Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A s FA L L 2 0 1 5 24 24 When it comes to epic back roads in the lower 48, nothing beats the Magruder Corridor. Take the wildest, most remote country you can think of and slice a one-lane dirt road through the mountains and forests. Pock the road with tire-puncturing rocks, rip it into the edge of cliffs, carve it across steep passes, bridge it over raging, flood-prone rivers, and link two of the biggest western states, and you've got the Magruder. While few people are brave or foolish enough to attempt the Magruder in a Volkswagen Beetle, it's a popular challenge for folks looking for a piece of the back of beyond. e Magruder Road, Forest Service Road #468, links Darby, Montana, at the wild end of the Bitterroot Valley, with the logging and min- ing town of Elk City, Idaho. It's a hundred and one miles of rugged one-lane, mostly dirt road, with few turnouts and plenty of rough going. ere are no services for 117 miles, unless you count lots of wild forest, spectacular views, camp sites, trailheads, wildlife, elbow room and adventure. e road was named in honor of Lloyd Magruder, a successful merchant from California who was murdered with his compan- ions while traveling this route in 1863. Magruder was robbed of his gold dust and dumped over a cliff. Magruder's friend Hill Beachey pursued his murderers and eventually they were appre- hended and three of them hung. Constructed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Magruder offers access to some incredible country. To the north, the 1.2 million acre Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness straddles the Montana-Idaho border along the extremely rugged Bitterroot Mountain Range. On the south side of the Magruder is the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, second- largest Wilderness area in the lower 48 at over 2.3 million acres. A S I WALKED OUT OF THE CHANGING ROOM AT RED RIVER HOT SPRINGS, I HEARD A CHUGGING ENGINE AND LOOKED TO THE PARKING LOT. I noticed his car before I noticed his hair. He was driving an ancient Volkswagen Beetle, covered with dust, its engine wheezing and rattling. One fender was missing, and I later noticed it stuffed in the back seat on top of his few possessions. His hair was long and unkempt, twisted into unplanned dreadlocks. He had a wild look in his eye and a determined set to his jaw. I asked where he'd come from, and he gave me a simple answer: "Across the Magruder." Historic Alta Ranger Station in West Fork Bitterroot Selway River basin GEORGE WUERTHNER

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