A bend in the river. And a logjam stretching the breadth of the St Regis River just behind spelled trouble. I was moving fast and paddled for the embankment to crash into it, to slow down. I hit it just before the huge cottonwood swallowed me up, tipped into the drink, and grabbed the roots and vines to pull myself to safety — as the canoe and all my gear disappeared under the obstruction. I was wet and cold and in shock.

I scrambled for the highway and as I was walking back off the off ramp to get help from a fly fisherman I’d seen nearby, a big Dodge Ram pickup came hauling the wrong way up the off ramp directly at me. 

It’d been ten minutes and passerby Darin Boyd had seen the green canoe and paddles trucking upside down just downstream and was immediately looking for the canoeist to assist. Before hypothermia could set in I was in his truck with the heat full blast. 

We scouted the river and thanks to Darin’s hunting skills and binoculars he spotted the canoe stuck on a rock in swift current across the river and down a steep embankment. We got to the town of St Regis, Montana, and by the time we found the sheriff deputy, he was already looking for me. Another passerby had reported the upturned canoe and Deputy Ryan Funke had already been up and down the river a few times. We returned to the scene and the volunteer firefighter brigade soon arrived.

I changed out of my wet clothes for a fireman suit and with a wench and two sets of rope we lowered fireman Chuck Anderson down to the canoe. We recovered half my gear and the canoe itself, as seen soon after up top this fire truck.

Montana folks look out for each other and this day I was lucky and fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of this kindness and expertise. A big shout out to Darin Boyd, Ryan Funke and the the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office, along with Kat Kittridge, Chuck Anderson, Zack Lott, and Mark Boyett of the St Regis, Montana Fire Department. And also to Kat’s brother John who heard the town siren and answered the call. 

Shaken, but safe and sound, I’m safely on to Missoula, Montana, where I’m currently re-gearing up with help from friends both near and far. Stopping to catch my breath, settle my nerves, and continue forward on to the Divide and the next leg of the journey — down the Missouri and Mississippi rivers to The Big Easy, New Orleans.

Note: The all-volunteer St. Regis, Montana Fire Department assist travellers like me all the time. Mineral County stretches from Lookout Pass on the Idaho-Montana border to mile marker 76 along I-90 east of Alberton, Montana — a healthy swatch of jurisdiction. With limited federal funding, these fine folks do rely on donations. If you’d like to support what they do, you can send a donation to: St. Regis Fire Dept., PO Box 9, St. Regis, MT 59866.