“Spend as much time as possible on mountains, in small boats, or otherwise out in the weather; if you never get wet, cold, exhausted or scared, you won’t properly appreciate being dry, warm, rested and safe.” ~ Peter Jay

"I’m an adventuring river rat at heart. Put me on a floating piece of driftwood and I’m happy." ~ Christina Glauner

"There’s folly and foolhardiness on one side and daring and calculation on the other." ~ C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels

Friday, September 12, 2008

Missour River Camping Trip UPDATE

John Adler and I have decided to add contingencies to this trip. My sister is living in Vermillion while at grad school and John's wife and father-in-law will be camping near Yankton. Also, we will have decent cell phone coverage on the river.
When we reach St Helena, we will decide if we want to push for Goat Island on the first day. Dependant on how much side exploring we do as well as the weather conditions. We can also have my sister move my pickup further downstream if we want to lengthen the overall trip.
There is also a primitive campsite at Bow Creek, 1.5-2 miles upstream from Goat Island that we can use too.
A quick overview: 
  1. Meet and Camp at Chief White Crane State Rec. Area on Friday, October 10.
  2. Shuttle vehicle(s) to the Clay Co. access.
  3. Depart on trip Saturday morning. Take time to explore shoreline. If passable, consider a brief cruise up the James River.
  4. Arrive at the St Helena Access and campsite. Make decision on if we camp at St Helena or push for Goat Island. Also, decide if we want to change the destinations from Clay Co. access to the access near the SD 19 bridge or the Bolton Bend. Make arrangements by cell phone to have shuttle vehicle(s) moved, if necessary.
  5. Eventually, arrive at Goat Island and camp. Take time to explore the island. John Adler says that there are geocaches on the island.
  6. Arrive at destination.

4 comments:

  1. Currently, the list of attendees includes Arne Lund, John Adler, and myself. Anyone else interested is welcome to join us.

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  2. I am interested in the paddling camping trip from yankton to vermillion. I am a 46 year old female from Jefferson SD I have been kayaking for 2 years. I have done many sections of the big sioux river and area lakes - I have been on the missouri once on a stretch near ponca Ne. I have a pelican Kayak. Is this trip still on?

    Renee

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  3. Yep, the trip is still on. The plan is to meet at the Chief White Crane State Recreation Area on Friday October 10, shuttle cars Friday evening and camp at Chief White Crane. Depart on Saturday morning. We will either paddle to the campground near St Helena, NE or the upstream end of Goat Island on Saturday, depending on weather and any sidetrips (ie James River). Gear wise you are on your own, though we already have two camp stoves so that is covered. You'll want to carry water for the whole trip as well as food. My tentative plan is to have instant oatmeal, trail mix/granola bars, ramen, and some sort of meat to combine with the ramen.

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  4. I'll probably post a summary/final plan sometime next week or next weekend.

    ReplyDelete