The Ranch at Rock Creek recently hosted me for a long weekend of winter activities. Named after the creek that runs through it, this property is a five-star guest ranch situated in Western Montana, about 20 miles outside of the town of Philipsburg. The Ranch at Rock Creek is the perfect spot for couples and families seeking out a scenic Montana adventure. While this luxurious and rustic resort offers a wide variety of sporting and adventure activities for the warm weather months, the fun does not end when the long mountain winter comes. Many of the activities function year round: fishing, hiking, shooting, horseback riding, etc. The Ranch at Rock Creek also offers season-specific activities, such as the ropes course and weekly rodeos in the summer, and sledding, skiing, and ice fishing in the winter. I decided to try my hand at snowmobiling.
Patrick Little, the Activities Director at The Ranch at Rock Creek, and Myron Weinrich, Lead Shooting Guide, drove our group of guests off site to the edge of a forested pass in the mountains. This pass is accessible in the warmer months, but in the winter it can only be traversed via snowmobile. The snowmobiles were waiting for us and ready to go when we arrived on site. Patrick gave us a brief tutorial on how to operate the vehicles, then gave us some safety tips in case the snowmobile should tip while in motion. He described the operation of a snowmobile as a cross between riding a motorcycle and a four-wheeler.
The group started to ride out single-file with Patrick in the lead and Myron tailing the train. There was a lot of stopping and starting as we all got used to the vehicles, but we eventually kept up a steady pace. I was in the back of the line of snowmobiles and was a little concerned that I would not be able to pick up speed. However, I wanted to pace myself with the snowmobile until I was completely comfortable with it.
About ten minutes into the journey, I crashed into a ditch. I was on a straightaway, and the vehicle veered to the left. I tried to get it to veer to the right, but for some reason it did not. I went off of the tracks made by the other snowmobilers onto the snowbank to the side. Thinking that I could just continue hitting the gas and get back on the path easily enough, I ended up burying the snowmobile deeper into the snowbank. Myron immediately stopped his vehicle to help me out, but we realized that my effort to hit the gas once I was already in the bank made things worse since the bank was really a ditch, and the ditch had water on the bottom. We spent the next 10-15 minutes digging and towing the snowmobile out. I do not get easily embarrassed when I am learning new things, but I was so embarrassed this time!
Once we got the snowmobile out of the ditch, Myron gave me more specific instructions on what to do if I am veering off to the side before sending me along to catch up with the other snowmobilers. I suppose the long delay was a blessing in disguise: I now had a long stretch of clear path in front of me and could go as fast or slow as I desired. I did take it slow at first so I would not have a second incident, but once I got the feel of the vehicle, I picked up the speed and zoomed through a magical landscape of snow-covered hills and towering pines. The light snowfall enhanced the wintry scene without obscuring the vision through my helmet’s visor.
I caught up with the rest of the group without having to hurry, and we all stopped about eight miles out. Patrick had us dismount and gave us a brief but descriptive lesson on survival skills in the winter wilderness. He explained that everyone should be prepared for unexpected occurrences out in the wilderness, and taught us some basic skills for surviving a night out in the woods. He emphasized the fact that the pass we were currently riding on would have never been traversed in the winter back in the days of the earliest Montana settlers due to its remoteness and extreme trekking conditions. He also pointed out to us that the synthetic fabrics, tools, and other products of the modern world have given us the opportunity to explore this place with relative ease and comfort.
We got back on the snowmobiles and, after Patrick gave me a quick reminder to not crash into a ditch again, we headed back to the cars. I was toward the front of the group this time around, but I was behind the faster riders. I was much more comfortable with the snowmobile and started to pick up even more speed, reaching up to 35 mph at one point.
I loved how The Ranch at Rock Creek operated the excursion. We were supplied with any equipment and additional gear we needed, such as parkas and gloves, and Patrick had items on hand, such as water, basic survival equipment, and extra gloves. I was impressed by the survival skills lesson because it made me more conscious of how nature acts as its own force that people in the past and today have to navigate with wonder and care. It was certainly something to think about as I was riding back and admiring the snow-laden landscape while hardly feeling the wind through my parka and helmet.