Well, here I am again at the library in Fort Peck Montana, let’s start with some stories….
Tom and I left Fort Benton two Saturdays ago around 6pm and paddled for aboutan hour or so before pulling over at a remote campsite. Had a fire, skipped some rocks, called it a night.
The next day we paddled to the next campground where we saw the same host we met two weeks prior. Man was he shocked to see us again. A group of boyscouts (troop 9 based out of Billings MT) was just packing up and getting ready for a 4 night trip down that section of the river. We paddled with them for awhile before pulling ahead to do some hiking and eventually met up with them at the campsite right by Eagle Creek.
The next morning Tom and I hiked to Neat Coulee and made it back just in time for a storm to hit us while we rested in our tents. We paddled a wopping 6 miles that day to “hole in the wall” and packed our gear up to camp right on top of it. It was windy at the top and impossible to put stakes in the rock so we lined the inside corners of our tent with some rocks to hold it down while we hiked around. That night we flipped a coin and Tom was picked to hike 30 minutes down the next morning to get some more water and food from our kayaks (which really turned out to be fair because the first time we hiked up I went down to take a photo of him and had to hike back up so he could take one of me ha ha). After we explored for a few hours in the morning (we found 9 “hole in the walls”) we met some tour guides who were setting up camp by our kayaks waiting for the other guides and group of 12 to come. They gave us some leftover breakfast food from the morning and we had lunch and talked for awhile.
All in all I do not regret one bit going back to Fort Benton to do that stretch again. We hiked almost every white cliff, and I say that with very little exaggeration. When we finished our 150 mile stretch to the final campsite we had been without water for about 3 hours (realistacally I can filter it from the river, but I want to save that for emergencies only on this trip if possible).
Tom said from the beginning he did not want paddle across Fort Peck lake again and that he was going to try to find a ride. So on Thursday at 6pm we parted ways.
Within the first 2 hours of leaving Tom I saw 6 Elk (the first Elk of the trip haha) and had 4 beavers come within 10 feet of my kayak before slapping the water and diving underneath. I contimplated pulling over several times but kept pushing on until I found possibly the most remote boat ramp ever with a few tents up ahead. When I pulled up I was greeted by two guys (Eric and Gordon), their two sons each and Erics father. They were on their 3rd and final night camping and fed me catfish they had caught earlier that day as well as white chocolate fudge, a plum and a few cups of milk. Fortunately Gordon had purchased a screened in tent for us to find shelter from the mosiquotos underneath otherwise we would have been eaten alive. We roasted marshmellows by the fire that night and said goodbye to each other.
I was on the river before 5am the next morning. I stopped a few times to explore, eat, and stretch. Around 330 I was so hot I decided to pitch a tent and try to take a quick nap. The bottom zipper of my tent broke, but I was so tired and fatigued I did not care at the moment and fell asleep face down without my airmatress or anything. 15 minutes later I woke up completely soaked in sweat and gasping for breath, the tent had turned into an oven and I was baking in it. When I got out the slightest breeze immediately gave me the shivers after being completely wet. Mad at the world, I packed my gear up and paddled for another 3 hours before pulling over to camp by some cows and antelope. A storm was rolling in so I took the time in the tent to sew the bottom zipper shut.
I didn’t see anyone at all the next day either. Eventually I foun a 300sq ft island and set up camp right before sunset. I thought I would not have to worry about animals that night but I was way off….around 230am I heard scratching on the side of my tent. At first I convinced myself I was just being paranoid and to go back to sleep, but it continued. Eventually I shined my light against the wall and I could see 6 mice trying to get in, though I did not have any food in the tent. I lined up my shoes against the sewn together zipper to block them from entering, knowing that all they had to do was bite a small string and they would have a huge gap. Eventually, I could hear them scratching my shoes so at 315am I decided to pack up camp and paddled across Peck in the full moon. It was amazing. I reached the Marina around 1pm Sunday, just under 3 days.
While at the bar I had several fisherman commetn on my paddling speed and buy me a few beers. Today the owner of the marina asked me to test drive her car into town (it had been overheating), so here I am at the library right now. Tom will be around 140 miles ahead by the time I get back on the river tomorrow. I’ll probably catch him in a week or so. He texted me and told me to wear a skirt in certain areas whre there are rapids.
Life is great.
I’ll upload photos and send photos later as well as add videos on facebook.
“A man who wastes a hour of his life, has yet to learn the value of it.” – Darwin
Charles