell and you shouldn't be surprised to find yourself in a blizzard. LOL

Thanks for the response, I know that asking about the weather is fraught with variables and uncertainty. But you confirmed what I had thought from my poking around on the internet Thanks!
 
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