For several years I have been providing transportation for a photographer who documents the travels of the Corps of Discovery. Lewis and Clark traveled up the Missouri River in May of 1805 and spent time at Point Decision where the Marias River flows into the Missouri River. They spent a week or so deciding on which river was the Missouri, finally choosing correctly. Point Decision is just a few miles downstream from Fort Benton, Montana, which is a few dozen miles or so downstream of Great Falls. My photographer friend has documented all the places that he can drive or reasonably walk to but has been working with me to document campsites and landmarks as well as wildlife and the landscape only reachable by rivers.

We have been planning this trip for a couple of years and have more trips yet to do as the majority of their travels was by water rather than by land. We launched from Loma, MT just above the mouth of the Marias river. The weather varied between windy, wet, wet and windy, windy wet and cold and a few minutes of sun shine. For those not familiar with Montana weather on the Missouri River the wind blows upstream the majority of the time! It can blow with great force which means that to achieve downstream travel you must continue to row with equally great force to achieve downstream travel. We were trying to make between fifteen and twenty miles per day. The original project called for floating almost 150 miles in a week.

For those of you that haven't reached your golden years let me tell you that 65 is not the new 25! Eight hours a day rowing is a lot of work, not the same a day floating and fishing. We had quite a load of gear too. Multiple cameras, computers, a very high quality drone to photograph campsites and such from the air along with a generator, fuel, 25 plus gallons of water, food camp gear and more. Below is the boat in an "unloaded" condition! Note the water line.

It is a beautiful place to boat, here are some pictures that give you an idea of the area. We think we may have proof that Lewis and Clark shopped at REI before their journey. The artifact in the picture below seemed to have the letters REI printed on it. I wonder if REI knows about this antique?

I wish I could say that I have a lot more pictures to document more of the trip but this was the rare time that I wasn't rowing, that the wind wasn't blowing upstream or it wasn't raining. Here a couple more from this beautiful early morning.

By the time we made it to Judith Landing, a popular takeout point for summer time river trips and the end of the White Cliffs section and the start of the Missouri River Breaks section. I was completely worn out and couldn't row anymore. We still had more than seventy miles to go with a 28 mile day still to come. We bit off more than we could chew. We try to travel on the rivers as close to the same days as the Corps of Discovery did. It makes for accurate photographs but at times challenging conditions. I would travel this river again but I think I would enjoy the section  near Craig, MT where there are trout to fish for!

Rick N