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Missouri River Headwaters Trip 2020 - Montana

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Apr 21, 2015
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Location
Livingston, Montana
I got out for an overnight paddle week before last and finally got around to editing a short video. I started the trip on the Madison River, near Three Forks, Montana at a put in under the interstate 90 bridge. Rivers around here had just started to come up a little from winter low flow. On the first day I paddled down to the confluence with the Jefferson River, where the Missouri River is born. A little further downstream the Gallatin River flows in from the east, completing the Three Forks and the headwaters of the Missouri River.

I continued through the canyons and eventually reached Toston Dam, which I had to portage around on the road. I spent the night at a beautiful campsite a few miles downstream from the dam, and away from the road. Aside from a couple freight trains rolling by on the other side of the river that night, all I heard were the sounds of running water and passing geese.

The next morning I paddled half a day downstream to York Island Fishing Access and waited for my ride back home. Great weather and lots of bird life. A nice relaxing spring trip.

Enjoy, Mark

 
Nice Spring float, and video ! Always fun to float with t

Guessing you take your own water ?
 
Good job. My favorite kind of paddling,
I am reading "Undaunted Courage" again right now. It is spring 1805, and the exped is about get to Great Falls.
I floated the River in 1998 from Ft Benton to Kipp Bridge, 151 miles. We camped in some of the same spots as L&C. We read the journal at night.
I have had some Lewis and Clark parties when people came in costume. We cooked salmon on cedar planks over a fire and buffalo in a Dutch Oven.
O the Joy.
 
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Nice Spring float, and video ! Always fun to float with t

Guessing you take your own water ?

There is a big spring below the dam, and a few clear tributary streams in that section to get water from. I'm not too picky, I take cooking water from the river. This part of the Missouri is usually clear this time of year, and it clears up again later in july.
 
Thank you for taking us to big sky country. I was thinking of L&C too. Three Forks was an important waypoint. Thank you for posting.
 
I might like that part of the Missouri River better! Or maybe it was the lack of honking geese all night and the absence of mud!
 
Beautiful scenery, beautiful boat, beautiful music, beautiful weather, beautiful film. For someone who doesn’t get out much anymore that was just like being there. Thank you so much.
 
I am reading "Undaunted Courage" again right now. It is spring 1806, and the exped is about get to Great Falls.
I floated the River in 1998 from Ft Benton to Kipp Bridge, 151 miles. We camped in some of the same spots as L&C. We read the journal at night.
I have had some Lewis and Clark parties when people came in costume. We cooked salmon on cedar planks over a fire and buffalo in a Dutch Oven.
O the Joy.

Yes, Lots of Lewis and Clark history around here. That group had quite an impact even though they were just passing through. Clark's map of the Livingston area shows that they walked right through my yard, well roughly, his maps aren't detailed enough to know for sure. We joke about digging up one of those Jefferson peace medals in the garden, accidentally dropped by Clark. There is some undisturbed soil in the crawl space under my house, maybe it's there?

While sitting at my campfire that night on the Missouri I imagined the men lining the dugout canoes past my campsite through the swift water and exchanging words about the big boulder in the middle of the river. At the same time Clark was walking high on the ridge behind camp with a commanding view up and down the canyon and seeing all the snow covered mountain ranges that surround the area. I think he walked 30 miles that day, trying to determine where the divide was located, and when they would have to abandon the canoes. We often read journal entries out loud around the campfire when paddling the rivers around here.
 
Thanks for building that video and posting. I'm wondering how hard you have to work to put that together. I'm sure there is a lot of post-trip editing and splicing. I'm thinking you had a camera beyond just a cell phone. The zoom to the eagle was impressive and there was no "camera-shake" like I get when I zoom as much as my phone allows. How'd you do that? No matter the effort, the result was impressive. Thanks.
 
Less mud for sure than lower down and maybe less geese, but the freight trains might be worse.

I guess the geese were breeding but they sure drove us nuts. And the mud flats along with the um mud pies.Sometimes cattle were less pleased than we were at our choice of disembarking places.!
I also found several prairie rattlers and 100 degree temps which I am not used to . In May. I learned to poke sagebrush with a hiking pole.
 
Mark,
Nice video, and beautiful scenery.
Wow, how different from tripping here in the ADK's...While much of the ADK's are public lands and we can camp almost anywhere (150 ft from water or trails), we have to be especially careful with campfires in primitive locations. There's so much decayed vegetation in the soils that we need to be very careful to not cause a duff fire, where the soil itself ignites.
And except for larger lakes, we don't have those sweeping scenic vistas that are in your video.

Thanks for sharing.
BTW, is that a Kite?
 
BTW, is that a Kite?

Thanks stripperguy, I was camped on a section of state land but theres also lots of blm land and islands that arent owned by anyone too. Even if it wasnt public, we can camp or hike along any river below the high water line in montana.

No organic soils around here. Everything is rock or sediment. Not to say that there can't be fire danger, but little to none in the spring when everything is still really moist and last year's vegetation was smashed to the ground by last winters snowpack.

yes, thats the kite I built and documented on this site a few years back. It's still going strong even though I've made some modifications and a few repairs.

mark
 
Thanks for building that video and posting. I'm wondering how hard you have to work to put that together. I'm sure there is a lot of post-trip editing and splicing. I'm thinking you had a camera beyond just a cell phone. The zoom to the eagle was impressive and there was no "camera-shake" like I get when I zoom as much as my phone allows. How'd you do that? No matter the effort, the result was impressive. Thanks.

Thanks Chip. It takes a bit of time to edit the footage and mess with the sound, especially if I add music. I have lots and lots of video from many trips but going through it all takes quite a bit of time. Then getting it to the point that I would want to upload it for all the world to see........ My camera a small handheld camcorder, a Panasonic. It's my second one in 3 years. I don't baby my camera gear, so they get exposed to lots of dirt and water. Seem to hold up reasonably well though.

Mark
 
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