A Journey to Flathead Lake, Montana

Situated in the northern Rockies of Montana is a great valley carved by glaciers and in this valley sits a lake; Flathead Lake. Some thirty miles long and up to about fifteen miles wide, with islands and coves to explore.  It was here that I set my sites if I had any hope of taking my boat out this summer.   Because sailing season is so short in the north, one must take every opportunity.

I had gotten the offer to work on the Flathead National Forest in late April.  I immediately got on Google maps and looked at the perspective job location to see what was there.  Low and behold there was a relatively large lake very close to the location I would be working. Nothing like Lake Superior, but adequate for the purpose (I hoped).

In early June I packed up my car, hooked up the boat, and hit the road  It was hard leaving family and friends, but it was only for a short duration; I would return and in time to enjoy at least the last bit of summer.  

The drive was uneventful; my Subaru Forester pulled the boat with no trouble.  Of course it was flat; the real test would come when I got out west.  Wait, I spoke to soon.  At approximately 12:00 noon as I was driving across Minnesota I blew out one of the trailer tires.  As fate would have it I had no spare, and to top that off, the lug wrench in my car didn’t fit the wheel.

I disconnected the trailer on the side of a narrow two lane highway, and drove to the closest town, a distance of about eight miles.  Once there I bought a lug wrench, and went back to the boat.  It took another trip into town with the blown tire and back before I was on the road again.  I had the other tire changed as well, not wanting to relive the experience. 

Yep, still there (the boat)

The rest of the day was spent heading west in some wicked head winds.  My little car was struggling to maintain sixty miles an hour across North Dakota.  Man, that was a long drive.  I can only hope the winds are in my favor on the way home. 

I made my goal of reaching the Montana state line before midnight eastern time, with ten minutes to spare.  I drove for another hour until I was getting loopy and then pulled over and slept in the boat.

The next day found me in Montana.  Let me tell you, Montana is a really big state!  It took me ten hours of driving through beautiful landscapes devoid of any towns to reach my goal.  Hell, the 1^st McDonalds I found was in Helena. 

My new pad

I arrived in Condon Montana at 3:00 PM local time and claimed my spot for the summer.  It was a small bedroom in the corner of a small house located on a government compound in the middle of nowhere.  The other occupant and I proceeded to drink many beers.

My new RV

The next day I drove down to Flathead Lake, towing the boat.  I went to Wayfarer State Park and got a camp spot for the night.  I then went shopping for all the necessary supplies to see me through the coming week.  Upon my return, I crawled into the boat and took a nap.  Sailing would have to wait, it was late in the day and I was tired.

The next day I was up early.  I made some food and some coffee, broke camp, and headed for the boat launch.  It took me an hour to set up the boat, and get her launched.  I would spend the next seven hours on Flathead lake (my new lake) admiring the scenery.

           It was a pretty slow sail with the top speed pushing four knots.  In fact, I had to motor about half of the time due to lack of wind.  That’s okay; it was good just to be out on the lake.  In future water souljourns, I shall make a much more detailed exploration of the lake, spending my three day weekends in and around all the coves and islands to be found there.

Looking east on Flathead lake

Typical shore habitations

A view from the Flying Fish