BSR - Lake Alvin to Klondike

I took Friday off and drove down to Sioux City for a Young Dubliners show. The show rocked. After staying the night at a motel in Vermillion, Indy (my dog) and I headed up to Sioux Falls for a Scheels fix and then to join up with the SDCA crew for a cruise on the Big Sioux River.

We met at the BSR access near Lake Alvin and paddled to the access upstream of the dam at Klondike, IA. As a note, some time in the future, the dam will be made passable with riprap, etc. Should be a lot of fun once that happens. The trip was quite enjoyable. All the participants spread out a fair bit. Indy was getting a little bored during the first half of the trip, so I let him swim/walk along the boat a couple of times. Kind of a trolling motor! He really seemed to enjoy it; plus it took a lot of energy out of him. He behaved very well for the remainder of the trip; laid nicely on the deck/skirt. Nothing else too exciting to post; we did not see much for wildlife. plenty of cattle in on spot and a few small birds. I spent a bit of time chatting with Jay Heath along the way and he should have some good pictures of Indy and me. My gps read about 8.1 miles. Some pictures below; they did not turn out the best as it is a bit difficult to deal with a dog and a camera while paddling. Should be better once I start taking Indy out in my tandem.

And my favorite picture of Indy and me from Jay's Flickr photostream...

Bad River Expedition

On Sunday, John and I paddled up the Bad River reaching further than I have ever been. Further yet than where Chuck and I made it to in June. The day was windy, but the bends and high banks of the Bad River kept most of the wind off of us. We ended up covering about 8.2 miles.Also, I went out for a short paddle on Saturday evening. A few sunset pictures from it.

Oahe Dam Tailrace

Yesterday, I put in at a spot just downstream of the swim beach at the Oahe Downstream Recreation Area. I paddled with Indy to the entrance to the Tailrace and waited for John and Gary to catch up; they departed from the same spot later than I did. It was a beautiful day; not too warm but not cold either. Wind was calm. We paddled up to the tailrace structure and John went into the pipe a considerable distance. We ran into a little problem on our way back though. There is a point/pennisula between our departure spot and the tailrace. The water is always very fast there but in past years we have been able to go wide and get back upstream. The point combined with the dam running water made it near impossible to get wide enough. Garyended up pulling up on the point. John did make it, but he had to cross over to the opposite side of the river and stay over for a consiferable distance upstream beyond the point. I tried the same, but tried to cut back too soon and ended up pulling out on the point with Gary. I think I could have made it if I didn't have Indy and possibly had a longer boat. Or if I would have just stayed to the opposite shore. It was still fun though. Because of losing ground and fighting back near the point, my gps read something like 6 miles. I think (from google earth) it was more like 5 miles.

Exploring Farm Island

I convinced John to go paddling yesterday. It was a beautiful day; temperature in the mid to upper 80s, light wind, and few clouds. We went into the interior of Farm Island. I also took along Indy, my new dog from the humane society. He is an australian shepard/blue heeler mix and is about 7 months old. He did alright on the water. As well as Scruffy did the first few times he went out. We ended up putting in about 4.9 miles.The last picture is from Saturday, when I took Indy out for only about a mile near the American Legion cabin.

Paddling with Troop 27

Last night, I helped take some Boy Scouts out canoeing. We paddled from the Oahe Marina down to the causeway. When we arrived at the marina, there were a few rain drops and some clouds in the distance. We thought we could make it to the causeway before any storms hit. We were right... timing is everything though. Maybe 10 minutes after arriving and while we were loading the canoes back on the trailer, it began to rain. After finishing loading, we convened to the nearby amphitheater to partake in cake and ice cream to celebrate the scoutmaster's birthday. Then the full storm hit. Torrential downpour, wicked wind, and even a little hail swept through. As with most SD storms it was short lived though. As with most excursions, I think the storm will make even this short trip memorable. Also, my gps read 5.88 miles, but that also inludes me doubling back to check on some scouts that fell behind. Slideshow of pictures below:

La Framboise with friends

Sorry, I haven't been posting much. I have been keeping my mileage updated though. And last weekend I didn't paddle at all. Instead I spent the weekend in St Paul for the MN Irish Fair. On Friday I met with Cory Diedrich (sp?) and paddled around La Framboise with Cory and his cousin or nephew (I don't recall which). Cory paddled my Carolina and I paddled Chuck's Temptest. I am actually storing the Temptest in my garage while Chuck's garage gets some concrete repair done to the walls. Nothing too spectacular, 5.7 miles.

From 2009_08_14

After the testing of my Carolina, Cory is planning on ordering one of his own! Yesterday, I paddled with Chuck and his girlfriend, Diana. Again we went around La Framboise Island, but with a slightly different route (we came through the main channel at the downstream end). We managed 6.4 miles. We even came upon Cory and his family enjoying the river in Griffin Park.When Chuck and Diana pulled up to the causeway boat ramp, I heard bystanders say "Look at THAT!" and one even pulled out a camera... heh, a geo hauling around a 18', 90 lbs. kayak is a SIGHT!

Lake Oahe - Spring Creek to Peoria Flats

Today, John and I decided to paddle another stretch of Lake Oahe. I decided to borrow Chuck's 18' Temptest, so as I could get used to it in case I decide to enter the SD Kayak Challenge. John and I met at Peoria Flats and loaded my boat and gear into his Tracker. We then went up to Spring Creek. Spring Creek is the home of the relatively new deep water marina on Oahe. As John and I departed, a sail boat was also heading out into the lake.

From 2009_08_01

When I first hopped into the temptest, I thought, "Whoa, I can only fit one foot in!" But I then noticed that the foot braces were too short for me. The boat was fine to get into after adjusting the foot braces. Initially, we had a side wind causing us to fight to track straight. I also noticed my feet were feeling numb. After fiddling with the foot braces, I ended up setting them all the way forward (towards the bow). Between that and the wind dying down my feet felt fine. Fairly simple fix for a break-in cruise.

From 2009_08_01

As we approached Peoria Flats, there were numerous trees underwater and lots of fish near the surface. We enjoyed paddling through some of the groups of trees... though it is important to be careful. Even without a current, these trees could be strainers. Just a little wind pushing you into them could do it.

From 2009_08_01

We ended up covering 8.25 miles. Again, the Google Earth aerial photos are from when the water was low and show us paddling over land!

From 2009_08_01

The Temptest made a difference... I can easily cruise at 3-4mph in my Carolina; In the Temptest I can easily cruise at 4-5mph. My biggest concern with the SD Kayak Challenge is the wind. Strong winds will make paddling on Oahe extremely difficult and night paddling would probably be out of the question (in the case of strong winds). Since the registration deadline is the Wednesday before the race, I might hold off on making my final decision until close to the deadline so I can see the weather forecasts.