Fort Benton MT
Today is the day we drop the canoe in the Mighty Missouri!
After a hearty breakfast at Bob’s River-front Diner spent watching the river flow by and waiting out the last of the falling rain drops, we headed down the street to the Food Farm to stock up on groceries, ice, drinking water and other last-minute supplies. All stocked up, we pointed the behemoth north and drove up Front St along the river to the canoe launch (next to Canoeverville) a mile up-river from town.
Floating under the old Bridge in Ft Benton to start our voyage
Over the next hour or so the big red rocket was pulled down from its silo on the roof-top and loaded up to the gunwalls and beyond. Then, very nearly at the crack of noon we donned our life jackets and set out for the river. With the assistance of a couple of other canoeists who were also loading up, we dropped the boat in the swift moving current and hopped in. We soon found ourselves aboard the 4 mph liquid conveyor belt better known as the Missouri River. Within minutes we were floating by the Grand Union Hotel and immediately thereafter drifting under the old bridge. With that, we were waving good bye to Fort Benton for a few days, and were at last on our river adventure!
Formidable skies gave way to a partial clearing, and within an hour we had floated 4 or 5 miles downstream, without hardly a paddle. What we had seen from a distance, we were now learning first-hand. This is powerful and fast moving river. Although it looks like a lazy float from shore, the current in many places moves so swiftly that you really have to be on your toes. Once comfortable with our pace and ability to maneuver that boat, we began to relax a bit and to spot the myriad wildlife along the river. Among others, we could spot several bald eagles including an all-brown juvenile, several pelicans, a beaver, and many deer on the shore banks.
The terrain is on a grand scale, with several hundred foot cliffs on the Southern river bank, and vast plains to the North. The landscape in this section is rural, and highly agricultural, as we passed by one large farm after another, with the fields stretching infinitely out on the North Bank beyond the cottonwood groves along the shore. The cliffs on the south shore are very dark, and look like a soft volcanic rock. I’m sure runoff from these cliffs produce very good soil for farming. The river itself is very cloudy and murky from all this sediment- and quite cold.
In the early afternoon, the wind whipped up and we found ourselves battling a crosswind, which made it difficult to keep the boat pointed down-river. Ultimately we stopped fighting it and just allowed the boat to float sideways downriver. Fortunately, this typical afternoon wind did not bring rain- as often occurs. But it did impede our progress, and produced some waves that rocked the boat a bit uncomfortably at times.
Pit Stop for Day One: Black Bluff Rapids Canoe Camp
We wanted to get to the Black Bluff Rapids boat camp, which the Bureau of Land Management Boaters Guide described as “located upriver from a stretch of immature cottonwoods, and a nice alternative to the more developed campsites downriver”. The problem is spotting these little outposts and getting ashore before whizzing by in this fast current. Fortunately, we were holding some very detailed maps of the Upper Missouri published by BLM and were more or less following the topography as outlined in the maps. As we rounded a bend at river mile 19 from Fort Benton, I spotted a small sign with a campsite logo on a little bluff above the left bank. Before even being entirely sure we were at the right place, we hastily maneuvered out of the current, and were able to bring the boat ashore.
river rocks lining the shore in richly varied shapes and colors
Turns out this was indeed the canoe campsite. And even better, it was in quite an idyllic spot on a little meadow amidst some cottonwood trees. Best of all, there was not a soul here. In fact, we saw no other boaters on the river all day, except one perhaps BLM power boat that passed going upriver. The shoreline was very accessible, with nice smooth river rocks lining the bottom, which we did not immediately appreciate- as in the impending days we would be coming ashore in some serious mud!
Safely ashore across from the two-tone bluff
As we explored our new digs, initially, Amy was a bit concerned that there are no facilities here. It was still windy and overcast, and quite chill. After unloading we fired up the propane stove and warmed up with some yummy pea soup.
Afterwords, we took a little walk to take in our surroundings and gather some firewood. The only bit of civilization at this site was a fire pit, surrounded by some logs to sit on. This is a campsite accessible only by non-motorized boat, and it would turn out to be the most isolated camping experience either of us have ever had, but at the same time a very pleasant and scenic little spot. We had no problem finding some nice dry wood, and soon had a nice fire going with our supper of some pork chops and pasta.
Campsite at Black Bluff Rapids River mile 19.5
Before turning in for the evening we saw a doe that was probably spooked by the sight of us or the canoe, and jumped into the river, and soon found itself being propelled downstream. It took a glance at us, and then decided to swim for the other shore. Unfortunately for it, the other shore was the aforementioned cliff, and it struggled to gain any footing and kept falling into the water and then carried further downstream. We hope it was ok :)
