Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • S P R I N G 2 0 1 8 24 M O N T C A N A D A North Fork Flathead River Sweetgrass Hills LIBBY KALISPELL COLUMBIA FALLS GLACIER NATIONAL PARK BROWNING CUT BANK SHELBY CHESTER Like numerous tribes of the northern plains, the landless and reservationless Metis, found themselves scattered to both sides of the border after the Northwest Rebellion of 1885. Even today, Metis descendants cannot tell which side of the border their forebears were born on. Montana's portion of the International boundary runs 545 miles, long enough for us to share borders with three Canadian prov- inces, the only state in the union with that distinction. In many places, the border is just a fence, less of a place than an idea. From a drone's eye view, the physical boundary line strikes a straight east-west trajectory. Truth is, the line courses dizzying ups and down as it follows the contours of the landscape across Montana, yielding to peaks and declivities, gullies and coulees, canyons and creeks and mounting the Continental Divide. e peaceful border may seem benign in the ideology between two countries, but it can be brutal terrain. To explore out of the way places near "the line" demands patience, lots of windshield time, a dependable vehicle and plenty of curiosity. But the rewards are huge, given that destinations for Montana adventure travelers are of less importance than what can be found along the way. Here are worthy places to plug into your GPS. Don't forget your medicine bundle and "possibles" bag. NORTH FORK North toward the border from Columbia Falls, on gravel county road 486 drive into the North Fork region of the Flathead National Forest. It's a region where only a few hardy locals carve out log-cabin lifestyles. You bump your way north for 55 miles through spectacu- lar old-growth forests and open meadows. Round a corner adjacent to the North Fork of the Flathead river. And there M EMBERS OF MONTANA'S NATIVE PEOPLES CALLED IT THE "MEDICINE LINE," THE WHITE PEOPLE'S INVISIBLE TRACE OF THE 49TH PARALLEL. Abstract notions of sovereignty, lines of demarcation and borders meant little to Montana's native inhabitants. ey did know, however, that the "medicine line" offered safety from pursuing U. S. military units bent on forcing them onto reservations in the late 19th century. Across the Line, Royal Canadian Mounted Police had more benign attitudes towards North America's "first peoples." by MICHAEL J. OBER TODD KLASSY (4) ALANNA OBER Bowdoin farmer Bowdoin wetland Touring the

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