Big Blackfoot River float

Everyone that has read (or seen the film based on) Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It knows of Montana's Big Blackfoot River. Though technically it's just "Blackfoot River," I like the prefix "Big" since that distinguishes it from the Little Blackfoot whose confluence with the Clark Fork River is some miles upstream.

Math prof and live-to-float colleague Jim Handley put together a two-day float trip on the Big Blackfoot from Russell Gates to Johnsrud Park, with an in-between campsite at Corrick's River Bend:

The first reach is 17 river miles, and we covered it in four hours or so including a lunch stop. The second reach is 11 river miles, covered in three hours with a lunch stop. Yep, the water was fast and high (and cold). While the Big Blackfoot is hardly whitewater of the caliber that Jim Handley, Don & Andrea Stierle, Jerry Gless, Paul Unmack, and other members of this group usually take on, I found the Class II water to be plenty challenging in my open "Tahiti Boat" (which Jerry refers to as a "Maypop").

Now, I am primarily a "meanderthal" flat-water paddler. But the Big Hole River has been high and not a lot of fun to wade-fish, and this was a great opportunity to enjoy a float trip with good, experienced river people. We pretty much try to live outside in the short Montana summer, so as Townes Van Zandt said when it comes to days, "Don't turn none away."

On day one, I got rolled up in a wave and ended up taking a swim. The nice thing about having a large group, including a couple of kayaks, is that people are able to recover things like loose boats and hats (Thanks, Jerry--Jan is REALLY happy that you saved my old fishing hat!). Blame it on my paddle. Well, blame it on me: I have a couple of two-piece kayak paddles, and hastily grabbed two "female" ends. As I learned, a piece of drift wood and duct tape are a poor & fragile fix when you need to dig in hard to steady yourself while climbing a four-foot standing wave.

Here's a pic of some of that water, from ConfluenceRafting.com:

Seriously, float in a group: it's a safety issue. Celia Schahczenski got popped out of her raft (while rowing; amazingly enough, the raft did not flip and no one else had to swim) in fast water with cliffs on one side of the river and thick willows on the other. It was real nice having Don Stierle on the oars of a raft and able to hold a position while Celia scrambled in. Otherwise, she would have been in for a long swim down to the next pool.

At camp, there were whitetail does with fawns, lots of wildflowers, many salmonflies, and a bald eagle. Sorry for not having more pics--I was not too motivated to take my non-waterproof camera swimming with me on this trip. Here's a nice group pic of the gang, courtesy of Andrea Stierle:

See you on the rivers!