“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

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Pierre SDCA Cruise

The turn out for the first SDCA event in Pierre was low, but the fun and enjoyment factors were enormous. Just one soul, Ryan S., came up from the south eastern part of the state. We also had another Pierre paddler meet us at the put-in, Dave P. Btw, Dave paddles a skin of frame boat he built with Rick Johns.
As we paddled downstream and began to get close to the edge of Pierre city limits, we saw what looked like a giant beach ball approaching us. It turns out that Chuck used his pop up sail to meet us on our way down. He departed once we got down to the causeway. Though he did help his shuttle vehicles at the end too.


The temperature was in the mid 80s, but we had a SE wind ranging from 14-20 mph with gusts in the mid 20s (NOAA). The wind provided us a bit of fun coming around La Framboise. Our bows were crashing into the waves and I know at least two of the subsequent splashes came over my head! Ryan said something to the extent that this portion of the cruise was enough to make his whole trip worth it!
For a reprieve from the wind, we took the channel alongside La Framboise Island. Part of the island trail system is blocked off to try to keep a pair of eagles from abandoning their nest. Well, we managed to catch a glimpse of the nest as we paddled along.

It ended being an excellant trip, though probably too windy for some. We covered 10.5 miles and had a great time.
A slideshow of all of the pictures I took:

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