Ice Out

With temperatures hitting the 60's, ice is melting throughout eastern South Dakota's lakes and rivers. Our Pierre friends are bragging about their open water, which makes us eastern folks pretty antsy for the ice to melt.

Use this thread to post any lakes, rivers or streams that are completely ice free or frozen. I will update the main thread with updates. Hopefully we'll have open water on every lake and stream by the end of next week. Fingers crossed.

Missouri River: open

Split Rock Creek: open











Big Sioux River: open from Trent -> south (no report north) updated 4/6/08







Lake Alvin: partially frozen (as of 4/5/08)

Canoe rentals available for Earth Day

SDCA member ShaRon Kelly will have some canoes available for rent at the event, but since he has only five boats, if you need one, you might want to reserve sooner versus later.

Info on the boats:

Five total
Three 14-foot Leisure Life canoes
Two 15-foot Buffalo canoes
Each weighs 50 pounds and can seat two adults
Each rental comes with paddle and flotation device

Rentals are $60 per boat; renters must sign a rental wavier.
Rental includes transportation of boats to the regatta, just show up, pay, and paddle.

To rent, call ShaRon at (605) 323-8053 or (605) 428-6017. Leave message and return phone number.

Jarett

River & Stream Gages

Want to check out the lastest river levels in South Dakota? Check out the links below.

• NOAA
  
• USGS
  
• Corps of Engineers

Fresh images of Flandreau sites

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

Flandreau Earth Day cruise set for April 19

Happy Easter weekend to all paddlers! Our official first event, the Earth Day cruise, is set and here are all the details, images, and contacts you will need to take part.

What: An Earth Day cruise, hosted by the South Dakota Canoe Association, the Sierra Club, and the Outdoor Women of South Dakota.

When: 11 a.m. April 19, 2008 (Saturday)

Where: Starts at the parking lot north of the powwow grounds, about one mile north of Flandreau on Highway 13; ends at the Flandreau City Park, about one mile east of the city.

Cost: A shuttle bus service is available if we need it. The cost is $10 for those who want to use the bus. To register, e-mail Deb McIntyre at peaceandjustice@svtv.com.

Here's an overview map. Remember, you can click on any image in our blog to see a larger version:



Close-ups of the starting and ending points are below. Feel free to send questions to me at my e-mail, jbies0341@hotmail.com, or post questions to the blog.

With a little luck, we'll get out on the water in the next couple of weeks and add more real-deal intel on the route.







Peace,
Bies, J.C.

How cool!

Steve found this cool site and set it up for our club, so shop it up, ya'll.

http://www.cafepress.com/sdcka

It's a spot where one could purchase shirts and sweatshirts with our SDCA logo.

T-shirts not required for cruises, he said, winking.

JCB

Sights set on May 10: Missouri River cruise

The SDCA will host a cruise at 1 p.m. May 10, 2008, on the Missouri River from the Myron Grove Recreation Area downstream.

Here is a look at the area where the cruise will go down:



Rick Johns of the SDCA will host the event, and he's a Vermillion native and familiar with the area. He offered these keys on the route above:

* The put-in spot is top-notch. Plenty of room for unloading and shuttle driving. It is about nine miles from Vermillion.
* As proposed above, the route could take as long as five hours.
* Paddlers who want a shorter cruise can take out at Clay County Park. That would cut the trip almost in half. The park is about three miles west of Vermillion.
* The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will raise the water level May 10. The water may be higher when this cruise takes place than it would be before the "spring change."

Rick said the water level change will only play a role in one way: the historic ship that's lodged on the river bottom (on our route) may not be visible, or as visible, as it would be were the water lower.

But we'll have Professor L. E. Bradley, program director and chair of the anthropology department at the University of South Dakota, along with us, and he will share insights on the area. If the river cooperates, he'll tell us paddlers who take part more about the wreck, and the region.

Back to the proposed route. Here is a close up of put-in area. (I can't stress enough how useful Google Maps, Google Earth, and Mapquest can be in locating information paddlers can use.)



Here's a look at the Nebraska-side take-out. Remember, this is proposed, we don't want anyone considering this cruise to feel they will have to make a five-hour paddle. But a reminder, Rick said this could be five hours.



The more who want to come, the merrier! We'll probably set up a meeting point in Vermillion. Then we'll caravan out to the starting point they call "High Lines." So stop back for information on that.

As Steve's last post showed, the new Prairie Paddler newsletter is out, it is both in the mail and here on our blog.

More information on the May 10 trip is on the way, but feel free to e-mail me if you have questions. If you're familiar with this area, weigh in on the route length and such if you feel like it.

Peace,

Jarett C. Bies