The Missouri Breaks (June 20th-June 26th)

“There are destinations that reveal timelessness, drawing us in to what once was, places without technological advances, modern conveniences, shining it’s never ending light, still ready for consumption-The Missouri Breaks”-Keith Lynch

I have emerged from the 2 week phone & internet abyss.  Quick recap: I continued to have a great experience in Fort Benton (such a throwback town in a very cool way),the Missouri Breaks did not disappoint, Fort Peck proved challenging.  Here is the diary.

Friday June 20th

I did not paddle today, after updating my blog I took in the sites of Fort Benton.  Later in the evening, Dominque Libiron came to visit me all the way from Medicine Hat, Alberta,  Canada. Medicine Hat is about a 3 hour drive one way to Fort Benton.  Dominque and I have discussed my trip for about 6 months now, he has been a great resource.  He canoed from Canada to New Orleans in 2012 to raise awareness for heart disease as a result of his Uncle Mitch’s early passing.  Dominiuqe and I hit the town which consisted of a nice dinner at a locale restaurant, picked up some adult beverages and headed back to Canoe Camp to start a fire and discuss the finer aspects of canoeing.  He spent some time with me and we discussed “situational canoeing.”   This is similar to “situational football” only different.

 

Saturday June 21st

Resupply Day.  I am concerned about the length of time between my next resupply point.  It will be at the minimum Fort Peck (about a 2 week paddle-hopefully) or perhaps Culbertson Montana (another week or so).  I have not had to prepare for such a long time without being able to resupply, so I will have to think carefully about what to buy and ensure I have enough goodies.   Water is a concern as well, I understand that some of the campgrounds in the Missouri Breaks were flooded so they may not have potable water.  Dominique ran me around town to resupply and I departed Fort Benton around 3:30 hoping to make about 20 miles before finding a campsite.  With the aid of a friendly current and west wind, I was able to do this fairly easily.  Today also marked the offical kickoff to “River Time”, simply meaning time is surrounded by the flows of the river.  To date, I have been pretty well aware of the days of the weeek, and the days seemed the correct day of the week, (i.e. Friday felt like a Friday, etc.) Today this changed, it really felt like a Sunday to me, it was really hard for me to believe it was Saturday night as I pulled into Wood Bottoms for camp.  The campground consisted of a large concrete parking lot with exactly two campers and myself.  Just didn’t have that Bay City Rollers feel.  I want to make miles tomorrow so I can get to the “White Cliffs,” the diamond section of the entire Missouri Breaks.  Today was a tough day overall simply because I knew I would not be able to communicate outside of my tracker. I was feeling meloncoly.

 

Sunday June 22nd

Productive day today with a great ending.  I launched from Woods Bottom hoping to get to the start of the most beautiful part of the breaks.  Mission accomplished. I made about 35 miles without extraoridinary effort, the current and winds were favorable.  Also, I feel like I am starting to get into “paddling” shape.  My hands are now caulased, I can paddle for hours without getting exhausted, my mind wanders and I look down at my watch and an hour has gone by.  I am really enjoying the sites, seeing the White Cliffs was really moving. It’s not overwhelming like the Grand Canyon, but more a magical, rugged beauty.  It is almost is like the past comes to life in this section, you can almost feel like you are paddling with Lewis & Clark only with Deet and freeze dried meals (and less firepower).  I am torn about taking in the sights vs the overall weight of the entire trip that is ahead of me.  I really want to soak in the experience yet feel the pressure to make miles and progress.  The reality is that I would love to take more time in this section, take hikes, explore the cliffs, soak it all in….but I also feel the weight of 4+ months of canoeing ahead of me.  I stopped for lunch at Coal Banks and the friendly host, Waddy, suggested I camp at Eagle Creek which has good views and a nice campsite.  I arrived around 6:30 and observed about 6 canoes had already landed and tents were erected around the campsite.  Sometimes my preference is to camp alone, although good company is always welcome.  Upon my arrival, a group from south of Missoula had setup camp and invited me to dinner.  We discussed my trip, they were genuinely interested in what would possess someone to canoe such a long distance.  They offered dinner, steak tips and rice with beer!!!  I had anticipated a nice peanut butter and honey tortilla  sandwich dinner but settled for the well marinated steak.  I had my first encounter with a rattlesnake, as I was lugging my gear to my campsite I heard what sounded like a rattle as I thumped through the campsite path.  I looked down in the weeds and came face to snake with Mr. Rattler.  I was quite startled and immediately backed away.  I alerted others of it’s presence and they all gathered to view the snake.  They confirmed it was a rattler.  I decided to camp on the other side of the campground.  Later in the evening, we played River Boche Ball….I really appreciated the group inviting me in and really going out of their way to make me feel like part of the group.   This was particularly rewarding since the past day or so I was feeling melancoly after leaving Fort Benton.

 

Monday June 23rd

As the Missoula (actually Hamilton Montana) group headed down river to the White Cliffs and the Hole in the Wall (a faous cliffs location), I took a short hike into the cliffs and ended up in a rock coulee, I don’t know really anything about earth science but I must admit these rock walls are groovy.  After my hike, I launched from Eagle Creek and essentially floated for the remainder of the day.  I wanted to take my time in this section, this is proabably the most anticipated section of the Missouri, if not the entire trip.  Although I was floating (paddling to steer) I caught up with my friends from the night before.  They were all so knowledgable about the cliffs which really added to my experience.  They stopped to hike Hole in the Wall while I proceeded down river.  Great day overall, the blues I had been feeling the previous two days were replaced by amazement and the joy of floating the cliffs.  I picked up the pace after finishing the White Cliffs section and settled on a nice campground where I camped alone.  The weather has finally turned decent, Saturday, Sunday and today were great.  I understand the weather may turn later in the week.  Hopefully Fort Peck will be kind to me.  The big lake is there with me, sorta like an upcoming root canal surgery appointment. (no offense Lil)

 

Tuesday June 24th

Bill from the Missoula group on Sunday night commented to me that “you must be getting dialed in.”  Today, I felt “dialed in.”  I woke up relatively early and had a big mile day.  Each day I find my stamina improving, either that or I am so in deep thought that I don’t realize hours can go by without stopping.  What do I think about when I am paddling?  Many things, some really not fit for this blog but I will share with you that I try to make a concerted effort to take in the scenery.  Montana is a truly special diverse place, and the reality is I probably won’t see many of these areas again. There is supposedly a rule of thirds on these long adventures, you think of the past, present, and future equally.  I really haven’t focused on the future that much, I do know this will end one way or another and that the “real” world is out there lurking.  Frankly, that still seems like light years away at this time, I suspect as I progress towards Dallas that will be weighing heavily on my mind.  I think about my wife. I think about how the hell did I end up actually following through with this crazy adventure.  I think about the people I have met along the way, I think about family, wondering what they are doing at this exact moment.  I also focus on the past, missed opportunities, old friendships, etc.  It seems today I was in more deep thought than usual.  I wasn’t worried about the river conditions, weather, train tressels, or other issues that could derail (or deriver?) the trip.  A nice float today through the back half of the breaks.  The white cliffs section really gets the lions share of floaters, but I am surprised how beautiful this section of the breaks is  because it really doesn’t get as much attention.   Today was noticibly more buggy than I have seen, I stopped for lunch and noticed a ton of crickets and other bugs.  I concluded my evening pulling into a campsite that I had all to myself.  Oh, it seems the Montana weather issues may be returning, I will make it to James Kipp Campground tomorrow which will conclue The Breaks and soon I will be on my way to Fort Peck.

 

Wednesday June 25

Great morning, it actually didn’t rain last night.   The Montana wind reappeared although the storm did not materialize at my location.   The clouds are threatinging today and it appears storms may be fortcoming. Great.  I am making it to Kipp (about 25 miles) by hook or crook today.   Each day is a process of loading and unloading the canoe, today when I loaded my gear I heard a scurrying about inside my canoe.  Uh oh.  If it is a rattlesnake (or any other snake), this may be a trip ender.  No way am I getting a snake out of the canoe without waiting for another canoeist assistance.  Nope, it is a field mouse.   I am a tough guy, I can handle the field mouse.  I proceed to take all the gear out of my boat and he eventually hops into my shoe which is tied to my thwart, I simply pick up the shoe and he jumps out of it, lands on the ground and races towards the Montana hills.  This may have been my proudest moment of the trip, Keith 1 Mouse 0.  I did make it to Kipp around 2:30 and clouds were threatining so I decided to hang out and see how the weather unfolds.  I was tired and decided to call it a day. Fortunately, I met Stepanie and Jim McKay who also took a genuine interest in my trip, and they offered me steak and beans for dinner.  A big thank you for all of thier hospitality-truely wonderful people.  Thank you for everything.   The weather held off and it turned out to be a nice night…although biting gnats were out in force. It now seems like the official kickoff to bug season has arrived.  Not really a fan.

 

Thursday June 26

Late start from Kipp, hung out some more with the Mckay’s.  Goal today was to get close to Mr. Fort Peck, I had to stop earlier than I wanted to as a result of ominous looking clouds. I found a nice dry mud spot on River Left and setup camp around 6:00.  After leaving Kipp I did not see another soul, this section between Kipp and the lake is erie, just seems a little spooky.  Perhaps this has to do with the dark clouds, but the area just feels remote.  Not many paddlers are typically on this section unless they are going to canoe Fort Peck.  I saw some bald eagles on an island, a first.  Typically they are either perched high in the cliffs or flying.  At first I almost thought it was a rabbitt-perhaps it is time for an eye examination.  Hopefully, the weather cooperates on Peck, this was my overriding thought.