Canoeing the 150 mile long wild and scenic section of the Missouri River through Montana
Many websites rank the Green River (Labyrinth and Stillwater Canyons - a bit over 10 miles) in Utah and the 150 mile long Wild and Scenic Missouri River segment through Montana as the two best flatwater river paddles in the western US. i have done Stillwater canyon through Canyonlands National Park 2.5 years ago so decided to paddle the Missouri. I told Brad about it and within a few days he had the whole trip planned.
We picked mid September as a cooler and quieter time of the year to go )worked out well on both counts). We started in Ft. Benton and ended at Kip Recreation Area 150 river miles away. This was a great trip - not quite as dramatic as the Green River in Utah, but some very nice scenery and very quiet and peaceful. We took 9 days - and basically had the river to ourselves...we only saw one other canoe camp (oe canoe - two people) and two other canoes coming into Judiths landing (a bit over half way) as we were pulling out...otherwise it was just us. Rain the first day, and fairly cold it was 28 degrees the second morning) but after that it was mostly clear and very comfortable highs in the 60's and 70's with most lows in the 40's.
Saw bald eagles, ospreys. American pelicans, many Canadian geese and other waterfowl, heard owls and coyotes most every night. It blew hard for a couple of days, but the wind was mostly at our back so no real hard paddling days. A number of class one rapids (one of which was borderline class 2, we actually took in a little water over the bow), but very easy paddling. The section from Coal Bank Landing to Judiths Landing (the white cliffs section) was the most scenic and sees the most paddlers, although as noted earlier we had it to ourselves. I climbed to the tip of the hole in the wall - steep and dramatic - but generally not a lot of hiking compared to the Green River. All in all, a great trip!
We picked mid September as a cooler and quieter time of the year to go )worked out well on both counts). We started in Ft. Benton and ended at Kip Recreation Area 150 river miles away. This was a great trip - not quite as dramatic as the Green River in Utah, but some very nice scenery and very quiet and peaceful. We took 9 days - and basically had the river to ourselves...we only saw one other canoe camp (oe canoe - two people) and two other canoes coming into Judiths landing (a bit over half way) as we were pulling out...otherwise it was just us. Rain the first day, and fairly cold it was 28 degrees the second morning) but after that it was mostly clear and very comfortable highs in the 60's and 70's with most lows in the 40's.
Saw bald eagles, ospreys. American pelicans, many Canadian geese and other waterfowl, heard owls and coyotes most every night. It blew hard for a couple of days, but the wind was mostly at our back so no real hard paddling days. A number of class one rapids (one of which was borderline class 2, we actually took in a little water over the bow), but very easy paddling. The section from Coal Bank Landing to Judiths Landing (the white cliffs section) was the most scenic and sees the most paddlers, although as noted earlier we had it to ourselves. I climbed to the tip of the hole in the wall - steep and dramatic - but generally not a lot of hiking compared to the Green River. All in all, a great trip!
Wow! This is so spectacular!
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