After being in Montana since the end of August, we finally got a chance to get our boats wet. It was Saturday, October 6th, and the weather was friendly...sort of. Earlier in the week there had been significant snows above 5,000ft, but it was sunny and upper 50s, so we went for it. Since arriving in Helena, we had been hearing over and over about the Gates of the Mountains--a spot aptly named by Meriwether Lewis during the famous Lewis & Clark expedition on the Missouri River in Montana.
Paddling through the canyon was really amazing. The views were some of the best I've ever seen from a boat, and, of course, there was a sense of history to it that was really cool. The float started out in a resevior for about a mile or so before you were swallowed into the canyon throught the Gates. Once in the canyon, there was very little current, so it was a lot like paddling a lake, however, the calm early afternoon breeze went gale on us and turned the canyon into a wind tunnel, complete with some pretty big whitecaps. It actually got kinda difficlult for a while, and before it was all said and done Kiley and I got sprayed pretty good, which made the boloney and tomato sandwiches taste a little better when we finally got back to the cars.
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