As I sit here contemplating going on another pack trip with Joe and his crew this coming summer, I…read morerealize I never did a review for the trip we took at the end of August 2024. This is an all around 5 star experience for people who love the outdoors, horses and wilderness. From the first time I reached out to inquire about a trip, Joe was responsive and thorough in all his replies, even answering the silly questions had as someone who had never done a trip like this before. In asking about our dietary restrictions (pescatarian), Joe was happy to work with me to ensure we had what we needed, although, I was well aware fish was not going to be an option in the backcountry unless I caught it ;) We arrived in Choteau the day before our trip and headed to the ranch to drop off our duffle bags and get fitted for saddles, etc. Joe was instantly engaging and kind - someone we knew would be easy to spend a week with in the wilderness. The horses and mules looked happy and healthy! I was told la be riding Ben and my partner would be riding Buckshot. Along with Joe, we met the two wranglers that would be on the trip with us, Mack and Renee. The next morning, we drove out to the trailhead, which was quite a long drive trailering the horses and mules. As the crew got all the gear ready, it was perfect time for selfies with our horses and making small talk with our fellow travelers. Once we got on the trail, with a huge smile on my face I turned to my partner and said "money does buy happiness!" Anyway, we had a lovely long day on the trail, with a stop for lunch, where we were lucky to see mountain goats passing by, and a chance to stretch our legs. Arriving in Gates Park was magical. This setting is an outdoorsy girls dream. As we unloaded our gear, we each picked a tent and moved in. The tents were huge! Each had a cot so place our backpacking air-mats and sleeping bags on our respective beds. We had plenty of space to spread out, and since this trip wasn't one that we moved each day, we were able to get comfortable. Joe does an outstanding job with meals - we couldn't believe we were in the middle of nowhere having such outstanding meals with dessert! Clearly, the family has been doing this for years and Joe has a lot of tricks up his sleeve to make this a very comfortable experience. Each day, we dida different ride to a different area as we were based out of Gates Park for 5 nights. My partner was able to fish several times during the week, and the one day we had rain, I stayed in the main tent of camp with the fire reading a book. Being off the grid was fabulous. We never saw another person outside of our small group the entire week. Over the course of the week, our fitness devices said we rode almost 50 miles during the week! Regarding food, being the picky was our issue, not Joe's but he very accommodating and was happy to pack a few small food items that we brought to help ensure we got the protein we needed during the week. Breakfasts were hearty and delicious. Each day, we ate packed lunches, there were deli meat sandwiches, and we ate the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I also had him pack tofurky slices, so I was able to have that as well. For dinner, while every night there was a protein, we were happy to eat everything else served, which was plentiful and fantastic! This is a trip of a lifetime, and highly recommend doing the trip, and I especially recomend going with A Lazy H outfitters. Joe's family has been doing this for years, and his experience, knowledge, equipment, horses, and outstanding camp set-up will ensure you feel safe, well fed and have an amazing time. Couple of tips: bring a battery pack to charge your phone, you'll need it for photos! Ladies, don't hesitate to take some tinted sunscreen, mascara and lipgloss to make sure you won't mind posting photos of yourself when you want to show everyone instagram worthy pictures and what an amazing time you had. Lastly, since you will have to relieve yourself on the trail, as an avid camper, pro-tip, wear a panty-liner (iykyk).

Had an epic time! Did a little fishing, saw tons of wild life. I was very impressed with KolSlaws…read moreknowledge of the river. He also is very good at identifying the different birds, fish, and animals. We saw wild Black angus cows, river fish, bald eagle, swan, and geese that had migrated down from Canada (they probably don't like socialized medicine and are down here seeing bird doctors).

Some of the people there are nice last summer. I was there for the last week. It was open that…read moresummer and a lady was acting like a big Karen. She didn't even work at the pool, but of course she knew the manager of the pool she kept on telling me and one of my friends to stop throwing a ball when there were kids right next to me throwing it across the pool and she didn't mind we were sitting in this little pool area. I see adults even without kids there just to chill and the lady told us saying this is meant for only little kids and she made us get out. Of course it's not just that one lady that was being a Karen there were more but that's one of the worst people that I met there

The Conrad swimming pool brings back years of good memories, I even remember the old Conrad…read moreswimming pool, which is where I learned to swim. Many hot days laying at the pool, swim lessons, crushes on the girls my age as well as the life guards who were older than me, oh and getting kicked out of the pool for not listening to the rules :) The Conrad swimming pool later employed me during my high school summers where I had to deal with the kids that acted like me when I was younger... In a town that doesn't have a whole lot going on, the swimming pool was one of the highlights of my youth.