Rainy Day Boats and Carpentry

For those of you that are unaware i have been working on starting a boat building business. Over the last few weeks i finally got it off the ground. In fact its not just a boat building business, i'll let the card speak for itself.

Because i am looking for a shop and working on getting some boat projects going i've been doing a lot of the "& Carpentry" part of the business. True to the company name it has been raining, check out some of the storms i've been watching...

As far as the boat building i have some things up my sleeve. I will be building some oars, fixing up a sea kayak that decided to take a ride down the interstate without a car underneath it, and hopefully get this little bird back on the river.

As usual i will keep everyone posted on whats going on out here.

Big Sky and high water on the Yellowstone

Have you ever driven I90 through Montana? Did you ever wonder what's hiding behind the trees next to the interstate? Some of the red Lodge crew and i decided to have a look see a few days ago. The high water usually keeps people off the water all the more for us. High water opens up braided side channels that are inaccessible as summer dries out the flows. ***See end note after post.***

we put in at Itch-kep-peein in Columbus MT. The major draw back here is the shuttle on I90 (including construction zones).

This was Florence's first run on a MT river. Also her first time hanging out with a micro dog. Lucky for me Ping (the dog) had someone to look after them,  Heather.

Soon after the put in there was a wave train. I mean a wave train and a train. It was a hugely Montana moment and par for the course on the Yellowstone.

The boys in the raft and i switched the lead back and forth as we followed all of the right braids (away from the highway).

Before long all that rite braiding pays off as the first big wall climbs up out of the riverbank.

The views are fantastic. In fact i think there might even be some climbing potential in there.

And they just go on and on forever.

At some point we noticed a few Swallows. Then a few more, and suddenly they were falling out of nests in the cliffs above.

Thousands and thousands of swallows circling in a huge flock. It looked like a school of herring.

As the river opens up  so does the sky. The big sky wasn't disappointing, storms miles away were showing off as we continued.

Flocks of pelicans are always a good find.

We got to Laurel just as the sun was getting low on the horizon.

Even driving home in the dusk, its beautiful, despite the deer constantly lurking in the ditch.

***The Yellowstone is free flowing, no major dams. This makes for a boating experience that cannot be replicates on many western rivers.***

Local Flavor

Moving back to Red Lodge has some definite advantages. Sunshine, old friends, mountains, skiing, and Rock Creek. Rock Creek flows right through down town and as it happens my back yard. 

It has been years since i'd been down, i was pumped to get back on the local flavor. Plus now i can take out in my yard, so that's nice.

AW lists the levels runnable as 5.7-7ft.. We put on at 6.8ft and it was way more exciting than i remember.

The put in is at the Lake Fork Road bridge. Just down stream is the staging eddy then its off to the races.

The crux of the run is S-Turn which is 2-300 yards down stream from the put in. At higher water (not sure where this begins and ends) the S-Turn is stiff class IV or -V. Its not so much the size of the holes or the hazards to avoid; the difficulty lies in the push and the lack of eddys. A swim would be long and painful.

I have since run it at much lower levels, somewhere in the 6.65ft area the push slackens and your left with a fun class III-IV. Lets just say that Rock Creek changes character dramatically with just a little more or less water.

Over analyzing level aside this is a sweet run in the Beartooths. The take out at point of rocks is easy to miss, if you want to extend your run you can go all the way into town and take out at the 6th St pier. This adds several miles of fast moving class II. If your around when its running its definitely worth it.

Here is just a little clip.

Up and Out!

It has been a long drive. Port Townsend (sea level) to Red Lodge Montana (5,568ft). The drive started a little late, they always do when moving your life. Getting off the peninsula was easy enough, south to Tacoma then onto I90 all the way.

The cascades faded in the rear view as the Columbia plateau expanded out to the horizon. The bridge at Vantage WA looks so different with the water low, there are even some caves on the eastern side that were below the lake level. What history was drowned awaiting rediscovery? Every time i pass this way i wonder what was it like to cross the plateau sixty years ago, a hundred, five hundred? Looking forward to seeing mountains on the horizon i tried to keep the rental truck pinned at seventy on the speedometer. A lack of cruse control made my leg ache.

Spokane and Coeur d' Alene marked the end of Washington and the beginning of Idaho. This is the start of real mountain navigation. The Bitterroot mountains kick off with Forth of July pass (3,081ft) . I was greeted with bursts of turental down pours and rainbows. Trying to save up momentum on the down to burn on the up i was clipping along at the recommended edge of speed. At this rate i would have made Cap. John Mullan and his crew stare in disbelief when they were here in the 1850's and 60's. Once up and over Fourth of July Lookout pass isn’t far off.

Lookout pass has the distinction of being a former rail line for the Northern Pacific Railway, being exit 0 in Montana, and the highest pass on I90 at 4,710 ft. For me it always makes me smile at being into Montana and frown because its still a long way to Red Lodge.

 The first cites click by Missoula (3,209 ft), Deer Lodge, Butte, then Home Stake Pass (6,329 ft). Home stake is the continental divide so if you were to pee in exactly the right place... Continuing east Belgrade then Bozeman and the Bozeman pass (5702 ft). The Bozeman pass is the last pass before Red Lodge. At this point in the drive i was exhausted. The problem is being so close and yet so far away.

The pass goes by with almost no time to think about Sacagawea and William Clark passing this way in 1806. All of my concentration was focused on simply getting there.

Livingston slipped by in the dark as did Big Timber and Reed Point. By the time we hit Columbus i was really in the early morning grove. My mantra of "just keep driving" interspersed with dance techno seemed to be working, pulling off I90 really marked the home stretch. The black sky to the east was becoming gray as we passed into Red Lodge.

I had people question my sanity leaving the pacific north west for the mountain of Montana. I questioned them myself. The trick is to love the place your in and those with whom you share it. Its been an up and down sort of trip, capping an up and down sort of relationship between Port Townsend and I. In the end my time with you all was fantastic. Just remember you have some friends in a high place.

Cheers