5/12-5/18, 2022
By Tracy Hays
There were 9 of us on this trip paddling 3 tandem canoes, 1 solo canoe and 2 sea kayaks. Our collective life experience is around 600 years, give or take a decade or so, the exact number will remain a mystery. We all met at the canoe launch campground in Fort Benton Montana on Wednesday May 11th. Because of predicted high winds the next few days that could possibly pin us down and make paddling unsafe, it was decided we would start our trip 41 miles further downstream at Coal Banks, rather than Fort Benton so we could finish the trip in the amount of time scheduled.
Day 1. We drove to Coal Banks, unloaded our boats and rigged them and met the shuttle driver and followed him to James Kip Recreation area, our takeout. It was a long shuttle, nearly 7 hours round trip. We didn’t hit the river until 5 PM and paddle just 6 miles to Little Sandy Camp. It rained most of the afternoon while we paddled but it stopped before we set up camp. Everyone on this trip has paddled this river before, for some this is the 4th trip down the Missouri. We are familiar with a lot of the special places and things to see and experience along the way. Some of us hiked up the hills behind camp to the teepee rings. We watched the sky turn spectacular colors at sunset and had a nice campfire before turning in.
Day 2. The sounds of nature throughout the night that build before dawn are enchanting. Happy birds sing to celebrate a new day. Coyotes yipping greetings to one another, pheasant roosters making their loud squawk. Canada geese honk noisily as they cruised up-and-down the river in contrast to the mourning dove’s soft coo. If you lie quietly in your warm sleeping bag and listen closely, there really is a lot going on in the darkness of this remote landscape. Sometimes we don’t want to know what we heard crashing through the nearby brush or walking softly past where we lay. As sunlight begins to penetrate our tents, we too emerge to greet a chilly morning. None of us celebrate as enthusiastically as the wildlife though. We pack our tents soaked from the heavy dew last night and are off by 8:30 AM. The few small patches of frost on random things are quickly turning back to water. We paddle to Eagle Creek and set up camp after paddling only 10 miles in 2 hours. As predicted, the wind begins to pick up and are likely gusting over 30 mph. Stopping early today seems like a good decision and gives us plenty of time to explore. Eagle Creek is a very nice camp in the White Cliffs section of the Missouri. We hike up the narrow slot canyon in Neat Coulee. We’ve done this before, and it never gets old. Because we have time, we also hike the left arm of this Coulee. We haven’t done this before because of a steep vertical climb near the entrance and we always chicken out. This trip we were brave enough to try it and discover a beautiful arch in this canyon and climbed up to it. Always fun to discover something new on a trip that we think we know well. Despite the wind, we had a really nice day.
Day 3. Another beautiful morning with pre-dawn sounds of nature waking us. This morning’s highlight was a very horny turkey gobbling in the hills somewhere nearby. We’re off by 8:30 and paddle to Hole-In-The-Wall, one of the most distinctive landmarks on the river. Some of us hike up to the hole while others continue down river. The view from the hole in the wall is indescribably beautiful. This is a hike not to be missed. We all get back together at Dark Butte and set up camp. Some of us hike and explore the area. It’s a beautiful setting. We had songs and guitars out around the campfire tonight. Great day, we paddled about 13 miles.
Day 4. Sad news this morning, Judy has severe back pain. She and Matt decide they will take out at Judith Landing and end their trip there. It’s 20 miles from our camp. They got ahold of the shuttle outfitter to come and get them, as all our vehicles are 70 miles downriver at Kipp. We have lunch at Judith Landing, say our goodbye to Matt and Judy and the rest of us continue down the river. (PS-after the trip we learn that Judy is OK) We stop at Murray Dugout to explore and then paddle on to Wood Duck, which is not shown on the guidebook and set up camp. Some of us take a quick, painfully refreshing ice-cold river bath here. Makes us feel better. We saw a few elk today along the river as we paddled by. There is a total lunar eclipse tonight. We all set and watch as the moon rises in the east right at dusk. The moon is already about 80% eclipsed as it peaks above the rugged hills on the horizon. As it rises it slowly becomes a smaller and smaller sliver until it is finally completely disappeared. Everyone goes into their tents to catch a cat nap intending to watch it reappear later. None of us managed to wake up for this. My next glimpse was at 1am, the moon was high in the sky and completely full. Oh well, we felt blessed to witness as much of this event as we did. A bit-o-magic such as this is always welcome on the river. We paddled 27 miles today.
Day 5. It rained overnight, just enough to make the ground a little sticky but not too bad. Another calm beautiful morning with singing birds that make us smile. Our 1st stop is the Hagedone Homestead, just a mile down river from our camp. It’s easy to imagine the tough life and how rugged the people who lived and worked here must have been. This Homestead is the best-preserved set of buildings on the river. We paddle on by the McCelland/Stafford Ferry, which has been in operation since 1921. This is remote country with very few bridges crossing the river. After a few rest breaks and lunch, we visit the Middleton Homestead. Then on to Gist Bottom and set up camp. 27 miles paddled today. We turn in after a nice visit around the campfire.
Day 6. Not a cloud in the sky this morning but it’s breezy and the wind will likely build. Before we launch, we tour the buildings and equipment scattered around the Gist Ranch. This is my personal favorite homestead to explore, and I saw things missed on previous trips. We paddle on to Lower Woodhawk Camp and then hike back up river a little over a mile to the Nelson Homestead. This place has perhaps the largest collection of antique farm equipment of all the homesteads we visited. Then it’s on to Steps Camp -not shown on the guidebook but used by outfitters and others. It was a really windy day but mostly tail winds – no one complains about that. Another evening filed with music, this time around an imaginary campfire. 20 miles paddled today.
Day 7. Only 7 miles to the takeout at James Kip recreation Area. We arrive by 9:30am, pack up and are all on the road home by 11am. It was a fun trip with great people, 106 total miles paddled in 7 days. This was an early season trip. Weather can be unpredictable here in May, we got pretty lucky. There was only one other group of paddlers on the river that we saw a few times, they also were from Colorado.
Lewis and Clark explored this river over 200 years ago, much remains the same.
