Hungry Horse Dam

wwillson

Staff member
Joined
Aug 20, 2003
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6,817
Location
Colorado
We saw this dam kinda by accident last fall.

 
I believe it’s on the same water shed that drains back into Canada where it joins the Columbia River near Trail, B.C. and then travels to the west coast to exit in the Pacific Ocean. The North Fork of the Flathead River originates in Canada then joins up with the South Fork. It then enters Flathead lake. When it exits Flathead it joins with the Clarke Fork and becomes the Pend Oreille River and flows past Knee Grinder’s house into Lake Ponderay. The water eventually makes it’s way to Canada very briefly then joins the Columbia. I live a couple of hours from the headwaters of the North Fork. I also live 30 minutes from the headwaters of the Columbia River. The two flow hundreds of miles and then join together near Trail, BC. :)

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We didn't see any grizzlies, but we did see a moose fairly close. Taken from the safety of our truck, but our lab wouldn't stop barking at it. The moose looked at the dog like, "why don't you come over here and say that!?"

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Lol, Moose are not afraid of anything unless you have a permit and you shoot at them, they think they are King of the Jungle!
The "things" walk right thru Sand point in some places. Few years ago I saw one at the Sandpoint police station just strolling across the edge of the city. (I was being released O.R.) LOL! J/K

Snaggle, I'm on the Clark Fork just before the delta of the huge Lake Ponderay, I don't wanna be over on the other side "Pend Oreille River" icky....no Bueno, people live over there! The Clark Fork is said to be 460 miles long, sorry can't do Kilometers for you lol. A lot of Clark forks water does come from Flat head Lake, but a lot comes from the middle of Montana also.

looking at your map, I always thought Flat head was above me, but its not. I'm slightly above Flat Head. None of these Dang roads go straight up here...lol

There are Griz warning signs all over the place at every entrance to the forest here around my house, but pretty much every other critter lives out there too!
 
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Lol, Moose are not afraid of anything unless you have a permit and you shoot at them, they think they are King of the Jungle!
The "things" walk right thru Sand point in some places. Few years ago I saw one at the Sandpoint police station just strolling across the edge of the city. (I was being released O.R.) LOL! J/K

Snaggle, I'm on the Clark Fork just before the delta of the huge Lake Ponderay, I don't wanna be over on the other side "Pend Oreille River" icky....no Bueno, people live over there! The Clark Fork is said to be 460 miles long, sorry can't do Kilometers for you lol. A lot of Clark forks water does come from Flat head Lake, but a lot comes from the middle of Montana also.

looking at your map, I always thought Flat head was above me, but its not. I'm slightly above Flat Head. None of these Dang roads go straight up here...lol

There are Griz warning signs all over the place at every entrance to the forest here around my house, but pretty much every other critter lives out there too!
Got it. So it’s still the Clarke Fork as it enters lake Ponderay, and then exits the lake on the Pend Oreille. I’m thinking of doing an expedition to the headwaters of the North Fork this summer if the Grizzlies don’t get me. :)
 
Remember, you only have to out run the slowest person in your group! I'm a little bit of a gimp, legally handicap, so I don't run from anything that might worry me a bit I just shoot it! Pretty much nothing in the forest scares me, but I keep a close eye on those two leg beer drinking trash littering humans.

The Clark Fork, like Mobil'e...lol, the Clark Fork River starts way out past Drummond, water from Deer lodge, Helena, possibly Butte= the coldest place I've ever been! All of those little Tributaries start the Clark Fork. The Clark Fork is along the side of the road from just above Garrison most of the way to Missoula. The River runs right thru Missoula continues next to HWY 90, and past till the St. Regis cut off then goes along the road North to HWY 200. St. Regis cut off and the River both intersect W/HWY 200 just east of Paradise Montana. There it joins the North Fork, but from there it is the Clark Fork river until the River spills into the lake. Its about 90 miles from Paradise to Ponderay Lake.

The part that does not make much sense... Any part of Lake Ponderay that is on the north/west side of the long bridge from Sandpoint to Sagle area is considered Pend Oreille River. "IT's Still The Lake" I get that it does narrow slowly, but really either side of that bridge is in the middle of that lake! Don't try and make sense of why they do things the way they have.

Have a good trip, and maybe buy the super duper fire extinguisher size bear spray, don't confuse it with BEER spray! That could be a catastrophic mistake unless bears like beer?
 
Hey Kneegrinder, thanks for info and advice. Here is a map roughly showing the Canadian headwaters of the North fork of the Flathead. I’ve fly fished on the the Wigwam River which is just to the west and drains into Lake Kucanuso, then flows across the Libby Dam, past Bonners Ferry, then back to Canada at Creston, joining Kootenay Lake. It then flows into the Columbia and joins the water that flows past your house, south of Trail, hundreds of miles from the headwaters. My place is north of Fort Steele, shown on the far left of the map.

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We didn't see any grizzlies, but we did see a moose fairly close. Taken from the safety of our truck, but our lab wouldn't stop barking at it. The moose looked at the dog like, "why don't you come over here and say that!?"
Moose be like 1500 pounds of attitude! and kill or injure more people than bears in the areas they live. Their biggest danger to people, though is when they are hit by cars.
 
I'm still puzzled as to what the hungry horse could have been seeking there, but learn about actual science now studying salty Ibex dams:


 
We saw this dam kinda by accident last fall.

Is that site yours? New?
 
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