@bill
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Hey Sarah,
At the risk of sounding like JK replying from afar. I just wanted to give you an atta gurl for your note about having your kids at the pool class. I’m like you, always thought it was kid inclusive. I remember having little critters hanging on the side of kayaks, riding kayaks, shooting water guns, swimming, and just generally having a good time. I hope that rule changes… -
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Chuck, I hope you can post something about the ‘funny business’ going on. I heard from a hiking buddy that there was no money to fix the Crane Pond dam. I guess you just have to look around the Mark Twain National Forest to see that it’s a poorly managed forest. Some of everything is in disrepair–i.e. no water in the Upper Silvermines Campground. Other Campgrounds not up to snuff. I’m here working for the Park (Glacier National Park) but I represent the Kootenai and Flathead National Forests on my ‘other MWA Board’ the Montana Wilderness Association. So I get to see and interact with Forest Supervisors who are competent. Sometimes our politics are different but the infrastructure is in good shape–Trailheads, Campgrounds, trails, and so on. It’s a shame nothing is happening to fix the Crane Pond Dam. The MWA needs to get more involved and apply as much political pressure to the local Congressman and both Senators…
Just my opinion,
Bill
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So, I called Amanda Walker today. It’s like talking with a stump. She (The Mark Twain National Forest) is fixated on sending a camera thru the pipe under the river to see where the leak is located (they think it’ s there). And she thinks they can get it done for a “couple of hundred dollars.” I don’t think the MTNF can get anyone to even start to figure things out for that kind of money. The Mark Twain Forest is like most other NFS. They had their funding cut by 30% this year. It happened to our NFS’s here in Montana but our Senators (one Republican/one Democrat) stood up and got the funding reinstated for our state. I think you (the folks who boat and use this website–not just MWA members) should call Amanda Walker 573-364-4621 and experience what ‘stump talking’ is like. Then you should get in touch with your local state congressmen to put some pressure to get the wheel turning. And then call your U.S. Senators and get them involved. It would be nice to have potable water in the Upper Campgrounds. It’s been three years and that’s BS.
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I wouldn’t worry about rec boaters too much. I’m speaking from experience as that is how I got into kayaking. I was a canoe floater who boated through the shut-ins on a Saint float trip. No helmet, no float bags, cooler and camping gear. It was a low water summertime run and had no problems and didn’t see anyone on the river. We (the MWA) are not the river police. My experience has been to help rescue when you can, but ranting and raving a lecture is not needed. Folks usually know when they screwed up and if they don’t know, well there is always another chance… The Forest Service and MDC can put up all the warning signs they want, but people will do what they want.
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As far as I know Rocky Falls still hasn’t been run. I did check it out several times (when I lived on Russell Mt) after heavy rains but it was never enough for me to feel I could avoid the spot on the left. Most of the water flows towards a very obvious pinning spot, a slot just made for a kayak (check it out in the summer). Maybe an open boat would be a good choice that way when you stopped in a dead pin you could (and prolly would) fly forward. The creek below the falls to the Current River has been run several times. I think Ronnie and/or David from Discover Ministeries might have been the first. Lots of water needed for some cool twisty drops… Timber/brush can be a problem—I haven’t seen it since the 2009 Derecho, go as part of a team.
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Just one of the bonus’ of living for months at a time in a Lookout on top of a mountain is bird watching through high powered optics. I see more Golden’s’ than Baldies. Richard’s clue for spotting differences–the Golden has feathered legs all the way to their toes is a handy tool and they are a more solitary Bird. I’ve been lucky enough to see both species playing in the air—incredible arial ballets, soaring, locking together, tumbling for hundreds of feet, and then breaking away to soar up to do it again and again and again. Also, one dropping something only to have the other catch it out of the air and drop it so the other can grab it—kind of an ariel game of catch. Once, one morning at my Lookout I stepped out with coffee to sit in my chair. There was a loud ‘whump whump’ over my head. It was a huge Golden who had decided to spend the night on top of my Lookout (the highest place for miles and miles). As it flew out, it looked back at me, decided I wasn’t a threat, and circled back to it’s perch. We sat and calmly watched each other not 8 feet apart for several minutes. When the sun rose enough to light up the Eagle it took off for parts unknown over the Divide…
PS>Unrelated but…
A good book to read is: Prairie Keepers: Secrets of the Grasslands by Marcy Houle -
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