A bit of news, and I'm posting it here first so if I have mistakes I can fix 'em in the SDCA blog. I'll try to avoid cross-posting in the future as well.
After much planning and route reconnaissance, the first-ever South Dakota Canoe Association Earth Day cruise is cooking with gas.
We invite all paddlers to join us at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 19, 2008, at the parking area on Highway 13, along the Big Sioux River, one mile north of Flandreau, for the 2008 Earth Day event.
For the last three years, the East River Sierra Club has hosted this event. Now the SDCA is hosting it, in collaboration with Sierra Club and the Outdoor Women of South Dakota.
This cruise should rock.
Here's a close up of the put-in spot:
Highway 13 is that dominant vertical line, it runs north and south. You can see that after it crosses the river, there's a race-track looking parking lot on the west (left) side of the road. That will be the staging grounds for the event. Obviously, the put-in is the southern most point in the lot.
The Sierra Club will have a San-O-Let there, plus the Sierra Club will have a bus to shuttle people from the bottom back to their cars. Those services are locked solidly into place. The cost for the paddle is $10 to cover these service costs.
The SDCA never charges for events. So, members will shuttle vehicles to the Flandreau City Park, which is where the cruise ends. Between the bus and the shuttles, everyone should enjoy a nice, easy paddle down to their car.
But no one has to pay to paddle this trip. But if you want to use the bus, you should pay $10.
The aforementioned park looks like this:
If you look at the top of the image, you can see the river running along the top of the park and all those white lines on the water are spots to take out. If the water levels are high (we'll know soon) and the cruise seems too short, there's another take-out down river before a dam. But this is the official take-out spot. (More intel on the other spot coming.)
Overall, the route is about eight miles. It should take most paddlers two to three hours to complete. It will be April 19, so it could be quite cool and windy, and the water temperature will be low, so everyone should be careful, pack spare clothes, and take it easy. Have fun, appreciate nature, but don't get cocky or you'll end up soaked and shaking as we call the ambulance. Speaking of which, the Sierra Club wants waivers for all paying participants.
The park offers bathrooms and plenty of space. With sun and mild temps, it might be a nice place for an impromptu barbecue. In the past, the Sierra Club has encouraged folks to bring their own brats and such and cook out after the day on the river. We'll pry have the place to ourselves, so stick around if you're so inclined.
The Sierra Club does request registration for paddlers, esp. if they are planning on using the bus service. To register, e-mail Deb McIntyre at peaceandjustice@svtv.com or e-mail me and I will fwd your info to her. Since the bus and San-O-let are the only cost factors, she sure hopes people will sign up in advance so we can get that wrangled.
This is a new route for the Earth Day operation - in the past, the Big Sioux has been kind to paddlers traveling from Trent to Dell Rapids, the first two years, and then again from Egan back to Trent, which was last year's route. This year might put some paddlers in touch with river otters, which are in the BSR, but good luck as they are not gonna paddle up and open a shell next to your cockpit.
Having a cruise in April gets many of us out for the first time of the season, and that makes it a good thing, so we're hoping to shatter past attendance records. The nice thing about this route is we're really never far from Flandreau, so if someone does tip over and end up soaked, we'll have plenty of back-up.
OK, mates, Target No. 1 is identified. Come back here when you can because as the weather allows, real-deal scouting will follow. Here's an "overview" image of the route. Mapquest "Flandreau, S.D." and you can switch to aerial view and zoom in and out to your heart's content, fyi.
Peace,
Bies, J.C.
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