The Missouri Breaks

Up early this morning to a spectacular clear day – not a cloud in the sky over Kelowna, BC! I’ve spent the last few days sorting through all my gear, so everything is pretty organized at this point. That said, when we get to Fort Benton and set up camp, it will dawn on me what it is I forgot to pack. Right… 🙂

We had a civilized kind of departure about 10:30 from Bob’s place – gear all stowed in Chuck’s truck, a coffee in hand, a pack of cookies one of my daughters had made for me for the trip. Doesn’t get better than that.

This was the kind of drive everyone loves at the start of a journey like this – an uneventful drive! The weather and road conditions were great and almost no roadwork delays.

For the 3rd time now we’ve travelled this same route to Spokane and then on to Montana. In 2016, we paddled the Jefferson River from Cardwell, Montana. That river joined 2 others to form the Missouri River near Three Forks. From there we paddled downstream to just above Fort Benton.

In 2018, a group of us in 3 voyageur canoes took on the Yellowstone River – the longest undamed river int eh lower 48 states! We left from the Carbella Campground and had a wonderful and wild ride to Pompey’s Pillar and its famous rock inscription by the explorers Lewis and Clark.

Now it’s back to the next leg of the Missouri River, this time from Carter Ferry down through The Missouri Breaks – the Badlands section of the river known for its spectacular scenery.

We’re stopped tonight at Kris’s place in Spokane and will spend tomorrow gearing up our supplies. There are 2 sections of 3 days each where we’ll be without a road crew, so making sure we have it right will be important.