second try at the river

second try at the river

Bright sunshine today. Looks like I'll be able to use my Solar Shower this morning and dry off all my wet clothes.

I think I'm going to make pancakes for breakfast this morning, and maybe some cereal too. I have to boil my water before I drink it, as it is coming right out of the river.

The next town I come to I should buya couple bottles of Methyl Hydrate for the stove. If I run out then I'll be stuck making campfires.

I haven't had to use any insect repellent yet - no mosquitos at all so far.

Just downstream is what sounds like some small rapids. I went over some barely-submerged rocks yesterday; I could feel them pressing on the bottom of the boat, but went over top of them with no problems. These rapids ahead might be another story, so I'll just walk downstream a bit and check them out...



OK, what I thought were rapids turned out to be a big tree that had fallen in the river; if I stay to the right of it I'll be fine.

I think I'll be leaving here around noon or so. Then I am going to put on a LOT of miles today, probably not stopping until I reach Bow City, the fourth bridge downriver. If I can dothat then I will definitely reach Med Hat on the 5th or 6th. Then I'm back on the road. Instead of heading east, I think I'll head south through the Cypress Hills until I reach Lodge Creek, which becomes the Missouri river in Montana. That means I'll be crossing the US border in Saskatchewan at Willow Creek, rather than going all the way to Winnipeg and then heading south.

That all depends of course on how well the next couple of days on the river go. If it is too hard then I'll be biking along the TransCanada highway until I reach Winnipeg. If the river is a lot better then i will go down the Missouri to Bismarck ND, then bike to Fargo, and take the bus to Chicago.