Paddling and Camping Trip

I am planning a paddling and camping trip from Gavins Point Dam to Vermillion over the Native American Day weekend in October. A guide can be found on the Nebraska Parks website. Anyone interested, please let me know so I can plan for you. Jarett, feel free to post this on the SDCA blog... the more the merrier!

Friday October 10, 2008

Meet at the Gavins Point Tailwaters campground.

Unload and setup camp.

Move my pickup (maybe more) to the takeout near Vermillion.

Camp Friday night.

Saturday October 11, 2008

Paddle approximately 14 miles to campground and boat access near St Helena, NE.

Camp.

Sunday October 12, 2008

Paddle approximately 21 miles to Goat Island.

Monday October 13, 2008

Paddle 3-4 miles to boat access near Vermillion.

Load everything.

Retrieve vehicles left at Gavins Point.

Nice lunch in Yankton.

Head for home.

Personal Gear

personal clothing, etc. (jackets, warmer clothes, and splash gear will probably be nice to have along... could be quite cool)

boat/paddle (I will look into borrowing or renting extra boats once I know who will be going and might need one)

lifejacket (I should have plenty of extras)

water bottle, etc.

tent (I have one 2-3 person tent and access to another similar)

sleeping bag

sleeping pad, not necessary but nice (I have one and a cheap one can be picked up at most walmarts)

tarp for underneath tents (I have one and will get a second if the second tent is necessary)

pocket knife, multitool, etc.

Group Gear

camp stove/propane

matches/firestarter/etc

mess kit/cooking kit

garbage bags (we'll have to carry our trash out)

multiple soft coolers

first aid kit

camp shovel

toilet paper

Menu

water

coffee

ramen

ring bologna (the idea is any meat should be precooked; I can be a little paranoid aboud keeping raw meat cold)

potatoes?

oatmeal

trail mix/granola bars/dried fruit

canned beans and/or veggies (maybe some canned hash?)

possibly some beer could end up along :)

Another "What trumps paddling post..."

Another What Trump's Paddling Post

SDCA James River

Yesterday, I drove to Mitchell for the most recent SDCA event. We were paddling the James River. It turned out to be a terrific time spent paddling. As one paddler put: good day, good times, good company.

The total paddle turned out to be approximately 11 miles. My gps read 11.2 (including a brief jaunt up a tributary and John's read 11 flat.

Since the google earth image is not of great quality, I'll add a map with the route from Map Source (Garmin program).



Not too much wildlife was seen, though I caught a glimpse of either an eagle or a vulture. I didn't get a very good look so I can't be certain. Plenty of cattle along the way though. Water levels were good for the whole trip. There were occasional spots with a few rocks but nothing that could be thought of as problematic.

What I really enjoy about the SDCA trips is meeting fellow paddlers and chatting/BSing along the route. I made at least one new acquaintance, Ryan from Sioux Falls. And I let a few folks know about my plan to kayak/camp along the Missouri River in October (more details coming in a later post). Jay Heath also asked me to give a presentation at the SDCA conference in January, which I replied I was willing. Should be fun. As per every SDCA event, I had someone ask about my rack, which, as always, I enjoyed discussing.

It was a great paddle and very well organized (Thanks Jarett). I would definitely recommend this trip to others. I believe it was close to half way between those in the Brookings area or Vermilion area and Pierre. Making it a nice place to maximize attendance... well except distance doesn't to limit Pierre paddlers as much... I guess we're just crazy ;)

A (not so quick) slide show of the pictures I took on the trip (with comments):
FYI, In case no one has noticed this before, clicking on any of my slide shows will take you to the picasa web album

Recent Paddling Endeavors

Well, I haven't been posting much because most of my recent paddles have been short simple jaunts around Dump Island. On Wednesday and Thursday, I went out to play in the waves though. Both evenings Pierre has wind gusts over 30mph. On Wednesday, Chuck went out with me and on Thursday, John went out with me. We all had a blast. Surfing waves... waves crashing over the bow... a blast!

A slide show of the past few paddles I have undertaken:

What trumps paddling?

I did not get any paddling in this weekend. Though I do have some pictures on my hard drive from the past week or so that I still need to post sometime. But what trumped paddling this weekend, you ask? The Minnesota Irish Fair in Saint Paul, Minnesota! Great music, great times, great fun! Some examples of bands performing music: Flogging Molly, Wild Colonial Bhoys, Scythian, and The Elders. Also, I ran the 5k there on Saturday and posted my second sub 22 minute time this summer.

Scythian playing Devil Went Down To Georgia on Friday evening.


Scythian playing Cubicles and Tylenol on Friday evening.


Flogging Molly playing Rebels of the Sacred Heart on Friday night.


Flogging Molly playing Devil's Dance Floor on Friday night.


Wild Colonial Bhoys @ the Crossroads Stage on Friday night.




Crowd getting down to Wild Colonial Bhoys @ Crossroads Stage Friday night.


Ring of Kerry playing Rocky Road To Dublin.


Wild Colonial Bhoys @ Main Stage Saturday evening




The Elders and dizziness.


A friend of mine crowd surfing during Flogging Molly Saturday night. The security people failed to catch him, but he is fine.


How to lighten a crowd @ a Flogging Molly concert.


Flogging Molly on Saturday night. (Requiem for a dying soul)


McKinnis' Kitchen playing Lukey @ the Gateway Stage on Sunday.


The Fuschia Band and a song about playing a trick on a piper.


The Elders playing Sunday evening.




Water Drum!


The Elders playing Racing the Tide.




The Elders and the lovely Finnegan's Girls.


Scattering Set


After the festivities on Sunday, my friends and I went up to The Liffey (two of us were staying at the Holiday Inn in the same building) for supper and we enjoyed some bands playing until midnight. I even managed to ride in the elevator with the Elders.

Picture Slide Show:

Night Paddling

Last night Will Coolidge and I went out for a short night paddle. He attached a small beacon to his Pamlico 14 and I attached my newest toy to my Carolina 14. I also had a headlamp strapped to my hat. We only spent an hour max, possibly less, on the water. But it was quite enjoyable. I need to work on adjusting my camera's settings to find a better setup for night pictures, but I did have some turnout alright.

SDCA BSR - Lake Alvin to Klondike

Today I paddled with other SDCA members in a Big Sioux River cruise. We put in north of Lake Alvin and took out at Klondike, IA.
The paddle totaled 8 miles and was a very enjoyable cruise despite some bad news for myself. I had planned on meeting my friend, Arne, and taking him along; then camping at the Palisades. Well, that fell through when he had car trouble and had to return to Lincoln, NE. I kept in touch with him during the day and he will be getting a new car soon. There wasn't anything major wrong with his but enough minor things to out weigh the value of the car. With him out of commission I decided to skip the camping and return to Pierre tonight. Though it does allow me to update my blog sooner!

Like I said the paddle was very enjoyable. As for scenery, I liked this stretch much better than the Flandreau stretch of the BSR. I managed to catch site of a fawn, bald eagle, and possible some turkey buzzards. Also, some cattle. I am not sure how many boats we had but at one point before putting in I counted 19.

Though Arne was absent, the boat I borrowed for him to use did not go empty. A woman that had planned to ride in the middle of a canoe took it down the river. The boat was a WS Pamlico 14.

I have a slide show of my pictures below (128!) and within it I took a picture of what appears to be the remains of what may have been an old river crossing (concrete remains). Anyone know the story behind it?

The take out went quite smoothly despite only room for two boats at a time. We probably could have squeezed a few more at a time, but a few locals were fishing.