SteadyPaddling

Miles shown are the distance from St Louis (i.e. Mile 0) taken from David Millers book - The Complete Paddler

Day 1
Three Forks (Mile 2321) to Toston Dam (Mile 2300)

A late 3:30 pm start from the confluence of the Madison and Jefferson Rivers. A beautiful day to start this journey, warm and sunny with snow on the mountains in the distance.

Surprisingly all my gear fitted in the boat with room to spare. I secured the Aussie Flag in a housing I'd glued on the stern (blunt end for non-boaters) and had the obligatory photos taken by Pat our "river angel" and by some tourists from Kansas who happened to be there reading the Lewis and Clarke information boards.

A quick hug from Pat and I pushed off into the fast flowing water as the two rivers merged with each other (Lloyd had already gone - no kiss goodbye or hug for his wife; I'm sure he'll pay for that little oversight later!) About a mile downstream  the Gallitin River flows in from the right and the river speeds up even more.

What a great first day it was with fast flowing water nearly all the way. Lots of wildlife along the banks - geese, ducks, bald eagles, antelope, deer and beaver. We made it to our first camp site at Toston Dam in 3 hours covering 20 river miles.

Campsite at Toston Dam

The kayak handled really well and exceeded all my expectations; I'll write more about that later.

Day 2

Toston Dam (Mile 2300) to Cottonwood Campground (Mile 2277)

Pat came in the morning and portaged us about 300 metres around the dam.

Another great start to the day in fast water with a few rocks to navigate around. We missed a good recommended lunch stop on York Island as it came up so quick we couldn't pull the kayaks in from the current so we floated on until we came to a sandbank in slack water further downstream.

We decided to camp at Cottonwood Campground near the entrance to Canyon Ferry Lake. A headwind had come up and a storm was approaching and it started to rain as we hauled the boats out.

Cottonwood Campground

It turned out to be typical of a night that puts people of camping. We struggled to put the tents up in the wind and rain and I spent the first half hour mopping out an inch of water from the tent floor before I could get my sleeping bag an air mattress set up. I had to put extra lines out to stop the tent blowing away in the storm. We were woken at midnight once the rain had stopped by three car loads of local kids out to party; they built a huge fire between our tents and the kayaks and we were serenaded until 3am by AC/DC and Eminem blasting out from huge speakers on the back of their pick-up trucks. They seemed to have a good time and turned out to be harmless.

NOTE TO SELF: Friday and Saturday nights only camp where there is no road access.

Day 3

Cottonwood Campground (Mile 2277) to Canyon Ferry Dam (Mile 2253) 

The storm last night caused some damage to the awning on Lloyds trailer home so we paddled to the closest point (about 5 miles) where Pat met us with hot coffee.  Lloyd stayed to sort out the problem and I paddled up the lake to the take-out point above the dam. A beautiful sunny day with fantastic scenery of bays and coves along the shore and crystal clear water. I was exhausted when they picked me up at the dam having covered 24 miles with no current. Pat suggested a day off - it took me half a second to agree.

Heading in to Canyon Ferry Lake

Day 4

A day off at the trailer park- laundry and lazing about. I bought a new hat with a wider brim and pint of Ben & Jerrys ice cream.

Rented cabin near Canyon Ferry Lake

Day 5

Canyon Ferry Dam (Mile 2253) to Hauser Dam (Mile 2237)

A fast water start today then strong headwinds to get to our destination at Hauser Dam. Another night of setting up in the rain. I staked the tent well and secured it to nearby trees and a fence.

Day 6

Hauser Dam (Mile 2237) to Oxbow Bend (Mile 2218)

A fantastic days paddling through the most scenic stretch of river so far. We paddled a headwind for an hour or two with no river flow to assist. At the end of Upper Holter Lake we turned in to what appeared to be a cliff face with no indication of where the river went. As we got closer a narrow passage appeared in the cliff and we entered what is known as the "Gates of the Mountains" where the river flows between enourmous limestone cliffs rising up 1200 feet on either side. Nearly 6 miles of rocky canyon covered in pine trees and honeycombed with caves.

We had the wind behind us and set our sails and had no need to paddle. We stopped for a lazy lunch half way through and admired the scenery. I was in two minds about buying a sail for the trip having got mixed advice from previous Missouri River paddlers - most saying that there would be limited use for it; Lloyd had a home made sail that fitted in his rod holders. No regrets for me, take a look .......

Sailing the Gates of the Mountains (let it fully load and watch full screen)

We hoped to get to the next dam (Holter) but headwinds forced us to camp about 5 miles short on a sharp bend in the river. It turned out to be a good decision, the wind dropped and the campsite was the best we found, flat ground, under shade with a stone fire ring and lots of fire wood that previous campers had left.

Day 7

Oxbow Bend (Mile 2218) to Mid Canyon (Mile 2196)

Woke up to a sunny day and paddled in to a slight headwind to get around the sharp bend that posed a problem the night before. We turned a bend and immediately got a tail wind that pushed us for 5 miles to the dam - never got the paddles wet - amazing. 

The owner of the local marina phoned the dam maintenance crew and arrange for them to portage us around the dam.

Heading to Holter Dam

Waiting for the dam crew

Lloyd (centre) and the dam crew.

More fast flowing water and it was all we could do to manoeuvre the kayaks into slack water at a bend known as Mid Canyon.

Lloyd at at Mid Canyon camp site 

Day 8

Mid Canyon (Mile 2196) to before Ulm (Mile 2153)

Another warm sunny day with some rough water in places. Check it out .......

Rough Water near Craig, Montana

Not many places to camp and ended up on an island a couple of miles short of a one shop and Post Office town called Ulm. Got set up just before it rained and were frequently woken up through the night by fish splashing about in the shallows.

Island camp site near Ulm, MT

Day 9

Before Ulm (Mile 2153) to Great Falls (Mile 2122)

We paddled the 2 miles to Ulm and Lloyd decided to stop and fish until Pat picked him up and ferried him to Great Falls. I paddled the 31 miles and surprised myself in getting there in 6 hours. Pat suggested a day off sight seeing - I agreed.

Day 10

Day off in Great Falls sightseeing.

Great Falls was the first major hurdle for the Lewis and Clark expedition back in 1805. The indians had told them off a great waterfall ahead and they had expected a 1 waterfall 1 day uphill portage. It turned out to be 5 waterfalls and an 18 mile overland haul.

Day 11

Great Falls (Mile 2122) to Fort Benton (Mile 2074)

Lloyd and Pat portaged me around the falls to a very lonely remote site on the river called Widow Coulee - a safe put in location below the rapids.

Another night of making camp in the rain. Lloyd helped me put up the tent while Pat stayed in the truck and wondered what possess men to do stupid things. We said our goodbyes (they were heading to Idaho to visit family there). I hope to visit them in Graeagle, California before returning to Australia.

 Lloyd is great guy to travel with, he finds joy in everything whether it's paddling the boat, setting up camp or planning the next days adventure. He's the first to get a camp fire going in the evening and he's got the coffee ready in the morning before you get up - it was good week with him and Pat, hard work but lots of humour - I'll miss them both.