Service in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, Idaho and Montana

If you’re 18 to 35, you may be able to go on this trip for $300 off the listed price, thanks to the Sharon Churchwell Fund. To sign up and get your discount, please call 415-977-5522. No application is necessary. For a full list of Sharon Churchwell trips and other opportunities for young travelers, visit our trips for young participants page.  

The Trip

If you’re a veteran of service trips in the wilderness, you already know how rewarding it is to escape from your usual comfort zone and spend a week making a difference that enables others to better enjoy the natural environment. If you’re new to this sort of adventure, prepare for an unforgettable experience in surroundings of rugged natural beauty.

We’ll immerse ourselves in the wilderness and refresh our spirits as we explore and work hard together. Expect to be pleasantly surprised by the wide range of backgrounds, experiences and lifestyles that participants bring to this trip.

The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, straddling the Montana-Idaho border, is part of the largest roadless area in the lower 48 states. The mountains are some of the most rugged in North America, towering over lush forests that include old-growth stands of fir, cedar, pine and larch. In addition to mule deer, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, cougar and black bear populations, this wilderness is home to one of the country’s largest elk herds, and has recently been a site for the re-introduction of the gray wolf into its historic habitat.

We’ll be traveling and working in lands that are the home of the Salish/Ktunaxa, Pend d’Oreille/Qlispe, and Kootenai/Ksanka peoples, who have lived in and cared for this area for thousands of years. They were removed under duress in the mid-1800s.

Idaho/Montana mountain weather is variable. July days are generally sunny and warm, with substantially cooler temperatures in the evening. Rain in the mountains is always a possibility, so sturdy rain gear is important. There are no poisonous bugs or snakes, and there’s no poison ivy or poison oak. Mosquitoes are a predictable nuisance, however.

The Project

Our work projects yield visible results and are typically varied enough that everyone has a chance to try a range of jobs. Volunteers on one of our recent projects there cleared over 400 fallen trees to open up a long-impassible trail in Montana’s Bitterroot National Forest. This year we’ll again be clearing and opening trails and improving trail drainage. In addition, we hope to monitor and restore remote campsites in the area.

Tasks may include clearing blown-down trees from the trail using crosscut saws and bow saws, lopping back vegetation that's overgrowing the trail, and rebuilding and repairing eroded or uneven stretches of trail. We may also mark some trails with cairns or signs in places where hikers would otherwise have difficulty following the route. No previous trail maintenance experience is necessary. Training and supervision in proper and safe tool use will be provided. Expect to work hard and then see the difference we've made.

We’ll meet at a campground near the trailhead on Saturday evening to camp and prepare for an early start on Sunday. A light supper will be provided, as we get to know each other and discuss the week ahead. More details about the meeting place will be sent in the months before the trip, as our local partner agency communicates details of the work project location.

After breakfast on Sunday morning we’ll hike about eight miles on a well-marked trail to our base camp for the week. We’ll work with agency support and guidance for four days, with a break day in the middle. On our day off some folks may wish to explore the area with a hike to a nearby lake, pass, or peak; or may decide to stay close to camp to relax. Lakes in this Wilderness area are popular for fishing; a state fishing license is required.

Pack horses will carry all of our group's tools, food, and kitchen equipment. However, each of us will be responsible for carrying our own personal gear to and from the base camp. Our backcountry camp area will have no amenities except those that we pack in ourselves.

We’ll break camp on the last Saturday morning after breakfast, heading back down the trail, and planning to arrive back at the trailhead by early afternoon. Participants should not plan to fly home until Sunday, since we cannot be certain when we’ll arrive at the trailhead. 

After being accepted onto the trip, participants will receive more specific information about the trip from the leader. A few weeks before the trip, the leader will send a newsletter with all the last-minute details.

Getting There

Participants are responsible for getting themselves to the trailhead by 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Missoula is the closest major airport, and the trailhead is approximately a 90-minute drive from there. Missoula is also accessible by Greyhound bus; the closest Amtrak train stops in Williston, with connection to Missoula by bus. Trip rosters and contact information will be sent to all participants to facilitate carpooling to the trailhead, along with driving directions. 

Accommodations and Food

We will be camping in a wilderness area where the only amenities will be those we and our pack animals carry in ourselves. Your tent will be your home for the week. All of our tools, food, and kitchen equipment will be carried in on pack animals. Meals will be provided from lunch on the first day through lunch on the last day. All trip participants will take turns assisting with food preparation and cleanup.

Come with the attitude that food is part of the adventure. While we try to surprise our trip members with the variety and quality of our meals, our menu planning considers that there is no refrigeration and that food must be protected from animals. We serve a delicious, nutritious, vegetarian-friendly menu with a variety of meat, nut, dairy, and soy products to provide ample protein. Before applying for the trip, we strongly encourage people with food allergies and/or strong food preferences to contact the cook to see whether reasonable accommodation can be made.

Trip Difficulty

This is a moderately strenuous trip. We will hike (with our backpacks) about nine miles to our base camp, climbing from an elevation of about 4,000 feet to 6,000 feet above sea level. The peaks above our base camp reach nearly 9,000 feet in elevation. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced service trip volunteer, you’ll enjoy yourself more if you are in good physical condition. While our project naturally focuses on completing some important work, the health and safety of our participants is always our top priority. All participants will be encouraged to work at their own comfortable pace and not to exceed their personal limits.

Equipment and Clothing

You'll need a good, comfortable backpack large enough to carry your tent, sleeping bag, and the rest of your regular backpacking clothing and gear. In addition to that, bring two pairs of leather work gloves, a good pair of sturdy, well-broken-in hiking boots, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt to wear while working. You'll also need a lightweight day pack to carry your lunch, water, gloves, raingear, and other personal items to the work site. As temperatures typically range from nighttime lows in the 30s to daytime highs in the 90s, plan to bring warm, comfortable clothing that can be layered.

We will provide food and the gear for cooking it, but you should bring your own personal eating utensils (a bowl, cup, fork, and spoon). One or two re-usable plastic containers with tight-fitting lids will be needed for some lunch fixings. While we'll have a water purifying system to use in camp, it is highly recommended that you bring along either a water filter or water treatment tablets to treat local sources of running water, which may look pristine but may not be safe to drink without treatment.

We will provide a group first-aid kit for emergencies, but bring your own personal first-aid kit and any personal medications you require. A detailed equipment list will be sent to registered participants.

References

Books:

• Sternberg, S. Hiking the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness. Falcon Press Publishing, 2001.

Websites:

• Bitterroot National Forest: http://www.fs.usda.gov/bitterroot
• The Selway-Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation: http://www.selwaybitterroot.org/
• 2004 NPR story on the S-B Wilderness and the Wilderness Act: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3885261
• University of Montana, Wilderness.net: http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/wildView?WID=540

Maps:

• USFS Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, North Half (1999)
• USFS Bitterroot National Forest, North Half (2005)
• Selway Bitterroot Wilderness North Half (Cairn Cartographics, 2014)

Conservation

The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness is affected by warmer winters and hotter summers, which increases insect damage to trees and increases the likelihood of wildfires. Changes in the forest habitat and water flow due to climate change also affect wildlife, in both winter and summer. We’ll discuss these changes and efforts to manage them with our local agency staff. We also welcome discussion of participants’ interest and involvement in local environmental issues, including Sierra Club initiatives.

Since its founding in 1892, Sierra Club has worked to preserve and restore the natural environment we all share on this planet. Thousands of grassroots-level volunteers spearhead our efforts to conserve and sustain resources, both in our own backyards and on a global scale. Through direct experience in the outdoors, Sierra Club outings enable participants to better understand, advocate, and participate in the environmental conservation goals of the Club.

Service outings, in particular, stand out as one of the Sierra Club’s most important “boots on the ground” conservation efforts. The work done by service trip participants in our nation’s public lands is a way of practicing conservation in the most direct way possible, whether it’s improving access while preserving wilderness values, restoring wildlife habitat, or repairing human-caused damage to a natural area. Service trips are a great way to pitch in and do something tangible to make the world a better place; they’re a way to go beyond just talking about conservation; a way to get out there and experience conservation with your whole being.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal-opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.