MONTANA ADVENTURE

For about 40 years, Mel Jones of Manhattan, Montana, has been on a quest to float the rivers of Montana.

Last week, Jones traveled through Sanders County on the Clark Fork River from Paradise to the Montana-Idaho border.

"I just did things. There was no goal in mind. I fished, I whitewater rafted a lot," Jones said. He said he quit fishing about 15 years ago. "About 11 years ago, the idea came to me to be able to say that I had floated some of these rivers and whitewater rafted and that I had floated them full length."

He started by doing the waterways closer to home. First he traveled the Gallatin, Madison and Jefferson floated full length, as well as the upper stretches of the Missouri and the Yellowstone River.

"About four years ago, I decided to modify my goal and wanted to say I had traveled by water across the state of Montana," Jones explained. To accomplish that, he traveled on the Clark Fork of the Columbia going west from the Continental Divide, and the Missouri and the Yellowstone going east. He said he had fished a lot of the Yellowstone, so had to fill in segments to complete floating the full length.

The longer stretches that he had never been on were further from his home in Manhattan, so Jones connected with locals to help shuttle him along the rivers. For the last 11 years, Jones has started his travels on the waterways in Montana on the Tuesday after Labor Day.

Jones finished his travels at the Idaho border early Monday morning. "The last day was kind of a sprint, just two hours from Heron to the border," he said. He added that on his trip to Heron on Sunday, with the wind at his back, he arrived about an hour and a half early and could have finished that day, but due to lack of cell service was unable to connect with Jim Byler of Noxon, who was helping Jones shuttle his vehicle.

Jones was able to use a canoe for the entire trip through Sanders County, but in other parts of the state had to use smaller vessels, including just floating in a life jacket.

"In the small waters of the creeks, I have to use my one-man pontoon boat. When I get down to bigger waters I switch to my canoe," said Jones, age 81. He typically floats about 25 miles a day, which equals four to six hours. "Usually the wind picks up and blows upstream. If you are solo in a canoe you don't go anywhere." That is why he leaves early in the morning before the wind arrives.

Jones docked his canoe at the Panorama subdivision. He had help with shuttles along the way. Juli Thurston did his Plains to Trout Creek shuttles. Byler did his shuttles from Trout Creek to the Noxon dam. Then he traveled to the Cabinet Gorge Dam. The manager gave his approval for Jones to use their takeout.

"From Goose Landing it will take five more days to get there," he said.

Jones spent his nights in his self-contained camper and enjoys the restaurants along the way. Big Eddy's in Thompson Falls has been one of his favorite places to dine. He orders his iced tea with a splash of lemonade. As a golfer, Jones is aware of the history behind Arnold Palmer and his favorite beverage. "Arnold liked a slice of lemon in his tea. One day the club was out of slices. Palmer asked if they had any lemonade. They did of course have lemonade for the kids. So, he asked for just a splash of lemonade on top of his iced tea. That is a true Arnold Palmer drink," Jones explained.

Jones worked in the forest products industry for several years, then spent 35 years as a house painting contractor.

Jones had some harrowing experiences with rapids. The Madison River near the Bear Trap was rough. "It was on the fourth of July, my son and his friend were with me. They had released more water than usual from the dam on Ennis Lake. Our raft snapped and rolled. We went in the water but luckily no one was hurt," he recalled.

In one instance, Jones said he took his grandkids with him to float the small waters of the Gallatin River. "I had never floated the Gallatin. It was shallow at its beginning so we floated in inner tubes," he said.

Jones said he had traveled through Sanders County by road before, but "there's just something about floating down the river. There's so much to see, animals, birds, the colors. It was really great getting back to seeing the deciduous trees right down to the edge of the river and the steep rock cliffs." He said he chatted with more than 50 people on his 92.2-mile river journey through the county. "Everyone was so helpful. I am grateful for the people who have helped me along the way."

"The whole thing was just really good. The help and cooperation I had, some of it not even asked for, was just amazing," Jones said.

Back in Manhattan on Tuesday, Jones said he is one of those people who needs to be active, but is unsure of what his next adventure will be.