50 - 7/12/2011 - St Regis (Montana)

A Highway Runs Over It

One thing I haven't talked much about on this trip is the food. Every morning, we would seek out a Subway, usually at a gas station, and grab a footlong sandwich for the day. We'd have half for lunch and half for dinner. This wasn't the case every day, but it was what sustained us for many of the days.

The St Regis River is a tributary of the Clark Fork, and I-90 runs along the river for most of its length. The river is small and there are many highway bridges over it. We did a short section (6-7 miles) and went under the freeway at least 10 times.

As with the other rivers, this one was splashy and clear, with lots of class II+ rapids. Near the end of the day, I had to stop surfing because my back started to bother me a little. Luckily, a little rest fixed this and I didn't have any significant back pain on the rest of the trip.

We made the takeout in the afternoon and headed once again to Wallace, Idaho. We took a look at the SF Coeur D'Alene River, also known as "Shit Creek", which runs through the town. We also made the decision to stay at a local hotel for the night rather than trying to find a place to camp.