Seven days of paddling completed. I’ve descended the Madison River, and nearly the first 50 miles of the Missouri River. An absolutely unforgettable week, no doubt, and an incredible beginning for what is sure to be an epic summer.

Picking up where I left off, Friday afternoon, I left the coziness of the lobby of the Sacajawea Hotel and walked the two miles back to where the Madison River goes under the I-90 bridge. In my mind, I was either going to set up camp under the bridge if it was raining hard and there was a good enough spot, or I was going to buck up and paddle another 4 or 5 miles into the Missouri River Headwaters State Park and set up camp in the rain. Well, it was raining, although not too hard, and sleeping under an interstate was not something I was willing to do this early in the trip. It was a good decision. The 4 to 5 miles was some of the most incredible I’d seen up until that point. So much wildlife – a dozen different waterfowl species, two deer swimming and running across the river in front of me, a moose staring at me from shore, the stunning meandering of the last miles of the Madison and the confluence with the Jefferson.

Immediately after the confluence, I headed to the backside of an island that Norm recommended for camping. As quickly as possible, I erected my tent in the drizzle, put all the bags I would need within arm’s reach of the tent, secured my boat then settled in for the night. It was 5:15pm. I spent the next 3 hours or so just organizing things, constructing a clothesline inside my tent, listening to some podcasts, snacking, reading, journaling, generally just lounging around within a 4 x 6 ft area that happened to be dry and somewhat warm.

I was meeting Norm at 7am at the boat ramp in the Headwaters State Park, about a mile down from my camp. Although only about 40 degrees, the rain had stopped so I packed up camp and headed downriver. Soon enough Norm was there with hot coffee and some breakfast for me. Before we got on the river, we walked up to the top of nearby Lewis and Clark Rock. Norm explained that this exact spot was where Lewis and Clark climbed to get a view of the confluence area, and to determine which of the three rivers might be the one that would eventually lead to the Pacific. Spoiler alert – none of them. Norm did a live video for the Missouri River Paddlers Facebook page, and I tried not to look like I was half frozen.

We got back down and soon enough were paddling the first few miles of the Missouri. The plan was to go from Three Forks down to Toston Dam, about 23 miles. Norm couldn’t have been a better tour guide. He pointed out spots along the way, some with historical significance like campsites for the L&C expedition, features mentioned in L&C journals, abandoned railroad towns, or where other MO River paddlers had camped. Even an insane story where Norm retrieved a paddler’s lost bag of $5k in camera equipment, located three months later based on a weak tracking beacon and GPS coordinates.

It was a cold an cloudy day, but it really didn’t rain all that much. We managed to stay somewhat dry and warm. After a few hours and many stories, we got to Toston Dam. We unloaded our boats and gear then walked over to check out the dam. A worker regaled us with tales of pulling bodies from the water intake as well as finding and attempting to remove a Youtube video of a kayaker going over the dam successfully. Eventually, a truck pulls around the corner, which is where Jim Emanuel enters the story.

Jim is a converted Montanan via North Dakota originally, who spent many years as a firefighter in San Diego. He caught the paddling bug a few years ago and last spring left his home in nearby Helena to paddle the entire Missouri. Then when he got to St. Louis, he decided to go all the way to the Gulf. Norm had let Jim know our plans, and with Norm needing to leave to guide a youth group on a river trip further down on the Missouri, it was Jim’s turn to be my river angel. He wasted no time in sharing his Montana hosptality, he hopped out of his truck with a bottle of whiskey – the warm up – along with a couple cold beers in celebration of a successful paddle that day. We shared river stories, finally loading our gear and two boats onto Jim’s truck to give Norm a ride back to his car at Three Forks. After dropping Norm off, we made it back to Jim’s amazing house outside Helena, where he showed me his two! boat sheds (take note, Sara). I was extrememly grateful for my first shower in 6 days and a filling meal of venison and potatoes.

Up early again today, Sunday, Jim loaded me up and drove me back to just below Toston Dam. Knowing I was heading back to Jim’s place tonight, I didn’t need all of my gear so I was travelling a little lighter. Before we even got in the water, Jim spotted an object floating in the river near the boat ramp. So mission #1 for the day was retrieving a scuttled cooler. I loaded up and paddled over to the empty, yet still in pretty good shape cooler. I went downstream a bit and threw it up on the bank for Jim to pick up on his way out. Just a small token of my appreciation for him hosting me.

I paddled about 25 miles from Tosten to Townsend, a beautiful stretch of river which included York’s Islands, named after Meriwether Lewis’ slave York who accompanied the expedition, and Crimson Bluffs, so noted by L&C for the colorful cliffs still seen today. At Townsend, I stopped for a snack and gathered my wits in order to enter the first huge lake of the Missouri – Canyon Ferry Lake. Where a river enters a lake, there are always splits in the channel, a maze of streams breaking off and splitting and eventually all leading to the lake. However, you have to choose wisely in order to avoid running aground in shallow water, or possibly encountering dangerous snags from trees and branches under the water. In this case, I picked as best I could, ended up dragging the kevlar-coated bottom of the boat a couple times, but nothing too bad. Once I finally got into the lake, the fun really began. Even though the wind was relatively calm, maybe 5 to 10 mph, the sheer size of the lake means any wind at all is going to lead to some big waves. Wanting to avoid waves crashing over my boat or even worse, a capsize very far from shore, I feverishly paddled through the rollers trying to keep my balance and my boat positioned not to take the brunt of the waves. After a short while, the waves died down a bit, and I was able to dig in to do some serious paddling. I was moving at a pretty good pace. For about the next 4 hours, I paddled pretty hard. I stayed somewhat close to shore for safety and for some shelter from the wind and waves. I also played music for extra motivation, knowing I’d be able to recharge all my gear at Jim’s house later on.

I made it about halfway up the lake – to a spot called White Earth, where I met Jim at about 5:15. Added to the 25 river miles earlier, 10 or 12 hard miles on the lake had me exhausted. It was only appropriate then, that back at Jim’s house, with his wife Vicki, we dined on Perch tacos from fish he had caught while ice-fishing on Canyon Ferry Lake.

I’m certain my arms will be sore tomorrow, the weather promises to be crappier than today, and Jim’s offered to paddle the last half of the lake with me. So 7 straight days and 150 miles of paddling does not earn you a day off, try 7 more! I’m loving every minute of this.

mf

In talking about my trip with a friend recently, I explained how it was difficult in trying to explain to kids (and some adults, too) exactly what I’d be doing during my MO River descent.  He told me about these fantastic artists, the Okee Dokee Brothers. They created a full album about paddling on the Mississippi River, appropriately written and performed during their Itasca to St. Louis trip in 2011. His kids love it and it really introduced them to the river and the poeple who are crazy enough to paddle it. Fantastic!

Heavy snow is falling late this Friday afternoon. It promises to keep up until tomorrow night. It is a very good day. Today brought me one step closer to making this trip a reality. I notified my boss at work that I’d like to ask for a sabbatical. I explained what I am planning on doing and of course had to answer a lot of the basic questions. She let our VP and HR rep know and it seems to have gone over ok. Now I’ll wait for the gears of officialdom to grind, then hopefully get approved and start working out the details of the sabbatical itself, the plan for my absence and what I can expect to come back to.

In the meantime, here is me at Three Forks, MT. The start of the Missouri River. The Jefferson River is behind me, the Madison River to my right. I’ll be starting about 100 miles upstream of here on the Madison. Sara and I stopped at Three Forks during our honeymoon in October 2017. At the time I knew I’d be back there, I just didn’t know it would be this soon.

mf

Trying out a pretty cool tool – Relive. From my outing on Kincaid Lake, Southern IL in June 2018.

Relive ‘Kincaid Lake Kayak’

 

A completely free birthday eve Saturday greeted me yesterday so I tossed around familiar bodies of water to hit. A Washington, MO based co-worker has always told me about his float trips on the Bourbeuse River and a quick Google map search revealed an easily accessible river access just off Hwy 44 near Union, MO – Uhlemeyer Access.

I loaded my Eddyline Nighthawk 16′ up on the car and headed out. I was tempted to take one of my new to me beater kayaks I just got last weekend, but although shorter, their weight is somewhat prohibitive for a single person trying to load them on the car.

I dropped in at Uhlemeyer (river mile 102.3) around noon and headed upstream. Quickly passing under the 44/50/66 bridges, the water was calm and glassy, with almost no current to paddle against. I passed a kayak fisherman and a john boat with guys busy baiting hooks. A little further upstream, a flotilla of short kayaks sat on a sandbar while a family group swam in the water nearby. A cool cloudy day produced a little bit of drizzle for about 30 minutes, but then the sun came out for the remainder of the paddle. Continuing upstream, I passed under a train bridge, with quite a few river shacks on both sides of the river.

I had Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast going – Supernova in the East I – about Japan’s historical rise and cultural lead up to WW2. Amazingly interesting soundtrack to accompany the beautiful sights on the river. I didn’t really have a turnaround point in mind, but a little further up, Google maps indicated the river running right behind a Wal-Mart, so that contrast of the natural and the consumerist acted as my unofficial goal. After a leisurely three hours and multiple points of having to get out and drag the boat due to shallow riffles, I spotted a big concrete structure stretching across the river. Getting close, it looked like an old mill and associated dam. This is Guth’s Mill Dam (river mile 96.8). I opted not to portage, spent a few minutes climbing up on the dam and checking things out. Wal-Mart-upon-Bourbeuse would have to wait for another day.

The paddle back downstream went fairly quickly and I was back to Uhlemeyer by 5pm. Overall, the Bourbeuse at this stage was pretty shallow, having had to drag the boat in a few spots. But this stretch is perfect for an easy day out on a surprisingly clean river. At one point, in a huge driftwood pile on the side of the river, I spotted the nose of an aluminum canoe that had been swept up in some past deluge. So I may have occasion to hit this stretch again in the near future to see if a salvage operation may be feasible.

So you’re gonna buy a boat huh? I applaud you for your excellent choice in how to spend your limited leisure time. For residents of the St. Louis Metro area/Midwest region, there are an unbelievable number of rivers and waterways to get out and enjoy. I am very excited to see an increased interest in getting on the water in our area and look forward to paddling with all of you in the near future.

This is my attempt to share some advice on what kind of watercraft to select based on my very limited knowledge and experiences on the water.

When people ask me what kind of boat they should get, my immediate response is to answer their question with a question: what are you looking to do with it? What’s your ideal vision of a good time out on the water? Hitting class 5 whitewater? (Not a lot of those around here, but good luck!) Multi-day/night paddles on the pristine clear streams in southern MO? Setting speed records on the big rivers and becoming a MR340 legend? Taking a leisurely cruise down the River Des Peres with the Brown Water Navy while avoiding discarded syringes and stinky tennis balls? Whatever your pleasure, there’s a boat for that!

Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP)

I am not an expert in this category and have only SUPped for about 5 minutes total in my life. If you are interested in this, please contact one of the two local SUP experts, both named Shane for your convenience. (Timber Longboard Co. | SUP St. Louis)

From my view, if you like standing up, looking fish in the eye, like a full body workout more than a sit-in boat provides, and you are a minimalist who doesn’t need to bring a lot of gear when you’re out on the water, then a SUP might be for you.

Canoe

You’ve all been in one at some point in your life so you know what you’re getting. Big heavy aluminum battleships are perfect for rocky rivers, stuffing full of beer and camping gear and going on a leisurely multi-day paddle. But they’re a bitch to lift, haul and portage.

The Cadillac of canoes are Wenonah in my opinion. Many of them come in Kevlar or carbon fiber – super light, fast, stable boats, but you’ll pay for it. If you do opt for the Kevlar or Carbon Fiber, you’re going to want to steer clear of any bodies of water where you have a chance of hitting rocks, logs, small children or other obstructions.

You also can’t go wrong with Mad River or Old Town brand canoes. Most canoes you find are going to be tandem (or three seaters), but you can also find solos here or there.

(I currently own a Wenonah v1 Jensen, which is a custom built canoe I was lucky enough to acquire second hand. It is 18’6”, weighs about 30 pounds and is Carbon Fiber. A comparable boat retails for $3 – $4k, but if you are lucky enough to come across a used one, can get them for between $1 – $2k. It is super light, fast (when you have two finely tuned engines) and is very unstable for beginners. It takes a lot of hours in the saddle to get used to. I’ve used this boat on two different MR340s, countless runs on the local big rivers and even (unadvisedly) on some rocky stream trips in Southern MO and Kentucky. I did add Kevlar skid plates on front and back so I don’t cringe every time I pull up to a concrete boat ramp.)

Kayak

My most recent obsession so this is the category I have the most knowledge on. After many years paddling a single blade and striving to find the perfect canoe stroke to keep the boat pointing to where you want, I gave up and joined Team Kayak. With a longer kayak, it is much easier to steer where you want, to move down the river on the most efficient line, and (to me) have a generally more enjoyable experience. You don’t have to worry about learning any complex paddle strokes or counting strokes/transitioning from one side to the other/trying to stay in sync with your idiot canoe partner.

My first boat was a Dick’s sporting goods special – a 10’ Perception sit inside kayak. The shorter the kayak is, the more effect each stroke has on the direction of your boat. You paddle right, the boat goes left, you paddle left, the boat goes right. This effect is magnified the shorter your boat is. You can count on a lot more zig zagging with a 10 of 12 foot boat than a 14 or 16 footer. Short boats are great for small streams, short trips on lakes, or general fun on the water for an hour or two. Anything beyond that and you’ll likely want a longer boat.

With a 14 footer or longer, you generally get hatches for storage and buoyancy in the front and back. Compared to a canoe, you do have much less storage on a kayak, but with hatches on long boats, you generally have enough space for gear for a multi-day paddle camp. Strap a few more dry bags to your deck and it’s quite a bit of storage.

My current boat is a 16’ Eddyline Nighthawk. I ran across a guy selling it for $750 on Facebook and hopped on the deal. He threw in a carbon fiber paddle, hatch cover, spray skirt and few other cool accessories so I was very happy with the deal. (Generally people are happy to throw in extras in a deal, ask what’s included with the boat.) I do have a dropdown skeg, which is basically a fin I can drop into the water as I’m paddling. It generally allows the boat to track straighter in the water and cuts down on a lot side to side movement.

Unless you are set on getting into whitewater, I would highly recommend 14’ as a minimum on a kayak. This would allow you maximum flexibility in terms of the bodies of water and lengths of trips you’ll be comfortable doing. Longer than 16 or 17 ft, you’re really getting into the racing variety. (Google Surfski to see how high end some of these can get.) Most kayaks will be some kind of plastic composite, around 40 or 50 pounds which means you can generally load an unload them on your own.

Another choice you have is the sit inside or sit on top. Easy question – how often are you going to be getting in and out of the boat?

There are tons of brands of kayaks out there – common ones are Eddyline, Perception, Advanced Elements. I am not a brand snob, but I do really like my Eddyline.

Rudders

Rudders are a very convenient method of steering your canoe or kayak. You basically steer the boat with foot pedals, leaving you to paddle at will at whatever speed, strength and side of the boat suits your fancy. Also very helpful in windy conditions. I see rudders as more of a luxury or a convenience unless you are doing a race or a really long expedition. You can install a rudder in a boat if you don’t have one, but it’s most economical to get one included when you get your boat.

***Disclaimer – everything contained here is my opinion only, based on limited experience. I am happy to advise you to the best of my ability on any boats your looking at, deals, pricing, accessories, etc. Happy shopping and see you on the river!

Dan, Charlie, Shane and myself packed ourselves into Dan’s truck and loaded up Shane’s super convenient pull behind trailer with two kayaks, a solo canoe and a gorgeous Stand Up Paddleboard made by Shane himself – Timber Longboard Co.

We headed down I-44, made a left on Hwy 65 at Springfield, passed Branson into the heart of the Ozark Mountains to Harrison, AR – about 4.5 hours total. After a great BBQ dinner, we drove the scenic route 43 towards Ponca, then into the Steel Creek campsite. We set up camp as the sun was setting and settled in for a cold night.

We woke up to ice on the grass and quickly got some coffee and breakfast going. After packing up and consulting with some park rangers, we put in the Buffalo River at Steel Creek. Me in my 16′ Eddyline Nighthawk, Dan in his beater kayak and Shane on his SUP. We paddled under the bluffs a half mile downriver to the boat put in to meet Charlie. After slamming his fin on a rock causing minor damage, Shane determined the river was too shallow to continue on the SUP, so unhooked Charlie’s canoe and reluctantly dropped her in the river. 

The plan was to paddle at least to Erbie (13.7), Ozark (19.1) if we were feeling ambitious. We planned a liesurely pace, and also wanted to hike up to the falls at Hemmed In Hollow. 

Immediately we came upon massive bluffs, 200ft up to 600ft, easily higher than any bluffs encountered in Missouri. The water was a light shade of green and was crystal clear and very cold. 

The Buffalo River in this stretch, in addition to massive bluffs above the windy bends in the river, consists of slow water pools connected by a set of fast rapids varying in difficulty. Most rapids were deep enough to allow passage without touching rocks, but there was an occasional scrape on the bottom of the boat or a rogue wave flowing into the non-skirted hatch.

After about 5 miles, we saw a small wooden sign with “Falls” carved into it. We beached the boats and hiked the easy half mile trail up the hollow to reach Hemmed In Hollow. There were a few people who had hiked the 2.4 miles in from Compton Trailhead. There was a small stream flowing over the cliff and almost disappearing in the breeze before it hit the ground. 

Back to the boats for a quick snack for lunch and a cold libation, then back on the river. We stopped briefly at Kyle’s landing in mid-afternoon, before the last stretch to Erbie, but not before a pit stop to climb a small bluff and jump into an unusually deep green pool.

We got to Erbie and met our faithful shuttler Charlie, loaded up the boats and found a nice (free) campsite nearby.

Back on the river the next morning, it was a much warmer morning with a beautiful sun. The plan for today was Erbie to Hasty, 14.5 miles. The bluffs were not as majestic in this stretch, but the water was still amazingly clear and tinged green. We meant to meet Charlie at Ozark for a quick resupply, but after waiting for a bit and not seeing him, we got back on the water and made our way down to Pruitt. Picking up some much needed cell reception, we noticed a pretty big rainstorm approaching. Charlie loaded us up and Shane was ecstatic to swap out the canoe for his SUP, as the river had deepened somewhat. We went ahead and paddled the last 7 miles to Hasty under the gathering clouds and slightly cooler temperatures. 

Despite some furious back paddling when I saw the upcoming obstruction, I managed to pin my kayak on a large root ball that was taking up a good portion of a fastwater stretch of the river about a mile up from Hasty. I only lost a few cans and coozies, and managed to retrieve most of what I lost after righting the ship. We were ready to call it a day when we met Charlie at Hasty as it had just started to drizzle. We loaded up and drove to the Carver takeout campground. We quickly set up our camp, but luckily, the heavy rain held off most of the night while we cooked camp dinner and built a big fire.

The heavy rain started about 5 am, but was mostly done by the time we broke camp around 9. We took a pit stop for a hearty breakfast back in Harrison before hitting the road back to St. Louis.

I highly recommend this trip for a two, three or four day adventure. There are sandbars galore to camp on or more developed campsites if you’re into that, ample wood for fire burning and not a whole lot of people. Your ability to paddle this river is entirely dependent on water levels – I found this site to be very helpful in keeping tabs on conditions. You also need to keep an eye on the weather forecast, as heavy rains can raise water levels quickly and dangerously. Generally the upper stretches of the Buffalo can only be paddled during Spring. Lower stretches of the river are less scenic, but able to be paddled in other times of the year.

-mf

Hi, I’m Mark. Let me tell you about paddling in and around St. Louis, MO

I am starting this blog to document the various trips I’ve undertaken with a hearty group of co-conspirators on rivers, lakes and various other waterways in the Midwest, typically within a day’s drive of my home, St. Louis, MO.

My ultimate goal is to encourage and enable more people to hop in a boat and hit the water. We’re lucky to live in a place that is accessible to such a wide variety of water adventures – even more than an oceanside town. Rivers big and small, streams clean and dirty, fast water, slow water, non-moving water: It’s out there, it’s waiting and it’s a blast!