Flathead, Middle Fork

We paddled this section of the Middle Fork Flathead on day three of a five-day packrafting trip from Granite Creek to Blankenship Bridge. Although flows were low at 770 cfs, the river remained navigable. In the shallow gravel-bar sections we did hit bottom a few times, but with careful route-finding we were able to work our way through.

Float time for this reach was about four hours at this level. We stopped for lunch on a gravel bar at Ole Creek, just downstream of Essex.

The road and railroad parallel much of this section, but the forested shoreline often screens them from view and limits their intrusion on the river experience. From Bear Creek to Essex, the river flows through a deep and very scenic canyon, offering some of the most striking scenery on this stretch. Downstream of Essex, the valley opens, and the river passes a few homes before continuing along the road corridor on the way to Paola.