Outfitter brings back camp fire tales
It's been four years since he last ran the Spotted Bear Ranch wilderness resort at the south end of the Hungry Horse Reservoir, and Kirk Gentry says he misses sitting around the camp fire exchanging stories about fishing, hunting, hiking, rafting or snowmobiling.
"I miss the good feeling of hearing people talk about what a great day they had," he says.
He and his wife Deborah's solution is to expand their Gentry River Ranch vacation resort along the Flathead River south of Kokanee Bend to include the Cowboy Bed and Breakfast.
Currently, the resort has two two-story cabins, but Gentry says he hardly ever sees his customers - they come back after a day on the river or at Glacier National Park and cook their meals in the cabins' kitchens, he said.
The couple's plan is to rent the two upstairs bedrooms in the Gentrys' lodge-style log home and add one more cabin sometime in the future. The bedrooms are decorated with Western art and offer spectacular views of Glacier Park's snow-clad Mount Jackson through Badrock Canyon. The living room space between the rooms has a fireplace and ample room to stretch out after a big day outdoors.
The Gentry River Ranch includes a stables and wide open pasture land for the Gentry's horses, and the house and cabins overlook the Flathead River where it flows around a large island. Visitors can watch eagles, ospreys, deer, geese and even mountain lions from the decks and listen to coyotes howl at night. Floaters putting in at the Teakettle Fishing Access can reach the banks below the resort in about an hour, Gentry said. Fishermen can catch bull trout, cutthroats and whitefish near his resort .
Raised on a cattle ranch in Colorado where he learned to fish, hunt and ride, Gentry left a job with a sports company that organized softball, basketball and soccer tournaments and purchased the acclaimed Spotted Bear Ranch. He owned the wilderness resort from 1993 to 2005 and ran it for two more years after that
"I made a living doing something I really enjoyed," Gentry recalled.
Spotted Bear employed about a dozen fishing guides and three to four packers, along with several cooks and lodge personnel. He kept about 15 mules and 25 horses to pack guests into the Bob Marshall Wilderness as far south as White River Park, where they could start their float back on the South Fork.
The resort won the Orvis Expedition of the Year award in 2003 and 2005 and again after Gentry sold it. Although he had some fall hunting guests, mostly the resort catered to out-of-state fishermen. While he loved the place - he raised three daughters there - it was also a lot of hard work.
The drive down the east side of the reservoir was long and bumpy and "getting old," he said. Gentry recalled using motorboats, four-wheelers, snowmobiles and an old pickup truck to get clients down to the resort following the big 1996-1997 winter, but that paled in comparison to the impact of the 2003 forest fires.
Gentry said he had already turned down about $60,000 in wilderness trips because of the fires when he heard the Forest Service intended to close the East-side Reservoir Road just as $30,000 worth of fishing business was landing at the airport.
"Luckily it rained that day," he said. "That was a rough year - I had to either give back people's money or have them come back next year for free. That was one reason I decided to sell."
While owner, Gentry said he was happy to learn Spotted Bear would be included in a book about 20 luxury resorts in North America, but he was surprised by the answer when he told the author there was no cell phone coverage there.
"That is a luxury," the author explained.
Gentry said he built his new home on the Flathead, did some outfitting and dabbled in real estate after he sold Spotted Bear. After the market changed, "I coasted for a while," he said. Now he wants to bring back that feel he had at the wilderness resort.
For more information about Gentry River Ranch and the Cowboy Bed and Breakfast, call 892-1464 or visit online at www.gentryriverranch.com.