James, we thank ye

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Originally uploaded by Iron Bieso

Laura and I joined about a dozen SDCA members, along with some other paddlers, on Aug. 24 near Mitchell for our first run on the James River ... EVER!

It was a perfect day, and a great crew, and my goodness, with no wind and 75 degrees, hell, it felt like California weather.



Jay Heath, Larry Braaten, and Laura all had fun, and we had a great crew, including Steven and his wife, Sarah, Ryan S. from Sioux Falls, a couple from Vermillion, another from Pierre, John Adler from Pierre, Pat Wellner, naturally, one of the most gung-ho paddlers in the state, and a number of other cool cats and enthusiastic paddle mavens.

The route we took was about 12 miles of river, and from the Highway 38 bridge, there's a sweet take-out four miles east and four miles south (all paved) so no one who wants the James should complain about the arduous nature of figuring out where to start or stop.





There wasn't much for wildlife, lots of frogs if you paddled near the shore, and a great blue heron was constantly landing, then leaving, then landing again. He was probably getting tired of us following him. Laura and I heard one "barking" as it flew away, pry grumbling that we were harshing his or her mellow morning.



Jay Heath gave mad credit to me on his blog for the organization of the event, but in reality, it wasn't me, I just put it on the calendar. John Adler and Pat Wellner had GPS info for us and kept us on course, and Adler had scouted it out so we had little if any headache in terms of getting on the water and enjoying a beautiful August outdoors event.

Jay has plenty of photos on his blog, and Steven D. posted some on the SDCA site. Speaking of the club, we kicked around the idea of a September cruise, perhaps Yankton to the starting point of the May cruise on the Missouri River. All we need is some possible dates and a little bit of enthusiasm and we'll get it done, ya'll.

Peace,
Bies

Lein Park to Big Sioux Rec Area

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Originally uploaded by Iron Bieso

With back-to-back Sundays of paddling fun, I have fallen behind a bit. But on Aug. 17, I joined my buddy Brian in Sioux Falls and we hit the slow-and-slim Big Sioux River for a late-summer trip. It was a good time, but we took our time, and in all, really enjoyed the day on the water.



We started at Lien Park in Sioux Falls, located just down the hill from the "North Cliff" area of Sioux Falls. Yes, we were just south of the waste water basins, and yes, just across the street from Johnny M's, but for some reason, no stink!

Brian paddled my QCC fiberglass boat, and I took our semi-new Current Designs Sirocco, so we were pushing 34 feet of kayak down this narrow river.



We got underway near mid-morning, and the wind was mild but the temperature was a bit on the hot side, not true Sodak hot, but not pleasant, either. We enjoyed a few breaks along the way and had no trouble finding spots to get out and stretch.



The river was low, but we did not have any issues with finding the channel. There were plenty of birds to see, a few fishermen, but nothing too crazy. We did see a family of deer, but then they saw us, and poof, they were gone before our digital lens could catch them.



This stretch of river is about 12 to 13 miles long, riverwise, and we did see a few other paddlers toward the end of our journey. There were a few "slalom" areas where we were avoiding debris, and a few quicker (shallower) spots where the water seemed to be moving, but in all it was a lazy day on the water.

Safe to say both of us needed those breaks, mostly to keep our legs from getting numb. Brian was new to my boat, and the Sirocco is still new to me, so we were not racing nor attempting any sort of speed record on this stretch.

As the photo shows, the Big Sioux River gives a paddler a nice view of eastern South Dakota farmland, actually a unique view, since most of the time, people see the fields and farms from the road, not from the river.



Seeing the bridge at the Big Sioux Recreation Area was a relief, we had enough paddling for the day, and for folks who want a good long trip, try the Lien Park to BSRA trip, it's worthy of attention. The least cool thing about the trip is the long hike from the park's lot to the water, it's a good 250 meters, with a climb over the berm, so bring your portage wheels, and some good shoes, before you get your paddle on, ya'll.

A freshy-fresh post on the James River op Laura and I did on Aug. 24 is coming up soon, so keep checking back!

Jarett

Take a Friend to Benton Day

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Originally uploaded by Iron Bieso

A friend I've known since high school came up to visit Saturday, and we headed over to Lake Benton, Minn., for a nice trip on the water.



The conditions were nearly perfect, albeit a bit hot, but no wind, few boats, just an ideal time for a first-paddling experience.

Kent tried Laura's 15-footer on our way out, then we swapped boats for the trip back. He seemed to enjoy it.

We saw a lot of pelicans and some shore birds. We put this video into the mixture as well.

Lake Benton is a dandy trip, about 80-90 minutes north and east of Sioux Falls. Not a good place to swim, though, the lake is choked with algae, so don't bring the kids to the beach unless you plan to hose 'em off afterwards.

Peace,
Bies

Big water, Kingsbury County

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Originally uploaded by Iron Bieso

Greetings, friends!

Laura and I loaded up Sunday morning and drove the 52-mile route along U.S. Highway 14, then south down to Lake Thompson, the largest natural lake in the state.

We explored the northern end of the lake and had a good time doing so, this is one of those lakes that would have nearly endless places to discover for a paddler or two. The lake was pretty much ours, but like I said, we were only exploring the northeastern corner.

From Highway 14, we went west through Brookings, Volga, Arlington, and Lake Preston, then drove south down to the lake. The road we were on will take you to either Lake Whitewood (to the east) or Thompson.



The winds were northeasterly, and we had little trouble navigating our way along the shoreline. We did find a channel that runs into some ponds to the north of the bigger body of water. There was enough wind that we didn't want to head too far south (into the main lake) and end up struggling to get back to the car.



These photos may have a bit of a "haze" to them, that's my new toy, I bought an Aquapac waterproof case, it's basically a fancy silicone bag for P&S digital cameras, it works well, and it'll give you "underwater" pix if you want, but alas, it does produce a bit of haziness. Probably best used in heavy seas.



As mentioned, we did go north into a pond, but it was so full of carp (they startled us over and over again) and so shallow, we were not afraid of drowning, but we the fetid stench of the mud made us dread the idea of tipping in such a place. We didn't make much of a dent in the pond system 'round the north of this lake.



After the cruise, we returned to the car, cleaned the boats free of sand, and loaded up. Had we more energy, or a bit of sunshine, we might have explored Lake Whitewood by boat, as it was we just drove by it. This big prairie lake was utterly abandoned, save for a few pelicans.



On our way home we noted a number of sloughs and other smaller bodies of water that'd be worthy of a paddle, of course many were completely inaccessible, save for a wade/waddle through the muck. No thanks.

Lake Thompson is gigantic, and it does have some remoteness to it, so there's some wildlife. Next visit we make will be to explore the southern end. Of course a paddler or paddling duo could put in where we did (14 to 441 south to 212 west) and make for the southern end, but you'd need all damn day to circumnavigate that bad boy, it's huge!

Jarett