July Ft. Benton to Great Falls. I left Ft. Benton on Wednesday
26-30: after a refreshing stay at the Grand Union Hotel, a wonderfully
restored 19th century grand hotel. Russell Young saw me off,
and shot 3 rolls of film of me on the river. Some of them
could be fantastic photos, and I hope we can get a couple on
the website.
I’ve been a little frustrated with my progress going upstream.
Since the midway point of the Wild and Scenic section (Judith
Landing), the river has flattened out somewhat, and I know
when I’m paddling I’m making good time. The problem is that
there are rapids and shallows where I have to get out and
walk, and this slows me down. It’s refreshing to be in the
water and the footing is generally good with little mud, but the
closer I get to the Rockies the faster I want to get there.
I suffered my first real setback coming into Great Falls. I had
planned to pull in at Belt Creek, below the dams, pull my
kayak up the creek to the nearest road (about 2 miles), and
portage it into Great Falls on its wheels (about 18 miles). This
would approximate Lewis and Clark’s Great Falls portage. But
when I got within eyeshot of Belt Creek I was stymied by a set
of rapids that I simply couldn’t get around. I climbed a nearby
bluff and saw a dirt track leading to the creek, and was
planning to get my wheels out and start my portage early
when some folks from the Museum of the Rockies who were
excavating a site nearby offered me a lift to their campsite on
the creek. They gave me and my gear a ride the ¼ mile to
Belt Creek, and I got things ready for my portage. At their
campsite I noticed a dirt track heading up Belt Creek. I asked
where it went, and discovered it led to the road I wanted, and
cut a mile or two off my portage route. In my eagerness to
save time, and my fear of pulling my kayak up the apparently
rattlesnake-infested Belt Creek, I deviated from my plan, and
started hauling my boat up the dirt track. I got about halfway
to the road when the axles on my wheels buckled, leaving me
high and dry in the middle of nowhere. I had been hoping to
wheel my kayak triumphantly into Great Falls, but sadly I had
to accept the kind aid of the Museum folks, who drove me and
my gear into town. There is now a 16 mile gap in my
journey - or at least 16 miles I didn’t complete on my own -
and I know it’s going to haunt me for some time.
A beautiful view.
July 31: After 2200 miles of relentless current, the river finally gave me
a break today. For the entire distance between Great Falls and
Ulm, more than 30 miles, the Missouri strolls along at no more
than 3 mph. For me that was like paddling on a pond. Along
the way I passed dozens of attractive homes on the
riverbanks, plus I saw more than a dozen eagles and even
more deer. The water here is clear and cool, and at the end of
a hot day it felt good to sit in the river and let the water wash
over me.
August 1: An easy morning paddle, then things were back to normal
again by mid-afternoon, when the current picked up. The last
few miles into Cascade were a struggle - for the first time
since Belt Creek I had to get out and pull my kayak. I expect
to see more of this until I get to Holter Dam.
Click here for days 117 - 123 of Richard's journal
