Eastern Mt. in the 30s/camping, hiking (Reed Point: how much, living)

[pjlyons]

Hello,

I am a writing a book set in eastern Mt. in the 30s and would love to hear folks' memories of those times/places.

A major part of the story has some 12-year-old girls planning to hike to Lone Indian Butte from Reedpoint. Is that do-able? I'm not a camper/hiker, and neither are these girls. What would they have needed? Any help from you outdoorsy folks would be much appreciated.

Thanks

pj lyons

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by pjlyons

Hello,

I am a writing a book set in eastern Mt. in the 30s and would love to hear folks' memories of those times/places.

A major part of the story has some 12-year-old girls planning to hike to Lone Indian Butte from Reedpoint. Is that do-able? I'm not a camper/hiker, and neither are these girls. What would they have needed?

An Indian guide

I don't know Lone Indian Butte specifically and my memories of MT only go back to 1960, but... Big thing to remember is that in rough country with no roads, even experienced hikers in good condition may make only 4 or 5 miles a day. A pack of girls with no experience might be lucky to make one or two miles a day in the same country.

Water becomes a problem almost immediately if you don't have a stream to follow, and do remember the 1930s were drought years, so once the spring thaw is over, there might not have been much (or ANY) open water other than the Yellowstone river. Rivers would have been bridged only at major crossings (don't know historically where they were in that area, but the MT Highway Dept. can probably help you), tho in late summer might have been fordable on foot in spots.

Camping gear then was heavy, bulky, and awkward, and most people couldn't afford it for its own sake.

[goes off, looks at map] That's a distance of about 15 miles as the crow flies, or about 25 miles on foot depending on how much rerouting you have to do around tough rocks and such. From Reed Point to the butte -- Have to cross the Yellowstone River (I don't know if the bridge on Reed Point Road existed then), follow the valley due north and upstream into the canyons, up Wullum Gulch, then over the rocks (they look nasty-steep on the terrain view) and finally you're within a day's walk of the butte. Mind the rattlesnakes.

If they're not good navigators -- the terrain isn't of the simple kind where you can just follow upstream or downstream to get where you want to be. Once you get to the north end of the valley, the land kinks around in all directions.

I'd say what you're really looking at is a bunch of 12YO girls lost somewhere in the upper reaches of Wullum Gulch.

lone indian butte, mt - Google Maps

[pjlyons]

Thanks! That's the sort of info I need and can't find here in MI

pj

[Reziac]

Welcome. I think we have some members living down in the general area, perhaps they'll be along later and can give you more specifics on the possible routes. I doubt it's changed much since the 1930s, other than whether the bridge existed yet, and how far up the valley that road went.

From the satellite view it looks like all the steep draws toward the top of the gulch are heavily timbered. In that part there could be deer, elk, bear, cougar, bobcat, etc. (probably not wolves) -- deer and elk during rut are a lot more dangerous than anything else, if you get in their way. Predators aren't likely to take after a noisy group of girls.

So, do you plan on getting your girls lost?

[pjlyons]

I had no idea it would be so arduous. They probably will get lost. Or if they're like me, they might chicken out <grin>.

As for the bridge, my mom says there was a bridge, but just one lane. (But then again, one day she said there were no grocery stores in Reed Point, and the next she said there were 2). However, a written account from an uncle says there was a bridge, also.

thanks again!

pj

[Reziac]

If they were my girls, they'd probably tramp up to the foot of the steep part, stare at it a while, decide it looks like an inordinate amount of work for a disproportionately small gain (except for one or two argumentative types who disagree, and keep on climbing), and go find some other trouble to get into instead. And one group or the other is never seen again. If I was feeling perverse, the ones who DIDN'T climb the rocks would vanish. Which group did the Indian guide go with, and why did we find his body floating in the river?

I write too, but SF set far, far away... so I can make up my terrain as I go along... and yes, my people DO sometimes get spectacularly lost.

[pjlyons]

I write too, but SF set far, far away... so I can make up my terrain as I go along... and yes, my people DO sometimes get spectacularly lost.

Cool! So you "get it."

I wasn't planning on killing off any of THESE girls--just the little sister that follows them. Am thinking maybe I'll send them to Monument Butte instead. In studying the map, I see they need to go east so the bridge won't be on the way and little sister can drown. And big sister can have tons of guilt and angst.

pj

[Desertrose34]

Originally Posted by Reziac

If they were my girls, they'd probably tramp up to the foot of the steep part, stare at it a while, decide it looks like an inordinate amount of work for a disproportionately small gain (except for one or two argumentative types who disagree, and keep on climbing), and go find some other trouble to get into instead. And one group or the other is never seen again. If I was feeling perverse, the ones who DIDN'T climb the rocks would vanish. Which group did the Indian guide go with, and why did we find his body floating in the river?

I write too, but SF set far, far away... so I can make up my terrain as I go along... and yes, my people DO sometimes get spectacularly lost.

Now I want to read more! lol

Originally Posted by pjlyons

Cool! So you "get it."

I wasn't planning on killing off any of THESE girls--just the little sister that follows them. Am thinking maybe I'll send them to Monument Butte instead. In studying the map, I see they need to go east so the bridge won't be on the way and little sister can drown. And big sister can have tons of guilt and angst.

pj

Sounds like a great idea.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by pjlyons

Cool! So you "get it."

I wasn't planning on killing off any of THESE girls--just the little sister that follows them. Am thinking maybe I'll send them to Monument Butte instead. In studying the map, I see they need to go east so the bridge won't be on the way and little sister can drown. And big sister can have tons of guilt and angst.

pj

Tee hee, good ol' character sadism Yeah, that sounds like a more reasonable goal for a day's hike (rather than a week's expedition) and a good deal more likely to result in "where'd lil'sis run off to??" while she's still close enough behind that IT'S ALL MY FAULT rather than coming along on the late train.

I like what Bujold said about how she plots stuff: "First I put the character in the very worst situation for that character -- and then I make it worse."

I don't do anything so formal... more like get jerked along in the story's wake, yelling, "Hey, wait for me! No, don't do that! Stop!!" I have no control over my main character at all anymore... he does whatever he damn pleases and if I don't like it that's tough!

[pjlyons]

I set up a path and let my characters pick their way through it.