4x4 Routes of Western Montana
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4x4 Routes of Western Montana
This 8 1/2 x 11 inch spiral bound book has over forty routes with turn-by-turn directions, along with mileage and GPS coordinates that will guide you along the most interesting primitive motorized routes of western Montana while providing histories of early settlement and insights into the geology of the areas traveled.
If you like to explore old mining areas, poke around old buildings, enjoy magnificent views, and visit high elevation mountain lakes, then this is the book for you. Join us as we travel on a variety of roads from easy enjoyable outings to roads that will challenge both your driving skills and your vehicle's capabilities.
If you're only interested in hard core roads, then we are sorry but you will not find any class 5 routes in this book and only a few class 4s. Why? Because after seriously exploring Western Montana over the last 20+ years we have not been able to find any that are now legal roads and if we should come across any we will be sure to include them in the future . However, we have been able to compile 225 pages of travel information that can be found no where else in one publication.
All the Routes shown at the time of printing are legal roads that we have driven multiple times. We have tried to be as accurate as possible in our mileage figures, GPS readings and area history as you drive the Routes we has described. From the Missoula area all but one of the routes can be completed in a day's drive, some times in a very long day. And even that one has been done in one REALLY long day.
We hope you enjoy reading and using this book as much as we enjoyed exploring western Montana for the best Routes to share with you.
Here is a sample of one of the Routes in the book
NEW MILEAGE
Mile 0.0 (46 31 54/113 05 04) JUNCTION 1 Continue on FSR 707 to the south, the road becomes a class 2.5 at this point
Mile 1.4 (46 30 56/113 05 14) This is the Forest Rose Mine and Mill and was most likely named for the color of the ore found in the area. The mine was first located and worked by Frank Carnes in 1884 and stayed in production until the early 1900s. It was worked again from 1918 to 1927. At that time period there were over 3000 feet of underground workings developed. During WW II there was renewed interest and a new mine, the Wasa, was developed nearby. During the depression most operations ceased. By 1941, because the mines in the area produced lead as well as silver, they were soon back in operation and continued until 1947 when operations ceased.
In fact so much ore was being processed from these two mines and others in the area that the mill was updated with electric power and a large concentrator was built. The zinc concentrates were sent to the Anaconda zinc plant, and the lead concentrates were sent to a mill in East Helena. There are quite a few old remains of the mill site left that are in a very dangerous state of collapse as well as a nasty looking mill pond. This area is soon to be environmentally repaired due to the heavy metals being discharged into the water table. (in other words most likely a big pit is going to be dug, lined with a barrier, everything connected with the mine and pond pushed into it and covered with new dirt.)
Mile 4.1 (46 27 32/113 22 12 A very small un-named lake to right. Just past the lake the area starts to get muddy and depending on the time of the year you are here the mud holes can be quite deep and soft. There are several routes through the wet area so pick the one where you will do the less damage to the terrain.
Mile 5.4 (46 28 33/113 56 11 Steep nasty descent that is perhaps a class 4 route. This can be very difficult at times especially if wet or snowy. Not recommended unless you have at least one locking differential, 33 inch tall tires and a winch. We have been up it several times without any problems.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Willie and Jeanne Worthy have been a writing team from their first travel story about Death Valley's Goler Wash back in 1970. Willie is best known from his nearly 40 years of working as a contributing editor for FOUR WHEELER Magazine as well as his Tech Line and Willie's Work Bench columns. He has had tech columns and articles in other publications such as Traveling 4x4's, 4 Wheel & Off Road, Hot Truck, Sport Truck, 4x4 Power, OFF-ROAD, 3 WHEELING and others, as well as updating, expanding and revising the original THE JEEP BIBLE.
Willie's first off road vehicle was a modified bicycle at age 14 before any one knew what a "mountain bike" was. Next in line at 15 was a model A Ford roadster that had an auxiliary three speed gear box and a welded differential. At 16 he was racing go karts and then he bought his first Jeep, a well used 1943 military MB, which after being totally rebuilt was replaced with a new CJ5 in 1962. This lasted him through his college years, naturally modified extensively. After college and now working for a fire department, to beat the Army draft he joined the Navy Reserve and worked as fire chief of a large naval support base in the Viet Nam Delta for 15 months. After returning to his job as a fire fighter in southern California and marrying Jeanne there was a long string of various 4x4 vehicles. As expected all became extensively modified, along with building and driving six successful off road race vehicles. In between racing, Bobcat tractor work, magazine articles, three daughters, Girl Scout activities, a volunteer fire fighter in his community and his job as a professional fire fighter, Willie and Jeanne some how managed to find time to extensively explore both the California and Nevada deserts as well as many exploration and scuba diving trips deep into Baja California and mainland Mexico. Willie also did his Border to Border trip, Canada to Mexico on dirt roads, and then the next year followed the complete Pony Express Route, Hoofbeats of History, from San Francisco to St. Joe, Missouri for FOUR WHEELER Magazine.
A forced retirement due to a back injury brought a lot of these activities to a halt and a move to a small ranch in Montana in 1992. There they raised and trained horses for several years, did some logging, built a number of 4x4 magazine project vehicles from the ground up and spent a considerable amount of time exploring the Montana back country. They have taken the time to share these back roads and their history in this book. Unless noted the photos are by the authors and the sketches by Jeanne.
Willie and Jeanne Worthy
backroadspublications@gmail.com
1011 Grizzly Mountain Rd, Missoula, MT 59808-9791
Introductory Price is $19.95 plus $5.55 U.S. Mail
priority shipping or $3.55 U.S. Mail book rate
When available in bookstores, the regular price will be $24.95
Facebook.com/pages/4x4-Routes-of-Western-Montana/348141278544425
If for some reason you are not pleased with this book please return it within 3 days in "like new" condition and we will refund your money.
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This 8 1/2 x 11 inch spiral bound book has over forty routes with turn-by-turn directions, along with mileage and GPS coordinates that will guide you along the most interesting primitive motorized routes of western Montana while providing histories of early settlement and insights into the geology of the areas traveled.
If you like to explore old mining areas, poke around old buildings, enjoy magnificent views, and visit high elevation mountain lakes, then this is the book for you. Join us as we travel on a variety of roads from easy enjoyable outings to roads that will challenge both your driving skills and your vehicle's capabilities.
If you're only interested in hard core roads, then we are sorry but you will not find any class 5 routes in this book and only a few class 4s. Why? Because after seriously exploring Western Montana over the last 20+ years we have not been able to find any that are now legal roads and if we should come across any we will be sure to include them in the future . However, we have been able to compile 225 pages of travel information that can be found no where else in one publication.
All the Routes shown at the time of printing are legal roads that we have driven multiple times. We have tried to be as accurate as possible in our mileage figures, GPS readings and area history as you drive the Routes we has described. From the Missoula area all but one of the routes can be completed in a day's drive, some times in a very long day. And even that one has been done in one REALLY long day.
We hope you enjoy reading and using this book as much as we enjoyed exploring western Montana for the best Routes to share with you.
Here is a sample of one of the Routes in the book
NEW MILEAGE
Mile 0.0 (46 31 54/113 05 04) JUNCTION 1 Continue on FSR 707 to the south, the road becomes a class 2.5 at this point
Mile 1.4 (46 30 56/113 05 14) This is the Forest Rose Mine and Mill and was most likely named for the color of the ore found in the area. The mine was first located and worked by Frank Carnes in 1884 and stayed in production until the early 1900s. It was worked again from 1918 to 1927. At that time period there were over 3000 feet of underground workings developed. During WW II there was renewed interest and a new mine, the Wasa, was developed nearby. During the depression most operations ceased. By 1941, because the mines in the area produced lead as well as silver, they were soon back in operation and continued until 1947 when operations ceased.
In fact so much ore was being processed from these two mines and others in the area that the mill was updated with electric power and a large concentrator was built. The zinc concentrates were sent to the Anaconda zinc plant, and the lead concentrates were sent to a mill in East Helena. There are quite a few old remains of the mill site left that are in a very dangerous state of collapse as well as a nasty looking mill pond. This area is soon to be environmentally repaired due to the heavy metals being discharged into the water table. (in other words most likely a big pit is going to be dug, lined with a barrier, everything connected with the mine and pond pushed into it and covered with new dirt.)
Mile 4.1 (46 27 32/113 22 12 A very small un-named lake to right. Just past the lake the area starts to get muddy and depending on the time of the year you are here the mud holes can be quite deep and soft. There are several routes through the wet area so pick the one where you will do the less damage to the terrain.
Mile 5.4 (46 28 33/113 56 11 Steep nasty descent that is perhaps a class 4 route. This can be very difficult at times especially if wet or snowy. Not recommended unless you have at least one locking differential, 33 inch tall tires and a winch. We have been up it several times without any problems.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Willie and Jeanne Worthy have been a writing team from their first travel story about Death Valley's Goler Wash back in 1970. Willie is best known from his nearly 40 years of working as a contributing editor for FOUR WHEELER Magazine as well as his Tech Line and Willie's Work Bench columns. He has had tech columns and articles in other publications such as Traveling 4x4's, 4 Wheel & Off Road, Hot Truck, Sport Truck, 4x4 Power, OFF-ROAD, 3 WHEELING and others, as well as updating, expanding and revising the original THE JEEP BIBLE.
Willie's first off road vehicle was a modified bicycle at age 14 before any one knew what a "mountain bike" was. Next in line at 15 was a model A Ford roadster that had an auxiliary three speed gear box and a welded differential. At 16 he was racing go karts and then he bought his first Jeep, a well used 1943 military MB, which after being totally rebuilt was replaced with a new CJ5 in 1962. This lasted him through his college years, naturally modified extensively. After college and now working for a fire department, to beat the Army draft he joined the Navy Reserve and worked as fire chief of a large naval support base in the Viet Nam Delta for 15 months. After returning to his job as a fire fighter in southern California and marrying Jeanne there was a long string of various 4x4 vehicles. As expected all became extensively modified, along with building and driving six successful off road race vehicles. In between racing, Bobcat tractor work, magazine articles, three daughters, Girl Scout activities, a volunteer fire fighter in his community and his job as a professional fire fighter, Willie and Jeanne some how managed to find time to extensively explore both the California and Nevada deserts as well as many exploration and scuba diving trips deep into Baja California and mainland Mexico. Willie also did his Border to Border trip, Canada to Mexico on dirt roads, and then the next year followed the complete Pony Express Route, Hoofbeats of History, from San Francisco to St. Joe, Missouri for FOUR WHEELER Magazine.
A forced retirement due to a back injury brought a lot of these activities to a halt and a move to a small ranch in Montana in 1992. There they raised and trained horses for several years, did some logging, built a number of 4x4 magazine project vehicles from the ground up and spent a considerable amount of time exploring the Montana back country. They have taken the time to share these back roads and their history in this book. Unless noted the photos are by the authors and the sketches by Jeanne.
Willie and Jeanne Worthy
backroadspublications@gmail.com
1011 Grizzly Mountain Rd, Missoula, MT 59808-9791
Introductory Price is $19.95 plus $5.55 U.S. Mail
priority shipping or $3.55 U.S. Mail book rate
When available in bookstores, the regular price will be $24.95
Facebook.com/pages/4x4-Routes-of-Western-Montana/348141278544425
If for some reason you are not pleased with this book please return it within 3 days in "like new" condition and we will refund your money.
4x4 Routes of Western Montana | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us
More...