Canoe camping Bowman or Kintla

[nunatak]

Anyone tried canoeing up Bowman or Kintla lakes as a start to exploring the Boulder-Brown high country? How predictable are the winds - time of day and up/down lake? I know you can't bring a cart, so how difficult might it be to portage between Kintla and Upper Kintla? Thanks.

[Ear Mountain]

I've canoed to the head of Kintla Lake several times. The Park Service will note on your permit if you are using a boat. And you can leave the canoe at the head of the lake. Same for Bowman.

Winds are not predictable but tend to be up valley in the afternoon. Most of the times I have canoed Kintla the lake was fairly calm in the morning and rough in the afternoon. But not always. Because of the unpredictability of the winds many folks use a sea kayak instead of a canoe.

Personally I would not portage to Upper Kintla Lake. The trail is too long and gains too much elevation for me. But I have seen a canoe on Upper Kintla. One year I was hiking down between the lakes from Upper Kintla and met a group of four guys. They had two canoes. Each guy had a humongous backpack. One guy also carried a big Coleman lantern while another carried a nice heavy Coleman two burner camp stove. Someone must have been carrying plenty of white gas.

Note that motors are allowed on Bowman Lake and some folks use a motor on a canoe or rowboat to reach the upper end of that lake. In my opinion Bowman has the most problematic and unpredictable winds. I seen some rough seas in big thunderstorms while canoeing on that lake.

[scott-atl]

i've canoed quite a bit on the eastside over the years. both st mary lakes and two med. great way to get around and see wildlife and fish. but can go from wonderful to hellish in a few minutes or less. one thing i've wanted to try is paddle across swiftcurrent then portage up to josephine and paddle back down the creek to swiftcurent. anybody done that?

[July Guy]

i've canoed quite a bit on the eastside over the years. both st mary lakes and two med. great way to get around and see wildlife and fish. but can go from wonderful to hellish in a few minutes or less. one thing i've wanted to try is paddle across swiftcurrent then portage up to josephine and paddle back down the creek to swiftcurent. anybody done that?

Sort of. That was our plan but the guys renting the boats on Swiftcurrent said "just go up the creek" (crik). So, we took the creek upstream to Josephine, and back to Swift. Going against the current did suck, but it was shallow enough to get out and pull. This was in July, a few years ago. On the way back we did put some good scratches on our new canoe, kind of a bouncy ride.

Great Idea.

[nunatak]

Thanks, all. What do you think of Upper Bowman vs. Upper Kintla campgrounds as a basecamp for Boulder-Brown dayhiking? I'm trying to get some older folks who can't walk well into the backcountry, combined with younger ones who can, and give them both a good experience. So the hope was a canoe segment for the less mobile, and let the more active ones hike from a base camp.

[wnysteve]

The Upper Kintla to Boulder Pass route has a better grade for hiking than does the trail from Bowman BC site to Brown Pass, in my judgment.

[paul]

I've used both Upper Kintla and Bowman as base camps for day hikes and I would say the Upper Kintla is a better option. You can hike to Boulder Pass and climb Boulder Peak. This is a lot better than going to Brown Pass. Also the Upper Kintla BC site is much more secluded and tranquil compared with the Bowman lake BC site.

[Heff936]

I've often seen a canoe at the head of Kintla and think that's a great way to start a trip, but a portage would be brutal IMO between the Kintla and Upper Kintla. UPK is also small enough that I don't think it would be work it unless you had an inflatable kayak.

Heff

[pitamakan]

Yep, if I were to sit down and rank all of Glacier's passes from most to least scenic, Boulder would be pretty close to the top and Brown would be fairly near the bottom. (Knowing, of course, that all of the park's passes are spectacular places.)

It should be noted, though, that even by Glacier standards, there's a lot of elevation gain from Upper Kintla to Boulder ... the ascent to the pass is a little over 3,000 feet up, I think. The climb to Brown isn't as bad, though it's a less scenic trail.

[Jen]

It should be noted, though, that even by Glacier standards, there's a lot of elevation gain from Upper Kintla to Boulder ... the ascent to the pass is a little over 3,000 feet up, I think.

Isn't it funny how quickly the retrospective falsification sets in? I don't remember the ascent to boulder being that bad. I do, however, remember how much Farmgirl hated the descent

[pitamakan]

Isn't it funny how quickly the retrospective falsification sets in? I don't remember the ascent to boulder being that bad. I do, however, remember how much Farmgirl hated the descent

Yep! No matter how tough a hike is, after a couple of years I forget all about the sweat and the sore muscles.

But then if I repeat the hike later, it's not too long before it all comes back, and I'm thinking, "Holy *****, what am I doing to myself up here???"

[nunatak]

Good to know. Is it possible to reach Boulder Pass from the Kintla side earlier in the season than coming in from the east or Bowman? Now that the Nat Geo maps are listing regular snow hazard areas, it looks like the west approach might melt out sooner (early-mid July?) to reach Boulder from Upper Kintla. The map shows snow hazards above Hole-in-the-Wall and Thunderbird Pond east of Boulder Pass.

[pitamakan]

I don't know about melting out, but areas of the trail between Brown and Boulder passes are above cliffs and traverse very steep sideslopes, making those sections extremely dangerous when there's still snow present.

The route isn't as hair-raising between Kintla and Boulder, and crossing any late snowfields up there would likely be less dangerous, though it still shouldn't be attempted by anyone who isn't experienced in oversnow mountain travel. And if there's substantial snow left, it could be quite a slog.

[nunatak]

Thanks again for all the advice. Trip completed, here's a few thoughts:
1) It's amazing to have a lake as big as Kintla motorboat-free. I'm not sure there's another lake that size in the continental U.S that can claim the same. And to have one that beautiful to boot...
2) The trail between the lakes is a grunt, but I'm sad I didn't try to portage my inflatable kayak over. Paddling into Upper Kintla's lobes would have been beautiful.
3) A big trail crew was at work when I was there July 19, so things should be in good shape for the rest of the summer. However, the route up to Boulder Pass remains as brushy as any trail I've walked - shoulder-high on a 6-3 man.
4) We had light winds and 1-foot whitecaps coming and going, which made it exciting/tiring for the kids in the boats. For what Kintla can dish out on a cranky day, check this out: http://www.wavelengthmagazine.com/1999/as99kintla.html