Post #11: Tent

My wife's Angus Seedhouse 2 tent will be my home for a month on the river.  During my research of the Missouri River paddle, I noticed paddlers describing hard rain, hail, thunder storms, and high winds.  They recommended a "bomb shelter" type of tent. That same tent had to be used during dry, warm nights.  I am not sure the Seedhouse is a bomb shelter.  The paddlers recommended a tarp for covering the tent's fly to help protect it from the elements.  I would also include that a tarp will protect the tent from UV damage since it will be used for several weeks.  I am hoping the tarp will expedite the drying of the tent so I can get early starts in the morning.

I stitched webbing loops (5) at the center line to the blue side of the tarp and will use another tent's pole to support it above the Seedhouse.  Fourteen lines will secure the tarp to plastics stakes. The ridge pole will be placed into six inch length of 3/4" conduit which will be pounded into the ground. I am hoping this will be enough to protect the tent from hail and high winds.  My tent repair bag will have extra 1/2" copper tubing short lengths for repair of tent poles and patches for repair if there is damage to the tent.

The Big Agnes Seedhouse 2:  http://www.amazon.com/Big-Agnes-Seedhouse-SL-Person/dp/B001AZ5YDC

Needles for leather; polyester thread for strength and rot proof; thimble for my safety while stitching.

Five lengths of webbing looped and located in the center of the tarp.  I will apply seam seal to waterproof the area.

I am not sure I will have to use 14 lines and stakes but they will be packed.

Post #10: BLM information & La Jolla Sunshine

My packet from the BLM office in Fort Benton, MT. arrived.  While waiting for our flight to San Diego, I contacted the BLM office in Fort Benton and ordered the recommended material on page 110 of "The Complete Paddler".  It arrived the next Monday the day we flew home.  The "Boater's Guide" (2) is outstanding with how to survive information and mile by mile description of the Upper Missouri River from Fort Benton to Kipp Recreational Area.  Larry stuffed the envelope with additional material which I found to be insightful.

Post #9: CFS

I was curious about the cubic feet per second of discharge along the Missouri River from Three Forks, Mt. to Williston, ND.  The USGS website has a list of their gage locations here:

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mt/nwis/current?type=flow

The following list is in sequence for down river flow. Using the historical data for the dates I would be near the gage, I wanted to compare the Skagit and the Sauk Rivers' cfs when Ellen and I paddled from Darrington to Concrete via the two rivers.  The Sauk's cfs was 2340 and the Skagit was at 5020 cfs.  That is mid-winter numbers compared to spring run off and summer flow on the Missouri River.

Missouri River CFS for June 2013

Three Forks-Jefferson River 5/30 4,500 cfs

Toston  6/1 10,000 cfs

Hauser Dam 6/8 6,500 cfs 6/15 6,000

Holter Dam 6/1 4,000 cfs 

Ulm 6/15 12,000 cfs 6/22 12,000 (The Smith River drains here)

Great Falls 6/15 15,000 cfs

Fort Benton 6/15 18,000 cfs 6/22 16,500 cfs

Virgelle 6/15 16,000 cfs 6/22 13,000 (Both the Teton and Marias Rivers drain here)

Landusky 6/15 20,000 6/22 15,000

Below Fort Peck Dam 6/22 no information

Wolf Point 11,000

Culberston 11,500

Williston, ND no cfs the water temperature on July 1, 2013 was 67 degrees.

Post #8: River Paddle

Ellen and I paddled from Darrington to Concrete via the Sauk and Skagit Rivers.  The Sauk River was running 5.8 mph at 2340 cfs.  We put-in at 9:34 am in 37 degrees and fog. Beautiful first few hours in the fog and sunlight. We didn't even try to count eagles. The water level was low enough that we hit bottom a few times and I hit a few large rocks.  It was 22 river miles from Darrington to the Skagit River with several Class II rapids and numerous difficult turns.  Our Eddyline Nighthawks (16') flatten the rapids but their length made them difficult to maneuver at times. They are sea kayaks.
The Skagit was running at 6.1 mph at 5020 cfs.  No problems. It was the perfect fit for our kayaks. We arrived at Concrete at 3:30 pm. for a total of 32.5 miles.  The Jefferson River near Three Forks, Mt. is presently running at1130 cfs.  Ice?  The Missouri River below Holter Dam is at 4610 cfs.  That is discharge from the dam.
It was a very challenging paddle.  Our clothing and hardware held up well.  We will be purchasing new spray skirts as soon as possible.  The GOPRO worked flawlessly.  I liked the distance it was positioned from the cockpit.  It does need to be higher.