Laura and I drove to Flandreau Saturday evening to check on the river. As the images show, there's still ice, but there's plenty of moving water! That's good news. I hope these photos serve as a nice preview for folks unfamiliar with the river here.
There are rapids just below the start of this April 19 cruise, but they should add fun, not fear, to our cruise at 11 a.m. April 19.
This photo shows the easy-access path that one would take to the put-in from the oval lot on the N side of the bridge.
The starting point is fine, in fact we found we have two possible starting points. We should be able to launch boats from both sides of the river. The left/first photo here is from the north side looking towards the powwow grounds, the second is from the grounds looking back at the northside put-in.
There's another shot of the put-in spot, too, that log is a good visual key to the starting point.
The drive from the top to bottom is literally five minutes, we timed it, and we found this nice take-out spot in the park at the end point. Note the "drive right up" nature of the exit point. (And the ice. Thankfully we're not doing this trip today, no?)
I checked the USGS site and they did not have water temp information for the BSR in Flandreau, but here's to hoping the ice will melt enough to make this trip a hoot. But not enough to flood things out.
I'll be posting again soon with some links to the USGS and NOAA sites, along with some gear guide information. Remember, friends, it's not going to be dangerous, but it will be cold, so let's all get dry bags and spare clothes today so we know we'll have them in three weeks! Jarett
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