Yaak mountain is a midelevation peak located in northwestern montana, near the town of troy. After years of battling the elements in montanas remote yaak river valley, the 70somethingyearold has decided to hang up his hunting traps. In winter rick bass portrayed the wonder of living in the valley. Even as the rest of the western montana landscape was emerging from the thinning ice shield, being carved and shredded into many of the same fantastic cirques and spires and scallops that remain still today, the yaak slept beneath thousands of feet of. In the book of yaak he captures the soul of the valley itself, and he shows how, if places like the yaak are lost, we too are lost. The yaak, located in montanas northwest corner, isnt covered by cell service. If you are looking for a fishing vacation libby is the place to go.
Find out their age, net worth, and read a bit about their bios. And in addition to being the wettest part of montana, it is the lowest. Oct 27, 2016 the yaak is called montanas only rainforest. Tidbits bits and pieces of troys history the early miners of troy, montana the troy ferry credits a lot of the information obtained for this history was from the following various sources, of which i wish to express my gratitude for their information. Deep in the northwest corner of montana, yaak is surrounded by incredible outdoor recreation opportunities like fishing, hunting, hiking, camping and biking. The one spot in montana thats basically heaven on earth. Its apparently a relatively unspoiled place and a bit of a garden of eden for our times. About the yaak there remains a place in the lower 48 where wildlife present since the end of the last ice age still exists. The northwest peaks scenic area, a popular hiking area, features spectacular mountain wilderness and scenery. Located in the far northwest corner of montana, the yaak generally refers to the valley bottom in the south end of the purcell mountain range that contains the yaak river, which flows down from canada into the nearby kootenai river. Check flight prices and hotel availability for your visit. Yaaks general store, service station, lodging, and whatever else you need is another throwback place, and can be found on the web as the yaak river tavern and mercantile.
Helping our community and parents keep abreast of school news, events and activities. You havent done montana if you dont make it to yaak. Julia mossgreat falls tribune bass and a few others chose this place to settle in, for reasons that elude me. The yaak river is a scenic river in far northwest montana. Building out the definitive list of the best books where montana plays a key role in the book or authors life. Browse mls listings in yaak and take real estate virtual tours at realtor. The yaak valley of northwestern montana is one of the last great wild places in the united states, a land of black bears and grizzlies, wolves and coyotes, bald and golden eagles, wolverine, lynx, marten, fisher, elk, and even a handful of humans. Best montana books 279 books meet your next favorite book. The couple has settled in a remote area of montanas yaak valley, and live solely off the. The yaak falls has always been a favorite stop on the scenic tour of northwest montana. Jun 23, 2016 the yaak, located in montana s northwest corner, isnt covered by cell service. We explored a rural area of montana known as the yaak. It is located along the yaak river, within the kootenai national forest. Each rental cabin has a queen bed, sleeping loft with two twin beds, one bathroom, a full kitchen, and a gas grill on the porch.
The yaak is one of the most isolated areas in the lower 48 and the yaak river runs through the middle of it. Yaak falls is fun to see and you must stop at the yaak bar and merc. Yaak is a kootenai indian word meaning arrow or straight. Popular outdoor author bass lost grizzlies, lj 11195 returns to his home turf in the yaak valley of northwestern montana, also the setting for his winter notes from montana lj 21591. He bought a cabin nine miles north of town and gradually modernized it over the next 43. Troy is the lowest elevation community in montana, so it is only fitting that the surrounding mountains are also not of high stature.
Unique in that its influenced by pacific northwest and rocky mountain climates, the yaak provides more than 180,000 acres of wild, secure roadless habitat for grizzly bears and other rare and. We started the ride to yaak, montana tour after we heard npr played the short story, fires by yaak, montana resident, rick bass. After years of battling the elements in montana s remote yaak river valley, the 70somethingyearold has decided to hang up his hunting traps. This climatic region is typified by large seasonal. The only functioning gas pump in yaak, montana, sits across from the dirty shame. The yaak valley consists of approximately 2% private property down in the river bottom and the rest is the majestic kootenai national forest. As of the 2010 census, its population was 248 it has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names climate. In winter notes from montana, basss wandering spirit is alive and well and living in the yaak valley in montana without electricity, without heat, other than the woodfired variety, and without much contact with civilization given that only 30 people lived in this remote valley at the time. There were even wolves, back then, in the 1980s, passing back and forth from canada, even though folks thought they were extinct. In montanas yaak valley, tom fashions from scratch a nativeamericanstyle lance using some timetested elements in this clip from season 7, episode 14, double jeopardy. Tom and nancy oar are the montana couple who stars in the history channels mountain men.
The yaak river scenic drive is a twentynine mile, paved route that leads into the remote and seldom visited yaak region of montana. There are two bars, a mercantile, a school, a community hall and little else in the town of about 250 people. The yaak valleys dirty shame yaak attack high country. Imagine being surrounded by lush green forests and a tranquil river in a place where the internet service is dialup and cell service is nonexistent a place where you can truly get away from it all. It is a land of magic, but its magic may not be enou. Listed below is information and maps on libby montanas fishing locations.
Jun 16, 2016 tom oar may be 70 years old, but that hasnt kept him and his wife, nancy, from living off the grid. Access to the yaak river and the surrounding kootenai national forest is immediate offering easy family activity time if you desire. Score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Yaak valley, montana by smith henderson nook book ebook. Kate schimel essay march 6, 2017 from the print edition on the night after thanksgiving, i wander into the dirty shame saloon. Still, this book is a good direct source of authentic information from the real old timers of yaak, montana. Yaak by way of local paths and trails is a gateway too, between idaho and montana and montana and british columbia.
Yaak s general store, service station, lodging, and whatever else you need is another throwback place. This beautifully cascading waterfall was created by the eastward shift of the pacific plate. These are some of the coziest montana cabin rentals youll find across the state. Rick bass, a prolific writer of considerable merit, has crafted an elegant plea to save the ecosystem of the yaak valley in northwestern montana. An indian word meaning arrow, yaak anchors montana as the most northwest town in the state. As a professional editor, i would have produced a different book. The following are yaak montana homes and land i have listed for sale. The countryside around yaak is not what you would expect to find in western, montana. A creature almost mythic, colterthe brown dog of the yaakcharges through mountain valleys following the scent of game. In this book, the author gives a history of his years with colterincluding vignettes about interactions with wellknown writersas a way of understanding what is intuitive in himself and his quest to create art. It is a land of magic, but its magic may not be enough to save it from the forces threatening it now. The yaak river originates near yahk mountain, in the yahk range, part of the purcell mountains, in southeast british columbia. Located in the far northwest corner of montana, the yaak valley is one of the most productive and biologically diverse landscapes in the state. Dean lenwell fell in love with the yaak in 1958 when his career brought him to yaak air force station.
Find unique places to stay with local hosts in 191 countries. This website is rich in resources for teaching and learning about montana history. Apr 28, 2020 located in the far northwest corner of montana, the yaak valley is one of the most productive and biologically diverse landscapes in the state. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. History channel film crew documents tom oars routine. The river flows south, crossing into lincoln county, montana. Rick basss third novel dramatizes three reallife 1950s era country singers from arkansas who.
In montana, the yaak river and its tributaries mostly lie within kootenai national forest. Yaak air force station 19511960 a cold war air force radar station first established in 1951 near yaak, lincoln county, montana. Yaak river watershed sediment total maximum daily loads montana department of environmental quality september 10, 2008. Oar is one of six characters featured on the history channels mountain men tv. Yaak is an unincorporated community and censusdesignated place in lincoln county, montana, united states. Nearby nottobemissed attractions include the yaak river and yaak fallsa beautiful cascading waterfall with jagged exposed rockssome of the oldest rocks in the world. We have posted much of the material as pdf files, which can be viewed and printed with adobe acrobat reader. Everything is all crammed in on top of everything else. Scanningcenter richflorida accessrestricteditem true addeddate 20140716 14. Its a small valley, bass, a texas transplant, writes in the book of yaak.
Rick bass the yaak valley of northwestern montana is one of the last great wild places in the united states, a land of black bears and grizzlies, wolves and coyotes, bald and golden eagles, and even a handful. The yaak offers quality trout fishing in a remote and secluded environment. It receives the east fork yaak river, then the west fork yaak river also called the west yahk river. If you like peace and quiet in beautiful surroundings give me a call and come and visit us. Yaakarea historical earthquake activity is slightly above montana state average.
Nov 05, 2018 in montana s yaak valley, tom fashions from scratch a nativeamericanstyle lance using some timetested elements in this clip from season 7, episode 14, double jeopardy. Libby montanas fisheries includes three major rivers the kootenai, the fisher, and the yaak. This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot and. Another strange fact regarding the yaak and its history with water. Zillow has 12 homes for sale in troy mt matching yaak river.
Briefly became an unmanned gapfiller site in 1960 with an id of sm151e and closed in 1960. Nestled in the kootenai national forest, in the extreme northwest corner of montana, lies the yaak valley. The low elevation and high precipitation create a climate known as modified pacific maritime. There were animals everywhere, in the yaakporcupines amidst the spruce forests, moose bellydeep in the marshes, and bears leaping up from the green heat of their marshy alderbowers. The kootenai indians once populated this remote area of montana. The land was later subdivided as the callow tract and was approved as the callow addition to west troy on june 2, 1925. Troy was now the richest town in lincoln county with a population at over 1200 people. So you are looking for homes with land in yaak, montana. The route follows highway 508, and runs between us highway 2 and the tiny town of yaak, montana. The maps section of the toolbar contains printable pdf files of blank montana maps to download and print.
In the infamous montana saloon, a lesson about home in harsh places. The first is the apparition of an elderly man in an overcoat, who was struck by a train nearby and has haunted the establishment ever since. The yaak does have one trick up its sleeve, though. According to reports, tom is now enjoying retirement with his wife nancy in florida. Fishing the yaak river in montana fishing, floating. Montana historical society montana history textbook. The yaaks claim to fame is excellent brook trout fishing in the rivers upper half. More to the point it is a gateway between what was and what still is within the montana landscape. Yaak area historical earthquake activity is slightly above montana state average. I typed most of the audio tapes, but i did not edit the book in its final form. This building is haunted by many apparitions, and was formerly lodging for railroad workers.
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