Congratulations to DOMINIQUE LIBOIRON for his arrival in New Orleans after paddling – in a CANOE – from the Canadian province of Saskatchewan through 13 American states and along four major rivers, including the Missouri River and the Mighty Mississippi, over 3,000 miles.
Dominique endeared himself to those of us at Cooper’s Landing, MoRiv mile 170, where he spent a couple of days to rest up and elude a storm, just days before the holidays began.
Check out his web site at www.canoetoneworleans.com, or his FB site of the same name, to find out more about his mission, ambition, and victory! THREE CHEERS, DOMINIQUE!!! Well done, my friend! xoxo
The seed displays are out at the stores, and that can mean only one thing: SPRING is right around the corner!! So, WOW, it will be time to go soon. Am I nervous? Sometimes yes, and sometimes yes.
And, speaking of seeds, I have a crazy idea to grow some leafy greens on the trip. I mean, 3 ½ months on the river? Some leafy greens would be nice. That said, the planting season in Montana doesn’t start until the first two weeks in June. My little portable terrarium might be ideal for some early planting! I have been brainstorming the perfect container for such a thing and currently have narrowed the choices down to a couple of good ones. Any suggestions out there? I’ll take them.
Today, I am going to build a “kayanoe” cradle for my kayak. The design is Michael Clark’s of Big Muddy Adventures. I took a picture while there so that I could build a set just like his. Once complete, I can lay my boat in it and get started removing the keel strip that needs replacing, and install the rudder. Eddyline Kayaks gave me a new strip to apply, and I am to call them when ready to put it on. Today is supposed to be 70 degrees, so I have picked up the lumber and will begin cutting wood this afternoon.
Thanks to Steve Schnarr and Melanie Cheney, my new neighbors and humble managers of Missouri River Relief, for the use of their large detached garage and electrical power. Another HUGE THANKS to them for giving me a dry bag. And Maryellen Self, THANK YOU, GIRL, for purchasing a new large dry bag for me from Sea to Summit. I am very grateful for all of your generosity.
Thank you, Maryellen! Maryellen is a Kentucky kayaker and enthusiastic supporter.
Bill West of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, located in the Centennial Valley just below Hell Roaring Canyon (the route to Brower’s Spring), sent me a link in which one can look up current snow depth Lakeview Ridge Snowtel Site as well as historical data from years past (also mentioned in a previous post). This will help me determine how much snow is in the area, and if we can drive up to the base of Hell Roaring Canyon, where it appears as though we will have to ski in the seven miles to Brower’s Spring, and out again.
Sawtelle Peak Road
The lookout road on Sawtelle Peak will undoubtedly be snow-covered and we have no way of getting up the switchbacks in order to ski over to Brower’s Spring. [Unless someone out there has snowmobile contacts in Montana, Idaho, or Yellowstone…?? Helicopter ride? Of course, it would have to be an in-kind donation :)]
The Rock Creek basin area on Sawtell’s west side. Hell Roaring Canyon, and Brower’s Spring, would be a little south of here and off to the left. (Wow, I’m seeing some good backcountry skiing in this photo.)
These photos of Sawtelle Peak were taken from the website SummitPost.org
The following photos are taken from the Refuge Virtual Tour site that is not yet official. Bill Smith provided me with this link as well. You really should check it out. James Perdue has some gorgeous photos on that site.
Trumpeter Swans (photo by James N. Perdue)Headquarters at the Red Rock Lakes National Refuge (Photo by James N. Perdue)Hell Roaring Canyon is off to the East, or right, of this map, up Centennial Valley. The road I will hopefully bike ride down snow free runs along the bottom of this map.
Down in the Centennial Valley, the upper and lower lakes in the refuge will more than likely be frozen until May, so I am planning on riding a bike from Hell Roaring Canyon down to Clark Canyon Reservoir. The road follows right alongside the waterway. The ride will be approximately 80 miles. Praying that the road into that area is free of SNOW and not muddy sloshy. Plus, we REALLY need to be able to drive up to the base of Hell Roaring Canyon. The snow data link that Bill sent me is my life-line to the start of my expedition. In 2012 on April 20, the area had 11 inches of snow. In 2011 on April 20, the area had 47 inches of snow, nearly four feet! What will 2013 have in store for us???
South Valley road in winter is often only passable using a snowmobile. This is looking east into the refuge. Lakeview is in the distance. (photo by James N. Perdue)
My new motto for the expedition: GO WITH THE FLOW!
My new expedition cards
A draft of the promotion video will be sent to me on Friday. My new expedition cards came in last week, and I have a new batch of stickers with a larger web address for bumpers. Did I tell you about my terrarium? Crazy, I know. However, having something that is alive to take care of may be good for the soul. We’ll see. Nothing is set in stone. Heck, I may not have room. I am just going to GO WITH THE FLOW! 🙂
I spent nearly all day on the computer yesterday. I find that easy to do these days. Writing a single letter of request for a donation takes a lot of time. I try and carefully consider what I am writing to each company. Much time is taken just to research company websites, find a product that best meets my needs, search out a place to apply for sponsorship/product donation for that company, and/or find a marketing manager’s name to address on a letter. Then, a clear and concise letter of request is composed (and they are all different) to personally address that company and their product.
These days gear companies are pretty organized with their online sponsorship request systems (sign of the times). Some companies will let you know that if your purpose does not fall into their provided categories, don’t even bother to apply (like REI and North Face). Others will let you know that they will try and respond within 48 hours, five to ten business days, or within four months. I realize that it is important to apply to several companies, however, you have to plan for many hours in order to search for sponsorships.
I found out pretty early on that some companies won’t bother with you if you are not a “celebrity” athlete. I understand that. That is why the companies that have chosen to help me out are incredibly special and I hope to reward them with ample promotion. I am determined that my partnership with them will be a win-win situation. Thanks again to big company in-kind donations from Eddyline Kayaks/Swift Paddles, SPOT, title nine, and Patagonia for supporting my expedition.
So, yesterday I requested donations from Katadyn Group (Optimus stove and freeze-dried/dehydrated foods), Sea to Summit (sleeping bag and dry sacks), GoPro (camera), and Smith Optics (sunglasses). I spent quite a bit of time trying to find a Marketing Manager for Apple to request a Mac Book Pro. I know, what are the chances? But, if you don’t ask, you don’t even get a shot. I will have to send them a snail mail letter, pretty sure, and that doesn’t mean it will get read. I will also ask Sprint if they will give me six months of all-data service for an I-Phone that I can’t buy yet. A long-shot but, again, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Think BIG!
Other companies I have sent requests to are Garmin (GPS), Marmot (sleeping bag), InReach (denied because I’m not a celebrity adventurer), Cascade Designs (tent, stove, Thermarest pad), PowerFilm, Inc. (solar-powered roll-up panel), Kokatat (paddling clothes), and KC Paddlers. Still waiting for a response from these folks. Others yet to contact are Seal Line (dry bags, PFD (life jacket)), Teva (sandals), other tent and sleeping bag companies, and a backpack company. I will need to find more paddling companies to research for gear.
I have not asked any companies for money. I think they like to see some successful accomplishments before they sponsor an expedition with cash. Hopefully, someone will connect with what I am doing and jump on board…soon.
Even more special are some of my dear friends who have donated financially. Thank you Bill and Anne Diehl, and Karen and Ric McCann – good friends from Bear Valley days. Also, my dear friend Deb Miller and best friend, Dave Bandy. You are the first. Thank you so much!!!
I am beginning to try some foods to bring along. I have a few Knorr side dishes to try at $1 a pop, which include mashed potatoes, rice dishes, and pasta, of course. I want to make sure I have plenty of comfort foods. I will try and contact some companies for food donations. Not sure who yet.
So, this is the bulk of the work I have to do. Hopefully, I will not have to purchase a tent and sleeping bag. After five months of not working due to student teaching, and substituting part time for $70/day, I will soon need to take out a loan, or launch into a fundraising campaign, or both. I’d like to avoid another loan. My student loans are enough to keep me occupied.
My boat is all set except to remove the old keel protection strip and apply a new one, which Eddyline has provided. I need to sand some scratches and fill them up. And, I need to set up my rudder. Oh, I have to rechristen the boat with the new name: Blue Moon.
I have ordered 200 more stickers after giving away the first 100. The blog address will be larger on the new ones.
L-R, Dave Cornthwaite, Rod Wellington, Dale Sanders
I also designed a new business card last night because the first batch did not turn out visually as nice as it appeared on the computer screen. No surprise. You get what you pay for and they were cheap. Here is a picture (a little fuzzy) of my new design I created with MOO. They should arrive in about a week.
The promo video will be ready in a week or so. Thank you Jim Karpowicz and Tom Newcomb of Black Truck Pictures. I hope to start an organized fundraising campaign then, perhaps with GoFundMe, or something of that nature. You can visit my Donation Opportunities page, which I have set up with tier-level rewards for financial donations. Please consider donating financially to help with the success of the expedition.
This sign points to Red Rock Mountain and Mount Jefferson, situated on the Continental Divide. Sawtelle Peak is behind and to the right and will be our entry into Brower’s Spring.
Norm Miller will be skiing into Brower’s Spring with me and has tracked down a pair of skis and boots from his friend who is loaning them to me. I am thankful for that. I may try and find a bike donation, or just bring my own. It is nothing special, and pretty heavy, but it is a comfortable ride. Someone may have to talk some sense into me to try and get a good bike to ride the sixty or more miles from the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge to Clark Canyon Reservoir where I am planning to put in a boat.
Pronghorn and calf at wildlife refuge
The Red Rock River on that stretch is complicated by private land with barbed-wire fences crossing through the river, electrical fencing doing the same, corrugated sheet-metal dams, and snag piles forcing numerous portages and body submerges. The road follows that stretch on which I will ride my bike.
Hell Roaring Canyon and Creek, exiting the mountains. (Nemesis Mt. to the left of canyon.) This is where we will come out of the canyon. Our route heads back and winds way up to the left.
Finally, I spend a fair amount of time on my blog posts. I try to make them interesting with good visual accompaniments. They take much longer, sometimes hours, than my more spontaneous updates on my Facebook page: Love Your Big Muddy Expedition. If you have not, please like my FB page. Sponsors like to see lots of page “likes.” Of course, I like to see the support. You actually are supporting my expedition indirectly by liking and following my pages and blog. THANK YOU!
Love Your Big Muddy Expedition
So, if you are wondering when this epic adventure begins, it already has. I will be leaving for Montana with my daughter and a friend on the morning of April 14, the day after my Science Teacher Certification Exam. I hope to start the trek with my ski into Brower’s Spring on or near April 20th. Maybe I will find myself at Three Forks on May 1st. That would be ideal. I cannot wait to see the mountains and begin the adventure of my lifetime. Or, perhaps the first of many. Cheers!
Winter view of the Centennials here. Wind blows frequently to obscure the road completely with snow in February (hopefully, not April!).
I am getting ready to order some more stickers. They seems to be quite popular. I should be selling them, but I just love to give them away. Maybe I’ll become more disciplined with the second round. But, who can resist when you see pictures like this???
These handsome guys are stealing the thunder from my good looking stickers, don’t you think? L-R, Dave Cornthwaite, Rod Wellington, and Dale Sanders. If you have a few minutes (hours) and a cup of coffee (several), kick back and watch these three in the bike car adventures. Sure-fire entertainment, no joke. Here is the link to Dave Cornthwaite’s Bikecar Expedition 2012: The Highlights
Good fun, guaranteed!
I also had fun designing business cards. I have 250 on order from freelogodesigns. Check them out, they’re friendly folks. Here is my first round business card design (address removed for web posting):
Hard to see it here, but I like the way the mountains are brown with the blue river flowing out. I think the ‘one woman’ line is brown and then the web address is blue. If I only had a map of the route on the back. I may add that with an address label. We’ll see if it works.
I would love to have t-shirts. Maybe I can mock something up for next post.
Lots to do.
Well, here is the result of my playing around:
Thought, comments, suggestions? Still need something for the front. Or, should this go on front? Hmmmm.
It was with great pleasure and gratitude that I spent yesterday morning at the river with my daughter, Haley Moreland, Jim Karpowicz, and Tom Newcomb. Jim and Tom volunteered their time, expertise, and film equipment to shoot a promotional video for the expedition. Haley agreed to interview for the clip, and she helped by photographing the occasion. The purpose for the video is to utilize one of the online fundraising programs, such as Kickstarter or GoFundMe, with the video. Ideally, the donations generated will help pay for the trip and, ultimately, get a book started. Getting the trip accomplished will be the first step in getting a book started.
Jim and Tom are long-time colleagues creating films for the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), among other things. They have recently been assigned a project with the MDC focused on Missouri mountain lions. I know, right?! Mountain lions! Good luck, guys. Be careful out there.
Tom is a cameraman for CBS in STL, Jim has done work for The Documentary Group, and you can find other projects by going to Tom’s website at www.blacktruckpictures.com. Among a host of other undertakings by them, you can find a fascinating video about Lewis and Clark from the website here.
Although the morning was quite cold and crisp, I enjoyed getting in the kayak and paddling around a bit for the shoot. And, the guys setting up the interviewing studio at the end of a wing dike was particularly intriguing, if not a little intimidating (they ran an extension cord all the way out there!). We built a nice fire in Cooper’s bonfire ring, so the warmth from the fire made the experience quite comfortable and especially pleasant. Although, that could be a result of the warm-hearted individuals present. (That includes you, J.W., thanks for building the fire!)
Interviewing on film is not one of my strengths. Jim and Tom will need to work their magic. They assured me not to worry. Really, I am just humbled by the experience, and extremely grateful for our Missouri River community and the support I am receiving for the expedition. Not to mention the support I am receiving from my friends, some old, some new, some near and some far! I may have to post a happy dance similar to Rod Wellington’s portage dances :).
I love this quote from Lewis and Clark’s journals, as highlighted in Tom’s Lewis and Clark video. Over and over again, despite the circumstances, they continued to write: “We proceeded on.” I’m going to remember that one.
View of Lower Red Rock Lake in February. The lake is frozen over and looks like one large flat meadow.
Based on my camping experience in Missouri, I know that the threat of cold weather is present in mid-Missouri until AT LEAST after Mother’s Day, which is usually end of May (last hard frost date is late April). So, starting my trip in mid-April in the Montana Centennial Mountains at the Continental Divide pretty much necessitates winter conditions planning. Okay, got that. However, I did not really consider the Centennial Valley being covered with snow down to the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
I received an email response from Bill Smith, project leader at the Wildlife Refuge, which is located down the Centennial Valley from where I’ll exit the mountains after skiing to Brower’s Spring. He writes: The refuge is not closed in April, it is just closed to boating. In addition, the two big wetland lakes (Upper and Lower Red Rock Lakes) are still frozen until about May 1st. I suggest you snowshoe to Brower Spring from the Centennial Valley floor. Then you could cross country ski down the valley if there is still snow available. No refuge restrictions on ski travel.
(Norm Miller and I are planning to ski in to Brower’s Spring from Sawtelle Peak, a two-mile ski to the spring, and seven miles down to the valley floor.)
Nemesis Mountain The exit from Brower’s Spring, Hell Roaring Canyon, is on the right side of Nemesis Mt. (out of this photo) where Hell Roaring Creek empties into the valley, and soon becomes Red Rock Creek.Hell Roaring Canyon and Creek, exiting the mountains. (Nemesis Mt. on the left)Winter view of the Centennials here. Wind blows frequently to obscure the road completely with snow in February.
SO, the good news is: The refuge is not closed to paddlers in April, only motorized boats. Yay!
And, the not necessarily bad news: The entire valley MAY be covered in snow and the lakes covered with ice until May 1st. Dang, this is starting to become quite the adventure. And, I like it!
Centennial Mountains cloaked in a winter storm. (All of these photos taken from the virtual tour site-link below)
Bill sent me some valuable links that are critical to my planning of this upper upper portion of the expedition. Here is what he wrote:
I’ve attached two web sites. The Lakeview Ridge Snowtel site will allow you to look at graphs and charts of average snow depth during the annual cycle here. Look at historical April. It will also give you the current year.
The 2nd link is to the water gauge on Red Rock Creek. It will give you historical and real time measurements of stream flow in the creek. The gauge is on the Creek at the very Eastern boundary of the refuge.
NRCS is upgrading this website this weekend so it may not work well until Monday.
Virtual tour!!? How awesome is that! I hit every spot on the tour, and let me just say this, “It IS the next best thing to being there!” When you click on the link, the map on the left has a white dotted line sweeping along the bottom and then up towards Henry Lake. That dotted line is the Continental Divide, and Brower’s Spring is inside the lower right-hand u-turn area where the white line starts to head north. On the right side of the page, the names of the mountains will show up when you scroll over them. You can sweep 360 degrees! Enjoy! It is a fantastic site. Big huge thanks to Bill West and his willingness to help me out. We will talk by phone soon.
All photos on this post are taken from the virtual tour site.
That’s all I got for now. Lots to think about.
The willows growing from Tom Creek provide browsing for Moose in the deep of winter here. In summer, moose are attracted to marshes and creek banks to both collect suitable vegetation to eat and water to wet and cool themselves in. Moose are not usually aggressive towards humans, but can be provoked or frightened to behave with aggression. Due to their disposition and size, it’s best to keep a wide berth from them.Pronghorn and calfThe beautiful Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) has found a bug in the grasses near Red Rock Creek. The tanager is classified in the same family as the cardinal. Western tanagers eat fruits (~18%) and a wide range of insects (~82%) They are a welcome visitor in the spring and early summer here in the refuge, though not especially numerous (like the blackbirds or sparrows, etc).
I will be paddling an Eddyline Shasta kayak on my expedition. Andy Bugh and Bob Bellingham both paddled a Shasta down the Missouri River and loved it. I bought my boat from Bob Bellingham before he returned to Australia. I will rechristen the boat, “Blue Moon.” Likely, there will be a party surrounding the ceremony :).
Eddyline asked me to send them a “wish list” for items they would provide, since I bought Bob’s boat rather than purchasing a new boat at cost. (Always good to “reduce, reuse, recycle”!) They have graciously agreed to send me a brand new blue Swift (ultra-light) paddle, fix or replace the cockpit cover, and send out a skid strip to protect the keel.
I am very pleased to have Eddyline as a supporter. They are a family-run grass roots company and put out a great product. You can find Bob Bellingham and Andy Bugh’s Shasta testimonial here, just scroll down the page below the photo gallery.
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