I have spent quite a few days in some pretty isolated, backwater places. We have been paddling through the northern tip of the Sonoran Desert. The landscape is gorgeous, with huge hills and jagged basalt boulders. It has been refreshing to leave behind the trains and Walmarts that lined the first portion of the route. The Columbia is one of the most dammed rivers in the world and the skyline has changed dramatically since Thompson's time. The once wild, free-flowing river is now restrained in enormous reservoirs such as Lake Roosevelt, a 150 mile long, 4 day paddle. Downstream dams have been opened to prepare for the on going snow melt in the Canadian Rockies, dropping the level in some of the reservoirs dozens of feet. The shoreline stripped but the construction of the dams is a moonscape, surreal to paddle past when it is exposed.

Because of prevailing westerly winds every morning has been early. Wake up at 5am and on the water but 630 or 700. The Zetteks provided us with 100lbs of granola which has been a quick source of 'paddle fuel' every morning in the rush to get on the water, an is by now half gone. Because weather and rivers are fickle, we often arrive at our crew-change and lunch spot at 10 in the morning, meaning early lunch, which I am of course not opposed to eating! The crew (or at least some of it) swaps out with the support vehicle team and charges ahead to set up camp.


Yesterday we had a relatively short day of only 40km which we paddled in about 3 hours. The crew spent the rest of the day bouldering, swimming, rock jumping and canoeing the river. On our way up one "coulee" (what locals call the rocky hills) we encountered several cow skeletons and lots of prickly scrub brush! I felt like I was in an old spaghetti western! We scrambled up an 80 ft pile of rubble to the top of a boulder that dominated the landscape. It was glorious. Katie, Natalie and our brigade friend Jay had a rather startling encounter with a rattle snake who shared their desire to sun himself on top of one of the rocks! He rattled, they shrieked and friends and foe took off in opposite directions, post-haste!

Tonight we are in Pateros and we are preparing for a grand arrival and welcome back to civilization. Time to go tune the pipes!

Until the next WiFi hotspot,

Clear skies and fair winds

Graham

The brigade is now plying the waters of the Pend Oreille river. This waterway is named for the pendant earrings that the local tribes wore. The French place names in Montana, Idaho and Washington (our current location) are a testament to the diverse heritage of this place and the brave French-Canadians and Metis voyageurs that brought the fur trade to the west coast. David Thompson called the Clark Fork and Pend Oreille the "Salish River", after the people he encountered in this area. 

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Jack Nisbet and have him sign a copy of  'Sources of the River,' his definitive text on Thompson's life and travels. Nisbet is an incredible storyteller, and kept us all enchanted through a two-hour talk. the highlight of the evening was a trip to see a replica of Thompson's original cedar strip canoe and a traditional Kalispel "sturgeon-nosed" canoe. The craftsmanship is outstanding on both of the boats!

Last night at Albeni Falls, we met a woman who shared her extensive historic bead collection with us. She showed us one string of beads, passed down through 4 generations, that had been originally traded by Lewis and Clark! Tonight we are staying on traditional Kalispel lands, and the community is preparing a salmon feast for us! The river is unseasonably high, and the conditions (cold and wet) are very similar to those encountered by Thompson 200 years ago.  The river flows north now and we will avoid crossing back into Canada with a 60 km portage, rejoining the Pend Oreille just before it drains into the Columbia.

Had a crazy 20km paddle with a savage headwind and cold rain in our face on Wed. We took out early and the crew greeted us with a warm cup of hot chocolate; what a welcome relief. We spent the night in Libby, Mt at the local school yard. The library hosted a special viewing of the film "Shadows of David Thompson" with coffee and cake. 

On Thurs. we had our first major trailer portage, moving the boat about 100 miles down to Thompson Falls. The community had a wonderful welcoming ceremony for us, a parade and a great Rendezvous meal. Our first day off in Thompson allowed for some much needed R&R as well as needed repairs to self and equipment. The locals have been unbelievably hospitable. One fellow named Raymond invited us to use  his wood shop and materials to patch up one of our seats. 

We set out tomorrow for Noxon, MT and it looks like we will be paddling in the rain again...

Fair winds and clear skies

Graham

So big canoe brigading is like having a giant family! People are treating us like their kids! We've been invited for supper by several teams which has been outstanding! The crew is a wonderful mix of interesting people: engineers, teachers, lawyers, tradespeople, hippies etc. We also have a seventh generation  David Thompson descendant is paddling with us!! 


Today we rossed the border in our canoes!! Probably the only time I'll ever go through customs on a wilderness beach!!! So cool. So many stories!! Check out the 2011brigade.org site for news stories (mainly with us on the front page!!) We have been getting up at 530 most mornings in order to be packed and on the water for 7 a.m! I guess that will condition me for teaching Trinidad this fall, where classes start at 730 am. Fortunately we have calmed the storm that was the contents of our truck/trailer... things are finally getting under control!

I already have an epic sun tan, and already getting ripped :P. Yesterday one of the old vets did a headstands in the boat...while moving!!! Lots of gorgeous pics to share. If you check our site you can see were we have paddled; right now we are making our way down Koocanusa Lake, which is a man-made reservoir for Libby Dam, the water level is 20 m below normal so we have been paddling on the lake bed, with huge sandy bluffs leading to the natural beaches looming on either side. Today we found a stump of a tree at the bottom of the reservoir that was over 250 years old, meaning it had seen David Thompson pass by the very same place 200 years ago!!!

Clear skies and fair winds,

Graham

Today was busy, despite not being a travelling day.  We had brigade training all morning, practicing steering, switching, figure-eights etc. We also practiced our arrival ceremony. In the afternoon, we all paraded through Invermere with accompanying bagpipes. It was an honour to stand with David and Charlotte along with our comrades in paddling! 
    
When we arrived back in camp it became apparent that one of the boats had been stolen. We could see the bandits approximately 2km from shore and we immediately set out to apprehend the scoundrels! We loaded 2 boats with 8 paddlers (2 above the normal load). We quickly reeled in the rouge boat. As we approached,  the occupants remarked that we looked like "pirates" and "professionals". We boarded and escorted the miscreants back to shore, where the authories dealt with them.

What a day! (And the trip hasn't even started yet!)

Sunday May 28
  Arrived in Calgary after a 16 hour drive, the prairies are gorgeous but almost hypnotic. We got the trailer suck in the mud at a rest stop in Saskatchewan, but fortunately we were able to unhook, drive the truck out and pull the trailer out from the solid traction of the pavement. The mud had the consistency of axle grease and stuck to everything! The quaint British lady in the centre put up a sign especially for us: “Please remove muddy footwear.” After several more hours drive on the prairies, we discovered that we lacked both running lights on the truck/trailer and dashboard lights. This made the approach to Calgary at 1 am rather stressful. Very tired upon arrival. Had a beer and hit the sack.

 Monday May 29, 2011
  We rose early on Monday, with many issues to deal with including a rather disturbingly worn trailer tire. After considerable running around and work, we were off to pickup our trailer in Kootenay only 3 hours late. Banff National park is breath taking. It is incredible to think that these towering peaks were once on the bottom of a vast ocean. The Hot Springs at Radium were wonderful! Hopefully I didn't get a fatal dose of radiation!We encountered a herd of mountain goats on our way out of the mountains! They were just hanging on the highway. 

Tuesday May 30, 2011
 Woke up after a great sleep under the canoe! We spent the day repacking the truck, canoeing and swimming. It is fantastic to be back in the fur trade! My paddle and moccasins greet me like old friends! We also practiced swamping the canoe and self-rescue, not an easy feat considering a 25ft boat weighs ~5 tonnes. After lunch I broke out the pipes and serenaded the Rockies!