Post #22: Down to hours

It is down to hours now before we head out for Three Forks, Montana. Now it is all about details.
The kayak had the final packing today. I have to find room for my running shoes. The supply boxes for Fort Benton and James Kipp are packed. The Forester received its timely maintenance. It will need to get us to Three Forks and get Ellen and the pups back home without mishap. Then in three weeks get Ellen to Fort Peck, Mt. safely and then get us back to the pups after a short visit to Washburn, ND.
What have I forgotten? TP? Oh, shit.

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What have I forgotten? The deck. Details. 
There are a few deck boards that have ends popping up. They will have to wait for my return in 
July

Post #21: Snafus

My first campsite is being remodeled and is closed until July.  I will need to paddle to Indian Road Campground near the town of Townsend instead.  That will be a 43 mile day.  Other problems are due to the winter ice.  As of now, there is no drinkable water at James Kipp.  The ice tore up the campground as seen in the BLM photos below.

Post #20: Medical

Last week I had appointments with my medical doctor, dentist, and chiropractor.  I arranged for the exams early in 2014 for late May in case I get the thumbs down from them I would still have time enough to make adjustments. I was really concerned about what to do if my appendix became inflamed.  The doctor assured me that there would be nothing I could do if that happened.  He also stated I was beyond the age for an appendicitis attack.  At my age he said I should be more concerned about heat stroke, an old fashioned stroke, heart attack or an aneurysm.  My blood pressure, blood and urine tests results were outstanding.  After a complete exam and a informative discussion he said I was a six out of ten globally and for my age I was a nine.  My dentist said I was good to go and wished me luck. She told me if I break a tooth to put it in milk until I could get to a dentist. There is no milk on this trip.  I have been seeing a chiropractor because my hips were misaligned by 20 mm and when I ran it was causing severe pain in my lower right leg.  His X-rays showed that my hips have improved by 7 mm.  He said I should get a deep massage or two so the muscles don't go back to their old habits.  I should do that in Fort Benton. He gave me the thumbs up for the trip.

Post #19: Rosie

Rosie is a 1967 International Loadstar wheat truck that was used, owned, and maintained in eastern Washington by Ellen's dad.  We drove it home this weekend with a stop in George after a three hour drive.  We got up early Sunday morning in order for Rosie to make the ten mile Vantage Hill run in cooler air.  It took us four hours to drive from George to Duvall which normally takes about two hours. She did well. The radiator never heated up as she cruised up Vantage and the Pass.  We will use her to haul dirt, manure, rocks, etc. No more typical $85 transport fees for delivery.

Post #18: Heather

We have a shuttle.  Heather has offered her services to us  and will meet us at Fort Peck on 6/21. She will make the 2.5 hour drive back to Williston with our car and meet us 5-7 days later.  I hope the weather cooperates and allows me to paddle Fort Peck Lake in ample time. This is one less logistical problem I have to deal with before launching. Great.

Post #17: MSR

While doing general maintenance on our MSR Dragonfly stove, I discovered a frozen fuel jet. I tried every chemical known to man to loosen the jet. My neighbor, Chris, even applied heat to the bottom of the stove. We couldn't budge it. I contacted MSR and Austin told me to bring it in and they would take a look at it. I made the forty minute drive to Seattle and thanks to Scout I found the warranty office in a non-descript building nested among produce storage buildings and rows of trucks being loaded and unloaded.
It took Iris less then ten minutes to rebuild the stove. No charge! The decade old DragonFly works like new now.

Post #16: Shuttle

I thought it would be easy to arrange for a shuttle between Fort Peck and Williston, ND. This has become the most difficult and frustrating organizational item that I have encountered.

When Ellen and I floated the White Cliffs section of the Missouri River a few years ago, we arranged for a school teacher from Fort Benton to drive our car from Coal Banks to Judith Landing. It worked well and we were able to help out a poorly paid teachers. We know, because we both put in our service time with high school kids.

Surfing the net for Williston High School was not a problem. Our email was sent out to the principal of the school and we immediately got a reply. He said his retired school teacher wife would be interested in doing the shuttle. He had a few questions about the details in the first email. Then later he asked about airfare and motel accommodations. Hmmmmmm. The principal, two retired teachers, and one teacher, finally put it all together. That Williston High School was in Florida, not North Dakota. Too funny.

I contacted the real Williston High School and the principal forwarded our request to his staff. No one responded. He tried again and again no one responded. In fact, I received a phone call from the superintendent of the district questioning my request. I just wanted to help out a teacher by paying them to drive our car 2.5 hours from Fort Peck to Williston. That would be 5 hours of driving and I was willing to pay per diem plus $100 and gas expenses. If I saw that email when I was teaching I would have jumped at the opportunity.

The same request went out to several school districts in the general area. All of them very small districts. I even tried the Chamber of Commerce in Fort Peck and in Williston and never received a reply.

Finally, a commercial shuttle business 22 miles from Fort Peck indicated he could shuttle us for $3,300!

Ellen wondered out loud if that included champagne.

Recently, we received a phone call from an elementary school teacher that said she was interested in helping us out. She left a contact number and we have tried it several times since and have not heard from her.

We are now with plan B. Once at the campground near the bridge on Highway 85 just west of Williston, we will put-in. Ellen will stay with the gear and kayaks. I will walk into town and catch the train to Nashua and hitchhike the 18 miles to Fort Peck. It will be the cheaper, longer, and the more risky option. Leaving Ellen alone in Williston is not a great idea. Having Ellen negotiate the 18 miles from Nashua to Fort Peck is a higher risk.

I like riding trains. My running shoes will be on me.