Backpacking in the National Forest Wilderness...a family adventure PA-585

High on a mountain pass in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana the Rupe family paused. Ahead lay Holland Lake and the family car which would take them back to California. Behind lay 12 days of hiking and 88 miles of trail.

It had been a vacation long to be remembered—the 7-1/2 mile climb up the Chinese Wall, a 15-mile escarpment on the Continental Divide which juts 1,000 feet above the eastern slope.

—The horseback rider who, after passing them on the trail, galloped back with a large chocolate bar, and the Forest Service lookout who joined them for a cup of tea.

—Harriet falling in the stream while rock-jumping with her 38-pound pack. ("I felt like Mrs. Ox," she said in her journal.)

—Nights around the campfire with Jack reading from a paperback or the whole family singing.

—Dinners with 11-year-old Wade preparing the instant pudding, so he could "lap" the spoon.

—The sound of rain on lightweight plastic tents and the cozy warmth of the sleeping bags.

—The ouzel birds hopping along the river and Whiskey Jacks swooping down to nibble Bret's food.

—Playful chipmunks which Barbara tried to tame, coyotes that howled in the night, and the curious deer that nuzzled into Jackie's pack.

—Fishing like they'd never had before with 3-pound trout that wouldn't fit into the frying pan.

—Meeting the Chief of the Forest Service and his boss the Secretary of Agriculture, who were exploring the same wilderness together.

The Rupes leaving the campground. Jack points out the route the family will take. Wade, a veteran backpacker, rests while he can. F-503163

Harriet wrote in her journal:

"We were torn between the desire to get back to civilization, which I reckon means good food and hot baths, and the desire to heed the call of the wilderness and remain in this beautiful secluded area. The temptation for this leisurely carefree way of life is hard to ignore and yet we are forced to return to our workaday worlds—Jack to his jet propulsion laboratory in Pasadena as research engineer and supervisor; Jackie to her first year in college and the Marine she hasn't seen in three weeks; Bret to his 11th year in school, Explorer Scouts, clarinet lessons, and 4-H work; Barbara to her first year in Junior High and the complete change from Grade School, to her horseback riding lessons and practice for the Pomona Horse Show; Wade to Cub Scouts, 5th grade in school, baseball, and bicycle; and me to the life of a busy housewife, chairman of ways and means activities for the Women's Club, Den Mother, P-TA, golf and bridge.

"In a short time our adventures in the wilderness will just be a memory, but we are leaving with a strong desire to return again next year."