2024 Events and Activities
August 8th – August 12th: Eagle Guard Station/Elkhorns/Crow Creek Project Work
June 1st: National Trails Day with tentative plans to begin trail clearing in the Gates of the Mountains Refrigerator Canyon to Bear Prairie and Upper Kennedy to Hunter’s Gulch Loop
May 21st: Mann Gulch Memorial Project LCBCH packing supplies to replace monuments
May 18th: LCBCH Chapter Freeze Branding/Dutch Oven Cook Off and monthly meeting
April 13th: Montana Conservation Elders Youth Expo Helena Fairgrounds 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM LCBCH members participating for packing demonstrations
April 3rd: Monthly Membership Meeting at Montana Wild at 7:00 pm
March 6th: Monthly Membership Meeting at Montana Wild at 7:00 pm
February 7th: Monthly Membership Meeting at Montana Wild at 7:00 pm
January 20th: LCBCH Winter Party and Election Meeting, held at East Helena VFW Club basement, at 6:00 pm. Event Thyme will be catering the dinner buffet style with sirloin steak, roasted chicken, garlic smashed potatoes, roasted veggies, italian salad, and dinner rolls. Cost for dinner for adults $15, kids $10. Please RSVP and make payment for dinner by Friday, January 12th. Officer Elections for the 2024 season to follow dinner and socializing among members.
2023 Projects and Activities
December 6th: Monthly membership meeting at Montana Wild at 7:00 pm
October 4th: Monthly membership meeting at Montana Wild at 7:00 pm
September 6th: Monthly membership meeting at Montana Wild at 7:00 pm
August 25th – 27th: Woods Creek plank packing project in the Elkhorn mountains. Completing a project started last year by packing in the last series of plans to rebuild bridges burned by the Woods Creek fire
August 2nd: Monthly membership meeting at Montana Wild at 7:00 pm, preparation for the plan packing project later this month
June through September: LCBCH members are signing up to partner with the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation to volunteer stock for packing work crews into the Bob Marshall for the summer, see BMWF website for dates or reach out to us if you are interested in details
2023 BMWF Packing Season Pictures
June 10th: National Trails Day. LCBCH will be clearing trails in the Gates of the Mountains by way of Hunter’s Gulch *Rescheduled from the 3rd to the 10th due to weather
May 20th: Annual freezebranding event being held at 419 Mill Rd. Members only for branding stock but guests and public welcome to attend. We will be having packing demonstrations including the basics of packing including panniers, manties, and planks. Dutch Oven Cook-Off and membership meeting.
May 9th and 10th: LCBCH members partnering with Montana Conservation Corps to provide stock exposure and pack string training hosted by Fred Benson with Jeff Brandt and Allen Rowley
April 14th and 15th: 50th annual convention being held in Kalispell this year, LCBCH delegates attending
April 5th: Monthly membership meeting held at 6:00pm at Lewis and Clark Library Helena
March 1st: Monthly membership meeting held at 7:00pm at Montana Wild
January 20th: Annual Holiday Gathering held downstairs at the Brewhouse this year at 6:30 pm, dinner and door prizes!
2022 Projects and Activities
December 7th: Monthly membership meeting at Montana Wild at 7:00 pm with Eric Easton of Easton Horsemanship presenting
November: No membership meeting this month, happy hunting everyone! See you in December.
October 5th: Monthly membership meeting at Montana Wild at 7:00 pm
September 17th: 50th anniversary of the Scapegoat Wilderness in Lincoln, MT
September 7th: Monthly membership meeting at Montana Wild at 7:00 pm
August 12th, 13th and 14th: Woods Creek plan packing project to replace 10 bridges burned in the Woods Creek fire last year to support MCC crew scheduled to rebuild the bridges
August 3rd and 10th: WCC #5, Mineral Creek pack in and out. Fred Benson signed up as packer. Pack in 8/3 and camp overnight, ride out 8/4. Ride in 8/9 and camp, pack out 8/10.
August 3rd: Monthly membership meeting at Montana Wild at 7:00pm. Plan to discuss and finalize arrangements for the Woods Creek plank packing project
July 20th & 24th: Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation #9, Lang Creek #243 pack in and out. Tony Smith and Bob Tomaskie signed up as packers.
July 16th: BMWF and Sierra Club Women’s, Cabin Creek #80 and Canyon Creek #16 pack out. Fred Benson signed up as packer, ride in 7/15 and camp with pack out 7/16.
June 28th & July 2nd: Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation #5, Bear Lake Trail #222 Pack in and out. Tony Smith and Bob Tomaskie signed up as packers.
June 8th: June membership meeting at 7:00 pm at Montana Wild
June 4th: National Trails Day work project and June membership meeting. We will be meeting at Nelson between 0830 and 0900 to line out for trail clearing in the Gates of the Mountains followed by cook out and membership meeting to finish the day **CANCELLED** Due to weather, will reschedule for later in the year
May 14th 10:00 am: May membership meeting and annual freezebranding event with packing demonstrations and dutch oven cook-off held at 419 Mill Rd. Helena, MT
May 9th and 10th: LCBCH members hosted a training for Montana Conservation Corps on interacting with stock and packing practices at Fred Benson’s residence
April 23rd: First Aid/CPR training 11:30 to 4:30 at Forest Service 2880 Skyway Drive (must be active member of LCBCH and signed up for training)
April 6th: Membership Meeting 7:00 pm at Montana Wild 2668 Broadwater Ave
March 11th-13th: 2022 State Convention hosted by the Three Rivers Chapter in Dillon
March 2nd: No Membership Meeting this month, check out the newsletter for for an update from the president and officers
February 2nd: Membership Meeting 6:00 pm at Forest Service 2880 Skyway Drive
January 14th: Annual Holiday Party at Jorgenson’s 6:00 pm
2021 Projects and Activities
June 5th: Hunter’s Gulch Work Party
May 8th: Annual Freeze Branding Event
2020 Projects and Activities
August 14 – 16: North Fork Camping Trip for LCBCH in conjunction with the BMWF pack in for the McCabe project.
August 15: Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation #16 McCabe – brush and tread work on the North Fork Blackfoot Trail, 5 day project with pack in on the 15th, meeting at Trixie’s Antler Saloon in Ovando at 0800 and traveling up North Forth Blackfoot Trail 3 miles to camp spot. We have packers committed to packing this crew in and out.
August 1: Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation #13 Valley of the Moon – Hike into the Valley of the Moon and camp beneath Caribou Peak to reestablish tread, repair and replace existing drains, and brushing with a mid-week day off to explore Bighorn Lake. Meeting at Lincoln Ranger Station on the 31st and camping at the trailhead, leaving early on the 1st. We have 1 person committed to packing this crew out, they are still in need of a packer to pack in!
July 2: Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation #01 Webb Lake – weed spraying project around Webb Lake to treat Oxeye Daisy, 4 day project with pack in on the 2nd, meeting at Lincoln Ranger Station at 0800 and traveling up Indian Meadows Trail 9 miles to camp spot. *Change in date! – Still looking for volunteers to pack in and pack out!
June 5-7: National Trails Day – Eagle Guard Station Project – We are moving forward with completing this project, a small group is clearing trails the weekend of May 29th through 31st. June 5th through 7th we have a goal of finishing up trail clearing if needed but primarily installing sight posts. See the June Newsletter for more specific details.
May 16: Annual Freeze Branding and Dutch Oven Cook-Off Meeting *Small group only for freezebranding, no meeting or dutch oven cook-off.
April 24: Chainsaw and crosscut saw training – classroom session on the 24th at 1600 to 1800 at Helena Ranger District Office. Classroom followed by field training and evaluations on 25th and 26th at Porcupine Campground. Sign up for training required and you MUST have CPR and First Aid certification prior to participating in this training. *Cancelled, will reschedule for next year
March 21 and 22: Annual Back Country Horsemen Convention – Hamilton *Cancelled, will reschedule for next year
March 19, 20, and 23: CPR and first aid training – twice daily sessions 0900 to 1230 or 1300 to 1630 at Helena Ranger District Office – sign up required *Cancelled; will reschedule for next year
January 10: Annual Holiday Party at the VFW Hall
2019 Projects and Activities
August 22- 25: Challenge at Challenge hosted by Flathead Backcountry Horsemen in the Challenge Cabin area of the Flathead National Forest. The goal is to bring together Montana Backcountry Horsemen to share ideas, trail riding opportunities and socializing.
June 27 – July 4: BMWF Indian Meadows Pack Project
June 28-30: High Divide Trail Work at Kading – Members have already begun work in this area and will continue these days to establish this trail for future use.
June 7-9: CHANGE IN PLANS – Elkhorn Project at Eagle Guard Station to install site posts along the trail. Ongoing work at the Gates to complete clearing the trail.
June 1: National Trails Day – CHANGE IN PLANS – We will be meeting at 0800 at the trailhead of Hunter’s Gulch for the annual trail clearing at the Gates of the Mountains. Our team will split up with half going up Hunter’s Gulch and half going up Refrigerator Canyon with the goal of completing this trail clearing for the year.
May 11: Annual freeze branding where we will be having the dutch oven cook-off again and already have stock planned to be branded; more details to come
