July 3: It’s so nice to be on a river again! The run to the Yellowstone
River convergence was a pure joy compared to the lakes. The
current is not quite as strong as below the dams, the river
winds through mostly farmland - wheat, corn, sugar beets,
safflower plants, and clover - and the only problems are the
occasional sandbars. I was so inspired, I put in 10 hours of
paddling and more than 12 hours on the river. I’m campes at
the convergence, a nice site with a great view of the
Yellowstone and Missouri, and lots of pelicans. I’ll look for
Doug Leapley’s note (see entry just before Omaha) tomorrow.
July 4: A monster storm blew through last night, with winds strong
enough to blow my tent almost flat to the ground. I realized
then that the tent was designed to do that in high winds, so
long as the tent stakes hold, which thankfully they did. I
couldn’t find any sign of Doug’s note this morning, so I
pushed on past Ft. Union and into Montana - a new state and
a new time zone! The water is much muddier now, probably
because of the storms that have been hitting this region, and
I hit a lot more sandbars today. On the other hand, with all
the debris being washed down it’s easy to locate where the
main channel is. I stopped earlier today because more severe
weather was in the forecast and the skies were clouding up.
July 5: A beautiful day, with no wind. The storms last night missed
me, but more are predicted for tonight. I seem to be stuck in
the same weather pattern: clear and warm days, but the
constant threat of violent storms at night. My shoulder
started feeling sore again this afternoon, which now gives me
something else to worry about.
July 6: I made good time again today, although I had some anxious
moments this afternoon when the wind picked up. It was the
same kind of tailwind that almost did me in on Lake Oahe,
and even though I’m on the river it still made me nervous.
The river generally isn’t as wide here as below the dams, but
there are spots where it sprawls out between islands and
sandbars. In the wind, I find these spots tricky, both because
of the difficulty of identifying the right channel, and the added
danger of being exposed to the wind in open water. Still, it
beats the lakes. My shoulder continues to act up, not as
badly as before Bismarck, but I’m concerned about it getting
worse. I think the wear and tear of this trek is starting to get
to me.
July 7: Three months on the river, and I’ve gone almost 1,700 miles.
By the time I get to Ft. Peck I’ll be about halfway to the
Pacific Ocean. The thunderstorms predicted for last night
missed me, and I had a beautiful day on the river, which was
only slightly marred by my preoccupation with my shoulder. I
think this is one of my personality traits: there’s always
something I can find to keep me from fully enjoying the
moment. It must be my Puritan heritage. If I have Puritan
heritage.
July 8: Another calm, clear, and relatively relaxing day. I’m moving
through this section of the river fairly quickly, averaging
almost 25 miles per day. For the most part it’s comparatively
easy paddling compared to the river below the dams. The
sandbars are an annoyance, and occasionally it’s hard to tell
which channel to take around them, but when the wind is
down (as it has been for most of this section) there are minor
problems. I’m beginning to wonder if the wind god is saving
it all for Ft. Peck Lake, my last major lake to cross.
July 9: I stopped a bit earlier today at a nice protected campsite just
below Oswego, MT. Weather was cooler, breezier, and much
more overcast with some rain and the threat of more tonight.
If the Dakotas were characterized by consistently strong
winds, Montana so far has been characterized by the severe
thunderstorms (or at least the threat of them). Virtually
every night since I left Williston the weather channel has
issued severe weather warnings for my area. Luckily, I’ve
dodged the worst of it. Hail clobbered the area just south of
me a few nights ago, and Wolf Point, where I camped last
night is getting hit with 3 inches of rain tonight. Every night
there’s an amazing light show and the constant rumpling of
thunder.
Click here for days 94 - 101 of Richard's journal
