6May2010 near Poplar, MT - I awaken to a 100% gray sky. At 7AM my gear was in the canoe and I pushed off into a snow flurry/shower. While I was bailing last night's accumulation the snow stopped ... no more precipitation occurred for the next 20 miles. Then it started raining. I paddled on for four more miles, getting damp by this time when I spied a camper trailer parked by the river. Of course I tried the door and - Glory Be - it was not locked. Fantastic! The place is 7-8 miles upstream frm Brockton on the right bank. In addition to the trailer there is a fire pit, an outhouse, a picnic table and a fishing gear storage shed. A cup bears the name Fred Kanagy. Some Billings Gazettes indicate someone was here since June 2009. In short order my stuff was in the trailer and dripping dry, aided by heat from the propane stove ... yes, the propane tank was adequately full. After I got settled in, the rain picked up in earnest. Had I not stumbled onto this place I would be setting up under the canoe for a marginal - at best - night.
I later learn that the trailer is owned by Scott Carlson of Richey, MT.
Today's 24 miles were a gracious plenty in weather lake this. It is now 12 precipitation nights in the past 13 nights. Ridiculous.
Wildlife seen today were Beaver, Ducks, Geese, Pelicans, Whitetail Deer and Coyote. The coyote and many of the deer were viewed at great distance across a widening river. Probably due to the distance these animals did not bolt - I was able to observe them for much more than a glance. The river continues to be gorgeous and also strangely remote, almost forgotten by America. It is basically exactly as was seen 205 years back by the Corps of Discovery.