Post #25: Three Forks, Mt. The Journey begins! Sunday, May 25

Speed: 8-10 mph

Miles: 47.5

Time: 9:45 am to 4:12 pm

Campsite location:  https://www.google.com/maps/place/46%C2%B024'38.8%22N+111%C2%B034'16.1%22W/@46.41079,-111.57114,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0?hl=en

Sunday, May 25 began as and remained a beautiful, windless day with a fast current and high water. The river was running at 7,000 cfs after a great winter for a snow pack.

At the headwaters of the Missouri boat launch, I had 

  to pack all my gear into and onto my boat for real.

  It's hard to believe it all fits!

      

     I said good-bye to the pups who refused to get out of the car. I hugged Ellen and gave 

                              her a last look in the eyes.  I will really miss them!

After months of planning, I am ready to begin my 

   journey at long last.

            I dropped my skeg and got my GPS going while Ellen heads down river to catch me on                         camera. The river is moving fast and my kayak is riding in low in the water.

She watched until I disappeared out of sight around the bend.

              

The Toston Dam portage took 1.5 hours and there were no dam workers (on a Sunday) so I portaged myself. The dam was at 16000 cfs. With my first campsite being closed, my goal was Indian Road near Townsend.  I used my GPS waypoint and directions from Miller's book, but I passed it by mistake. Locations have changed since the book was published. I tried to paddle up river to get back to it but nearly tipped so I decided to go five miles farther to Silos on Canyon Ferry Lake. The river did braid as it met the lake water. There were some tight areas that I had to maneuver through to deeper water. Once on the lake, I relaxed and eased up on my paddle strokes. I finally made it to Silos on the west shore of Canyon Ferry Lake. It was a 48-mile day. The lake input was at 21,000 cfs. The host, Erwin, allowed me to camp on the sand right next to my kayak and gave me the campsite for free. He was so excited to see me; he took my picture and had me write some things down so he could post it up for others to see and follow. He even offered to take me to dinner but I declined. After calling Ellen, who made it all the way home by 7:45, I spent the evening reading my Kindle. Late at night a boat with huge lights silently drifted into the cove. Three men and a woman were fishing using bow and arrows. The craft looked like some high school student's movie about a UFO!

                My first campsite was at Silos Campground

                           on Canyon Ferry Lake.