Day Two on the Belle Fourche and Cheyenne Rivers

P1000298
Originally uploaded by Iron Bieso

After a nice big fire and a good night's sleep (it was 34 that first night) we awoke to calm conditions and plenty of miles left to make for the second day.

The river was a mix of rapids, shallow spots, and plenty of cut banks like this one. We were often hunting the channel but found we had to get out of our boats less often on day two.



We had great maps and no wind that second day, but the idea of making 90 miles total made me want to push, push, push. I had to balance mission accomplishment and troop welfare often.



There were many places to take breaks, and Brian had prepared some homemade GORP and jerky for us, so we snacked with regular frequency in our boats.

We brought 10 gallons of water along and it was about right for three days.





We heard coyotes the night before and I saw one briefly on the second day. I saw this one (hard to see him, but he's in this picutre) during our second morning.

Overall, though, we did not see much wildlife, some but not a whole lot. Those beaver that dove out of the bank walls would startle you though.



Around 5 p.m. or so we began scouting for camp. We found a nice spot, its only drawback was a ledge we had to scale to load gear. After 7 or 8 hours paddling, hauling gear was never much fun.





We kept expecting this big, dramatic confluence where we would end our Belle Fourche trip and begin our exploring on the Cheyenne, but it was anti-climatic. There was a trickling muddy spot that we later realized must be the confluence. But on we pushed.
We had lots of miles to go but we were whooped. I knew the next day we'd have to get up early and really push it to make our noon extraction time at the SD Highway 34 bridge.