I made it to the historic town of Fort Benton (~28 miles) in about 4 hours on fast flowing water and completely overshot my intended campground where I knew I could get a hot shower. I ended up going right through town to a boat ramp just of the main street. A few people came down to chat as they passed by and one guy in particular took pity on me and said he'd be back in an hour with his truck and transport me back through town to save me paddling upstream for a couple of miles. Herb was as good as his word and turned up with a big "Ford Transit" type van that got about 10 feet of my kayak in and all my gear. He gave me a tour of the town with the back door open and 6 feet of boat hanging out. Herb must have been in his mid 70's at least and as I paddled out of town a couple of days later with the Aussie flag flying I saw him stop his van and run to the waters edge to wave goodbye - you can't buy this stuff it just happens!
Fort Bentons history dates back to the mid 1800's when it developed as a trading post for beaver pelts and buffalo skins needed for the markets back east and in Europe. It was the end of navigation for steam ships that could make the voyage only during the spring melt when the river was more likely to be high - some years it wasn't. Parts of the original fort/trading post still stand and there is now a replica fort built on the exact same spot adjoining the original. The fort was used by the Canadian Mounties who would get supplies sent up the river then ride down from the border to collect them.
I had an invitation to visit the "curator", a registered Mountain Man who goes by the the name of "Burnt Spoon" (real name Bruce Druliner), he is a friend of Kristen and she phoned to let him know that I was paddling through.
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| Burnt Spoon and I |
Burnt Spoon is a Fort Benton historian, a raconteur and an authority on the events that shaped the town. He not only explains what happened there but why it happenned and the seemingly unrelated events of the American civil war and the fashion changes in Europe that caused the demise of the town when wool replaced pelts and hide. We spoke about many things both historic and current, the state of the US morally, ethically and economically. I really enjoyed my time there and if you're ever short of a dinner party guest you could do worse than fly this guy in.
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| The Missouri River - Fort Benton, Montana |
A late start due to rain but it cleared up enough to get on the river around mid-morning. I had to take a three hour break when a headwind made progress impossible even though the river was flowing about 7 mph. I eventual made it to a very nice campground on a bend in the river near a place called Loma. I shared the place with two retired couples staying in RV's and enjoying the serenity.
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| Heading to Loma |
An early start to make up for yesterday and to try and beat the wind. I paddled 20 miles to Coalbanks Landing (the closest point on the Missouri River to Canada) before 10 am so had an early lunch.
The next section of river is known as the "Wild and Scenic Missouri". The river meanders through white cliffs with canyons and crevices which lead way back away from the river. There are the strangest rock formations here that from a distance look like man-made structures. Huge rock blocks stacked neatly on each other that form rock wall spines up and over the contours of hills much like the Great Wall of China. I made it to "Hole in the Wall" campground by 3:30 completing a 43 mile day.
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| Bill and Tom from Iowa |
I met Bill and Tom at the campground, they're from Iowa and have, for the last dozen years or so, spent two weeks away each year in their canoe usually on the Canadian/Minnesota border. They were great company and very hospitable cooking me a dinner of pork and beans and we shared a beer "Moose Drool" that I was able to to provide.
I woke in the night to the sound of scampering and chewing and got up to check that my food was not being eaten (I'd hung it from a hook under a shelter), it wasn't but I found in the morning one of my new $60 dry bags had a hole chewed right through it (it was empty and open) - what sort of critters are these?
Coffee in the morning with the guys and we said our goodbyes - they had another week to go before heading home to wives. Bill's happily retired and doing major renovations on a home that's been in the family for generations and Tom is still working as a Wood Finisher.
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| Leaving the Hole in the Wall |
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| The "Hole in the Wall" |
It's amazing how close you can get to the wildlife when you drift close to shore with the current. The deer in the photos below seemed mesmerised by me getting closer and closer. I could almost touch them with my paddle as I went by.
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| A beautiful, remote hundred or so miles of the Missouri River. |
I made 60 miles today, 20 under sail in the middle of the day when a tail wind stayed with me for about 3 hours. I see a lot more while sailing, it's quieter and relaxing and I sometimes hang my feet over the side and stretch out a bit
I had lunch at Judith Landing and met two Environmental Officers from the Bureau of Land Management.
Found a great campsite on an island under some Cottonwood trees with a fire ring and fenced off from the cattle.
And then I entered Fort Peck Lake, 135 miles of dammed water that has a reputation for generating waves like the ocean - and it did one day forcing me to stay on shore in my tent until 4:30 pm while the wind howled and the waves lashed the muddy beaches. At the western end, the Missouri river looks like and has the consistency of hot chocolate, it's bought every loose particle along with it from hundreds of miles around and as the water slows the sediment drops out and islands of shifting mud are formed. You can see the water clearing as you get further into the lake - it's crystal clear at the eastern end on days when the water is calm. And the mud is like nothing I've seen before, it's not soluble, you can't wash it off it has to be scraped away. It's dangerous too, I found a great spot to camp but sunk up over my knees when I tried to get ashore, it was all I could to to get back in the boat.
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| The calm before the storm |
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| My kitchen |
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| A day on shore sheltering from a storm |
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| A 4:30 am check of the lake |
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| It looked calm and OK to cross 2 miles to the north shore |
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| It was, and remained calm - 15 miles by 9 am, 30 miles by 3 pm |
I arrived at Fort Peck Marina to be greeted by two young guys who were expecting me, they'd been told a couple of days before that an "Australian" named Bob is paddling the lake in a kayak and is currently 90 miles away at the other end of the lake. I've no idea how anyone knew that as I hadn't seen or spoken to anyone for about 5 days.
Tyler and Tom are an explosive pair that are known as Tn'T. They told me they quit their crummy jobs a couple of weeks ago (Tyler was cleaning toilets) and scraped up enough money to buy an ex rental aluminium canoe for $300 which they've been paddling since Great Falls about 300 miles upstream. They managed to paddle the length of the lake with a couple of white knuckle moments when they got caught in high waves making a crossing to the north shore. They're aiming to get to the Gulf of Mexico about 3,000 miles downstream but only have $200 between them. They'd been camped at the Marina for two nights waiting for Tom's mum to arrive to portage them around the dam and to buy them dinner. I took them to the bar and shouted them some beers while they waited; a fishermen came in and bought the three of us beer impressed we were all paddling the length of the river.
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| Tn'T - Tyler and Tom |
Mum arrived and put took them around the dam, I expect to see them in a few days around the North Dakota Border.
There is also another kayaker heading for the Gulf a day ahead of me that I haven't met yet. He is from Seattle and has paddled to here from the Pacific Ocean up the Columbia and Snake rivers and down the Missouri.
Another couple of guys are 2 days behind paddling a canoe to the Gulf raising money and awareness for breast cancer.
I heard today too that Mark Kalch, an Australian from the Sunshine Coast, is putting in at Three Forks in a day or two and heading for the Gulf.
Dom, a French Canadian is also paddling to the Gulf from Canada and has just crossed the border into the US, he will be joining the Missouri River via the Milk River - the confluence is within ten miles of here.
It's starting to get crowded!
This Fort Peck Lake has been a challenge and a good learning experience for me; there are two longer lakes/dams to come the first Sakakawea is only a week/10 days away.
I've rented a RV (caravan) for a couple of nights here at the Marina to rest up, clean the boat, do some laundry and check my emails (thanks to all that have written - I think I've got the "Comments" thing on the blog fixed).
The owner of the place Tara, is a wonderful host who welcomes paddlers. She has been running the place with hired help since her husband died seven years ago and is now looking to sell up and head back home to the Black Hills in South Dakota to be nearer her grandchildren. She asks all paddlers to send her a postcard when they finish their journey so that she knows they're safe. She's adds them to her scrapbook collection she 's kept for 20 years.
