My dear friend, supporter and river brother from Columbia, Missouri, Jonathan Lauten, produced this slide show of my trip thus far. It is very special to me as the memories provoked are fond and special. I think it is kind of funny that the slideshow brings back so many memories of a trip of which I am still in the midst.
Please take a moment to enjoy these very unique and special moments from LoveYourBigMuddy Expedition 2013.
I will try to continue my documentation of my expedition on this blog as soon as I am able, likely as soon as I get across Lake Oahe, of which I am over half way on this 230 mile lake (as of July 25, 2013).
Click on the photo below to access the slideshow. Thanks for your support! -Janet
Janet Moreland, a solo kayaker attempting to paddle the length of the Missouri River, shared this photo on her Facebook page on June 27. She wrote of it: “Tuesday night’s sunset. Perhaps the most spectacular I have ever witnessed. Perhaps.”
¦ COURTESY JANET MORELAND/MISSOURIAN READER
BY JANET MORELAND/MISSOURIAN READER
Janet Moreland is attempting to become the first woman to complete a solo kayak trip down the entire length of the Missouri River, from its source at Brower’s Spring, Mont., to its juncture with the Mississippi at St. Louis. She has been sharing updates on her trip on her journey’s Facebook page and blog, and she gave the Missourian permission to share some of those posts.
The Missourian wrote a story about Moreland’s quest before she left, and digital subscribers can read that story here.
Greetings from Fort Peck Lake! Oh what a trip it has been! I’ve experienced ‘breathtaking’ beauty, fought off ‘fear’ of predation, dealt with extreme mud anxiety, survived a wilderness electrical storm, fell in love with the animals, and elements, of the natural world, developed efficient use of time, met really cool people with giving hearts, and paddled hard for the last two weeks. I am sharing my days with high wind advisories but hope to reach the marina in a day or two. I will try and post more in the morning while I have a tower in range here at the Pines Recreation Area. I’ll be back!
Before embarking on this expedition, I would explain to journalists that I thought the trip would be more mental than physical. This is true in part. You need mental stamina to maintain the physical exertion needed for continuous paddling. And, you need mental strength to maintain composure when dealing with lots of mud, all the time.
This photo was taken prior to packing up the boat at Gist Camp in the Breaks, my last camp in the Monument. There was five feet of this mud between the semi-solid shore and the boat after I was able to move the boat out to the water once the river level dropped. Whatya gonna do?! You just do it.
June 18
Have I told you lately how much I love my pelicans?
June 21
Near Frazer, MT. Sweet.
June 26
Milestone sign after two months in Montana. [Fort Union. I bushwacked through a willow forest to get here from the river.]
June 27
Tuesday night’s sunset. Perhaps the most spectacular I have ever witnessed. Perhaps.
June 30
This is a view of where we are headed as soon as the wind dies. The veteran paddlers, with their words of wisdom, tell me, “Paddle when the wind is not blowing, no matter what time it is.” Having someone to paddle with as darkness envelopes the lake will offer additional paddling time for me. Also, the shoreline is not muddy, so finding a campsite is much easier. Simple pleasures!! [Sharing time with my new dear friend, Shawn Hollingsworth, at this location. Learn more about his expedition on Facebook at Canoe for a Cause, raising awareness for breast cancer.]
July 2
Found a nice spot on a point at a big bay entrance (the bay goes right). I like to be able to look at the stretch ahead, and feel the wind. What a gorgeous day for paddling, all day! So thankful. So tired.
July 4
Time to move. Here’s to our independence! Cheers! Love to all.
July 5
Something sweet and special about this little beach. Sand and rock, level spots close to water, somewhat protected, nice beach, maybe swimming, no mud, no cows, no road, no trucks, and situated right on the pulse of the lake. If it thunderstorms, I’m good. [I did, in fact, experience a wicked electrical storm this night. I survived. However, it was tame compared to the electrical storm I survived four nights ago on the Missouri River near Stanton, ND.]
July 8
I feel like I should salute this point, or something. Don’t know it’s name. Kind of majestic.
Bub and Tinker with one of the St. Louis/Fort Collins’ family members.
A busy morning at the Coal Banks Landing boat ramp once the storm left. The ramp was bustling with boats, paddlers, gear, and excitement. Special thanks again to Bub and Tinker Sandy for taking care of all of us wet river rats and opening up the visitor’s center to everyone for the lasts two days. I decided to hang back and wait for everyone to leave before I got ready to go. When I left, there was not a soul in sight. That’s the way I wanted it. I wanted to take it all in without a lot of external distractions. I had been waiting for this nearly a year.
The White Cliffs section of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument evolves as you paddle in to this stretch of river. The anticipation keeps you on the edge of your seat. Will there be cliffs around the next bend? They show themselves gradually. And, before you know it, you are immersed in this fabulous wonderland of rock castles, spires, hoodoos, magnificent walls and lone sentinals.
Leaving Coal Banks I could sense that something incredible, geologically, was going to unfold.I barely got my camera out in time to snap this photo. This looks like an old homestead cabin. My imagination soars when I see structures like this. What must it have been like over a century ago settling in the wild west?The cliffs gradually appeared in the riverside environment. It was somewhat like a geologic transformation.Some of the first signs of white cliffsWhite Cliffs emergingThe Boy Scouts made camp early in a beautiful area that was wide open with smaller cliffs surrounding the area.The surrounding area around the Boy Scouts first camp, just upriver from Eagle Creek camp. It was beginning to get interesting!
Labarge Rock is the dark rock outcropping in the distance. The rock was named after Captain Joseph LaBarge, one of the most famous of steamship captains. He never had an accident in his career commanding ships up to Fort Benton. This is remarkable after seeing a million snags downriver waiting to take the ships down at any given minute.Classic white cliffs with LaBarge Rock in the distance.Beautiful white cliffs, like a fortress or castleLaBarge Rock is an instrusion of dark igneous shonkinite. That’s about all I can tell you without getting technical and boring to the non-geologist.The Grand Natural Wall. This is an incredible sight to behold.Grand Natural WallCool looking, I think. Now that’s a grand white cliff!Eagle RockEagles at Eagle Rock?And, my best friends, the pelicans.
I arrived at Hole in the Wall thinking that everyone else would stay back at Eagle Creek, which is a popular camping area with great hiking and historical significance. The environment around Hole in the Wall is grandiose and quite spectacular. I was the only one there! I would have a wilderness experience in the midst of incredible beauty!! Well, not exactly. Withing an hour two paddlers arrived. Then, a party of seven or eight men showed up. Oh well, I can share. I will just set my tent off to the side and have my own wilderness experience. I learned something this day. When you meet good-hearted people, nothing else is really more desirable. The benefits are great when you share a part of your lives together. The experience becomes unforgettable. This day I met Klaus and James. I am so happy that I did.
Klaus (L) and James
I loved meeting Klaus and James. Klaus came over and invited me to sit around the fire with them that night. They said it wouldn’t be a long fire because firewood was scarce. That sounded good to me. After a couple of hours we gathered for a fire. Klaus had cups and wine and we toasted to my expedition. Then we spent a couple hours just enjoying each others’ company and conversation. THAT beats a solitary wilderness experience, any day. I am thankful for the time we had together.
The next day I met some of the others who had camped in the area. They were all very interesting gentlemen. One was from Bozeman, another from the Seattle area, and one also from San Diego, among others. The Bureau of Land Management officers showed up. They told us stories and were helpful in showing us good camping areas down river. Apparently, James Kipp Recreation Area had opened back up, at least the roads leading into the area. Because of all the rain, though, we could expect a lot of mud downriver. Oh well.
I was excited to hike to the top of Hole in the Wall. I said good by to Klaus and James. They were going to camp at the Wall camping area. I did not know if I would stop there. We took pictures to make sure we didn’t miss out on that opportunity, and we exchanged addresses.
Klause James and myself. Hole in the Wall is in the background.
And, off I went to hike to the top of the Hole in the Wall. Wow, what a grand experience!! Unforgettable.
I thoroughly enjoy my hike up to the top of Hole in the Wall. While I was standing up there looking around, I thought, I think I am experiencing breath-taking beauty. I had to stop and calm down I was so excited.
I paddled on and came to Klaus and James’ camp. It was getting late and they invited me over. I was happy to stop there. The camp was one of the best and most peaceful I have experienced thus far. Not to mention my new friends. We had another tremendous night telling stories, jokes, and laughing freely. When it was time for them to shove off the next day, I was truly sad. I’ve got their number. Happy about that.
The Wall Camp, 7 miles before Judith LandingPrairie dog town in back of the camping area. How cool is that!?
See ya, James!See ya, Klaus!See ya, everyone! Fair sailing to all!
This trip is so fantastic, every day is a new adventure. However, the journey is so broad in scope that even I have to break it down into chunks, or categories, in order to write in my journal. Otherwise, I think to myself, where do I begin??
Some of the areas that this journey embraces are the wildlife, geology, geography, paddling, challenges, and social interactions (the awesome people I meet along the way). Because I want to capture all of the various aspects of each and every bend in the river, I have accumulated numerous photos to help document my experiences. Here is just a taste of this short section of my trip.
On June 1, I took off from Fort Benton after an enjoyable stay. I knew it would be an easy paddle to Coal Banks Landing, a launching point into the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument. As with any day, though, I’m not always sure where will campsite will be for the night.
My camp between Fort Benton and Coal Banks, which is the developed campground right before entering the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. I had to find a spot in a hurry because it was getting late. A little muddy, on the upriver point of an island, but level.
Tim was surprised, and somewhat startled, to find this, umm, artifact imbedded in the beach.
I found this skull right at the point of the island by my camp. Kind of disturbing. Found out later it is a bison skull, the bison likely finished off with a blow to the head, which was a common tactic among Native Americans back in the day.
I have fond memories of this campsite, despite the muddy beach, because of the 70’s music they were playing on the radio. Those were the days when the world open wide, and the anticipation of what could be was scintillating.
Further down I stopped at the Virgelle Ferry. An Indian man visiting America happened to be there and wanted to ride the ferry across and back. He asked me if I wanted to go, so I said, “sure”!
The gentleman from India and his son from Kansas City. The Indian man just wanted a ride, and asked me if I wanted to come along. Heck ya!The Virgelle FerryThe cables of the cable ferry, only one of six functioning in the world.Beautiful mountains and I’m not even in the Breaks, yet.
I arrived in Coal Banks after just a few hours the next day. Dominique Liboiron was coming to visit me there, since the location was close to his home in Saskatchewan, Canada. Last year, Dominique paddled from Saskatchewan to New Orleans in honor of his uncle who died of heart disease age the early age of 42. Dom carried his ashes to disperse in New Orleans, a city his uncle fell in love with.
So great to see Dominique again. When he was paddling on his expedition, he stopped at Cooper’s Landing, where we gained each others’ friendship right away.
It poured rain while he was there. He stayed two nights. One day we worked on a plan to get his canoe in Canada so he could paddle with me in the Breaks. Unfortunately, logistics proved to be too complicated, especially since James Kipp Recreation Area closed down due to flooding. So we went to Virgelle Landing and Fort Benton to have fun.
The Virgelle Mercantile. They also have an extensive antique store and run river shuttle and catering.Jim is one of the proprietors of Virgelle Mercantille and Antique and Canoe Service, along with Don. (Notice the bison skull in back on the shelf.)Don, partners with Jim, runs the Virgelle machine. We enjoyed talking with them about a lot of things such as river trips, paddling, cameras, BLM (Bureau of Land Management), and river clean-ups.Sandy cooks meals at the store and plays mom to all the men. She participated in a river clean up at Coal Banks, sponsored by Friends of the Breaks and Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Once we determined that it was too difficult to organize a shuttle for Dominique, we decided to play tourist in Fort Benton. Dominique has wanted to go there for many years and, well, I was happy just to go with Dominique. He is such great company. We had a blast!
Grand Union HotelMural on the wall at the Grand Union
We stoped for lunch at the Palace Bar, where we met Sandy bartending. I dropped Dave Miller’s name,(the author of The Complete Paddler) and she remembered him, and apparently took good care of him. “I let him take a shower at my house.” When I mentioned that I hadn’t had a shower in a week, she insisted I go to her house and take one. Thank you, Sandy! I will never forget your sweet heart.
Sweet Sandy at the Palace Bar
After I went to Sandy’s house and took a shower, we stopped at the Missouri Breaks Interpretive Center. Unfortunately, they closed in five minutes, but I think we made the best of the situation.
There it is again. I left my skull in the river where I found it. Seemed the appropriate thing to do.Outside the front of the Missouri Breaks Interpretive CenterDominique as Steamship Captain. Keep your eyes on the river, Captain, those snags will sink your ship!The wing span of a pelican. I have seen pelicans almost every day of my trip. They are a comfort and good company.Despite the rainy and wet conditions, we made a fire for warmth and comfort. Thanks to the campers next door who helped me haul their leftover wood over, chopped kindling, and wrapped paper up in plastic for me. And, gave me a lighter! So nice!Before leaving the next morning, Dominique left me with some wisdom and tips for the challenges ahead. He has been a wonderful friend and I will miss him.
The senior Boy Scouts had come to camp during the rainstorm. The camp hosts, Bub and Tinker Sandy were incredibly accommodating for all of us, letting the boy scouts stay in the visitor’s center, and letting Dominique set up his tent on the porch. By the time the weather let up and we all were ready to launch, we had become friends. Finally, it was time to enter the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, a moment for which I had been waiting a long time.
Onward! Bub and me in excited anticipation for my journey ahead.
Me and the some of the Boy Scouts, and their dads/leaders, from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Great bunch of kids. They will achieve many things among them.
Lots of excited paddlers ready to get on the water!
Onward to the White Cliffs on June 4. I will try and have something posted in the next few days. I have a White Cliffs photo album posted on my Facebook Expedition page, if you want to check that out now.
I apologize for the delay in posts. I’m paddling a 178-mile lake right now, Lake Sakakawea, and a 230-mile lake coming up, Lake Oahe. I am currently at Dakota Waters Resort campground taking a refresh day (shower and laundry), and should be at the dam tomorrow or the next day. Hurray!
Please see my Facebook page, LoveYourBigMuddy Expedition, for current photos and updates. You do not need to have an account to view the page, it is accessible to the public. I can upload straight from my iPhone and it is much easier, however, this blog helps to organize and document the journey. I have not forgotten you!
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