Category: Uncategorized
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Coming To The End – July 6, 2024
We rose to fairly clear skies and a warming day for our last paddle on the Missouri River. A bit of rain over night and morning dew meant that we all packed our tents and gear when it was wet – not ideal, but no real alternative. We’ve been doing these types of trips for…
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Flash Flood And A ‘Luggable Loo’ – July 5, 2024
This morning was a big breakfast before our second section in the Montana wilderness of the Missouri River Breaks. We all ate pancakes, eggs, bacon ,and sausage and drank coffee. Normally, I have to say that a big and heavy breakfast like this is unusual, but it felt like today was a bit of a…
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Making Judith Landing – July 4, 2024
It rained off and on all night, though, when I got up to pee, that wide Montana night sky was filled with an ocean of bright stars, satellites, mythical constellations, and even a shooting star! The morning was slow as we only needed an 18km paddle to get us to Judith Landing. There, we’d meet…
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Paddling Through Lewis and Clark’s ‘Visionary Enchantment’ to Slaughter River – July 3, 2024
Today’s work will take us roughly 35km downstream to another developed BLM campsite at Slaughter River. The bonus here (in addition the the pit toilets, of course) is that the site has a covered shelter if we happen to face inclement weather, unbearable heat, or some of the gale-like winds we’ve faced. This morning we…
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Pulling In To Eagle Creek – July 2, 2024
Right now I’m sitting at the Eagle Creek campground and relaxing after a great morning’s paddle. I’m also sitting here watching the dark, gun-metal blue/grey of a threatening thunder and lightening storm play as a backdrop to the famous white cliffs that mark this place so dramatically. It’s not raining yet…but it’s amassing with a…
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Wood Bottom to Coal Banks – July 1, 2024
Canada Day and at breakfast I started singing ‘O Canada’ and everyone joined in! Kris is the only American and the person who organized this trip, and he knew all the words and joined in too. The trip to Coal Banks is about 35km-ish and we were up and on the water by just after…
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Fort Benton to Wood Bottom: June 30, 2024
Nature Note – There were only a few Wild Rose bushes and blossoms in the area, but there were rose hips everywhere. Perhaps it’s the time of year, but I found there were fewer wildflowers that I expected. The night before, we’d decided to work toward being on the water by about 9:30. This was…
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Shuttle Day – June 29, 2024
A clear night gave us a VERY cold morning at about 5c only – I could see my breath when I got up about 6:30! Everyone layered up to keep warm as the stun began to rise. About 9am the wind picked up again and never really let up all day. This was a ‘Shuttle…
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Day One On The River – June 28, 2024
What a night it was! While it was a clear and starry night when I got up for a pee about 1am, all hell broke loose about 3am and it rained solid and with a vengeance (fully accompanied by gale force winds). Seriously… it was bending the tent over at times! Now, to be fair,…
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On To Montana – June 27, 2024
Up, packed, and on the road by 8am. I’m writing this at 5pm (Mountain Time) in Fort Benton, Montana. The first part of this drive was through landscapes that, in every way, reminded me of the rolling countryside across much of south central BC. Open Parkland vegetation, Ponderosa Pine, deer everywhere. This is the forested…
The Missouri Breaks 