2011 South Dakota Kayak Challenge And Reflections From 2010

This weekend will mark the 2 month countdown to the Second Annual South Dakota Kayak Challenge. A challenge primarily and a race secondary, that will see about 100 racers line the shore of Riverside Park in Yankton SD and with the sound of a gun, start their journey along a 75 mile (120km) section of the mighty and historic Missouri River, crossing into three states and finally finishing in Sioux City Iowa. As such, I have dedicated this entry to the challenge in an attempt to answer many questions for people that I have talked to that are interested in taking part in this great event.

THE COURSE
As stated, the course is approximately 75 miles (121km) in length, for which each boat will have 30 hours from the starting gun to finish. This 30 hours includes all breaks, naps and calls-of-natures there may be.

The course has 4 check points, Myron Grove, Mulberry Bend, Bolton and Rosenbaum which can divide the race into 5 spearate legs. Below are descriptions of the race based on my experiences last year and from talking ot the organizers and other fellow competitors.

LEG 1
The first leg between Riverside Park and Myron grove is a 17.5 mile (28km) downstream stretch of river that is channeled by numerous large islands and many more smaller islands, however, the flow is relatively unimpeded and the water deep. Last year there were a few sandbars along this route, but nothing major. The only real concern that I would say there is in this leg is a branch in the river after about 5 miles (8km), a smaller branch will flow north while a second brach flows south. I advise all would be paddlers to take the southern branch as its the more direct route and the northern route will lead you through what appeared to be a narrow, shallow channel that has its fair share of small islands you'd have to negotiate around before rejoining the main channel - it also adds about 0.6mi (1km) to your overall distance. I didn't hear about anyone taking the northern route last year - probably because you can still follow the crowd of paddlers, but it wouldn't be hard for a person to take it.

LEG 2
The second leg of the race between Myron Grove and Mulberry Bend is 11.5 miles (18.5km) in length. About 0.5mi (0.8km) after the Myron Grove checkpoint, the river becomes divided by Goat island, an island about 4.5 miles (7.2km) long, forcing you to choose one of two channels - a northern channel and a southern channel. Last year we we pulled into Myron Grove in a group of about 5 boats all within 7-10 minutes of each other. Of those boats, Tyler and I were the only boat to take the south channel. In retrospect, I would still recommend paddlers to take the southern channel. From accounts from volunteers and other racers, the northern channel is more channelized as it is divided even further by smaller islands. When the two channels merged, we had actually made time and distance on a few boats that left Myron Grove before us and even passed one or two. About 0.8miles (1.3km) the Missouri River will start to have fun with you - the river flows around two islands creating 3 channels and water levels drop. Last year the southern channel had many downed trees and some sandbars that were visible. We opted for the middle channel which for the most part was decent, however we pulled too close to the first island and quickly found ourselves bottoming out - coming to a complete stop in the middle of the Missouri River. As we quickly found out, the middle channel has a large barely submerged sandbar that sticks out about a quarter of a mile from the north shore of the island. In retrospect, we should have hugged closer to the southern shore of the second island as I believe the water was deeper. After these islands the river takes a sharp turn to the south where these sandbars are pretty much part of the scenery for the last 5 miles (8km) before Mulberry Bend. It is also around this time the headwind wind really started to pick up (20-30mph, 30-50kph).

LEG 3

The third leg of the race is about 12 miles (19km) from Mulberry Bend to the Bolton checkpoint. I stongly remember a strong channelized current along this section, one that is not hard to miss and if you can ride it, can propel you through the bend in quite a short amount of time - I do also remember som very large boils that threaten to derail your run if you happen to slip out of this current. Just over 3 miles (5km) after Mulberry Bend, the river will fork into three channels. I remember the south channel being filled with shallows and sandbars, the same with the middle channel, however, if you stay river left in the middle channel you should miss the shallows and the sandbars. From the sounds of it, the northern channel is completely clear of sandbars and might be worth attempting this route as the length difference is less than 0.2mi (0.3km) and might mitigate the decrease in speed caused by the sandbars and shallows. Immediately after the shallows two large sandbars are present and highly viible in the middle of the river - avoid them - though if you need a break, I did see one boat pulling over on them. The river channel will then squeeze past a peninsula before flowing around a small treed island - I'd again recommend river right around this island until the Bolton checkpoint.

LEG 4

Bolton checkpoint to Rosebaum comprises the fourth leg of the race. This 14.5 mile (23.3km) section sees the river gradually taper into a more narrow even banked single channel river. About 1.5 miles (2.5km) after the Bolton checkpoint wingdykes begin to appear on the right bank. These are worth crossing the river for. Wingdykes are fabulous inventions, built by the US Army Corps of Engineers, they are rock structed that are built out into the river perpendicular to flow and they force water away from the shore, narrowing the river and creating quick channelized currents as water flows around them. Be warned, they also produce extremely large boils behind the structure, but behind them the water is calm and is a good place to rest if you need to. Be careful about not hitting one though as the force of the watter hitting it can pin and/or capsize a boat - this is more important at night or in low visibilty conditions, normally they are easy to avoid. I have heard stories of this happening (not in the SDKC though). If you are a confident paddler these currents can really be beneficial. The first set of wingdykes will last for about 0.8 miles (1.3km) - enough to let you know if you want to use them. By staying river right you will avoide major channelization and shallower water on the opposite bank as the river turns southwards towards Rosenbaum. The rest of the leg except for the 2.3 miles (3.8km) before Rosenbaum is fairly straight forward paddling with no obstacles. Near the end of this leg wingdykes will again appear, this time on the left shore before stopping and picking up on the right shore. Good paddlers in good conditions iwll be able to skirt across the river and use these to their benefit, at the same time, this is were recreational motor boat traffic will wreak havoc the most - and it will only get worse.

LEG 5

Once you hit Rosenbaum you are 16 miles (25.7km) from the finish line in Sioux City and in the last leg of the race. Technically speaking, this is probably the easiest section of the race, however you have just paddled over 55 miles (88km) through shallows, strong headwinds and around islands and sandbars. From this point on, wing dykes will line the shores of the river (they will be on the outside of every major bend), so confident paddlers will find this helps a lot if they can ride the current. If conditions exist it could be worth skirting the river and riding the wingdykes, I know several paddlers did this. However, the recreational boaters might make this almost impossible. Last year the biggest complaint (after the headwinds) were the boaters throwing huge wakes at the racers - many not really caring and several doing it on purpose. Be very careful around the boaters you can see them, they may not be able to see you. About 11.5 miles (28.5km) after leaving Rosenbaum you will be able to see some extremely large mansions on the left bank, at this point you will probably be riding the wingdykes on that side as well (or avoiding them like the plague) and possibly flipping off some motor boaters, but take pleasure in seeing these, you're less than 5 miles (8km) from the finish and on the second last set of wingdykes. A mere 3 miles (5km) futher you will come to the confluence of the Missouri River and Sioux River on the left shore, but at this point you will probably be fixated on the Sioux City Bridge (Veteran's Bridge). From here make sure you get to the left shore and follow it to Bev's, turn sharply into the marina and bask in the knowledge that you just finished the South Dakota Kayak Challenge.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM 2010

When most people hear "75 miles (120km)" and "30 hours","paddling" in the same sentence, it usually summons visions of herculean trapezius muscles and biceps or just an impossible combination - this is not the case. This is not an impossible task, 75 miles (121km) in 30 hours is doable if you put your mind to it and practice, all you have to do is believe in yourself and know what you want. There are three kinds of people that will enter this race in my opinion, (1) ones that want to compete to win, (2) those that want to challenge themselves and finish, (3) those that want to just paddle regardless of the outcome. Its easy to know which one you fall into, just believe in yourself and train for that division.

For those people coming this year, the biggest thing that I can pass on is don't let the wind, recreational traffic or other hardships get you down. If you really want to finish but are finding the wind and traffic too much and are thinking of pulling out, get to the shore or into one of the checkpoints. Get ot of your boat and take a breather and a break and talk to other paddlers, they're likely having the same experience as you. A brief timeout or conversation can do wonders and get your mind and body back into the game. If you do decide to pull-out before the finish, don't be hard on yourself, just do it safely. There is always another year and lessons to be learned from past experiences, after all, no competitor in the race would hold it against you or think you lesser or doing so. Ultimately this was set up to be a challenge which by definition is something that summons special skill and strength (both physical and mental) to complete.

If you have competed in the SDKC or plan too, feel free to leave comments or questions below.

The South Dakota Kayak Challenge - 75 Miles Of Wind, Water & Waves

On May 29th over 100 paddlers descended upon Yankton , a small city in southern South Dakota, bringing with them 77 canoes and kayaks of various size and style. The people were there for the inaugural South Dakota Kayak Challenge, a 75 mile race along the Missouri River ending in Sioux City Iowa. The race brought competitors from around the American Mid-west, representing 9 states and us, a lone boat from Canada.

Our SDKC journey began with a 2000km (1250mi) drive. We left Calgary the evening of June 27th in the midst of a rain/snow combo. The trip took us across Alberta and east into Saskatchewan where we crossed into North Dakota at the North Portal Saskatchewan border crossing as the first daylight came over the horizon. We continued east to Fargo ND which is just west of the Minnesota state border, then turned down I-29 and arrived in Yankton SD a mere 23.5 hours after leaving Calgary. In fact, we were a little late and missed part of the mandatory safety meeting. When we arrived, we were greeted with 22C weather and sun, a far cry from the near winter conditions we left Calgary in. As we exited the car, we took note of the boats that were already at the campsite. Most notably we took an inventory of the canoes there (since that is what we were in), a couple of Wenonahs (Jensen, Minnesota II) and a few carbon fibre 20" boats. Lined up among the canoes were many kayaks (massinvely outnumbering the canoes). Current Designs, Surfskis and Pelicans among many others. After catching the last of the safety meeting, we checked in, received our shirts and pulled our 16' Clipper Prospector (racing and prospector - two words the do not go together, but our racing boat is in Texas being fitted for the Safari in two weeks time) off the car and prepared our tents for an early night, afterall the race started at 7:00am sharp.

By 5:45am on race day, a vast majority of people were up. Riverside park in Yankton was abuzz with people having breakfast, taking down their camps and moving boats to the starting beach. By ten to seven, almost all the boats were lined up on the shore and the competitors made the last minute preparations to their boats and awaited the US Military to fire the starting gun (after all it was the Memorial Day weekend). At 7:00am sharp two soldiers fired their rifles to signal the start of the first ever South Dakota Kayak Challenge. Within seconds the Missouri river was alive with activity as boats slipped into the river and began the journey to Iowa, passing through 4 checkpoints along the way. In all seriousness, only a few boats had a chance to win the race, and these boats separated themselves fairly quickly from the pack. By mile 10 about 15 boats had separated themselves from the entire pack.

The first 30km (19mi) seemed to fly by as we were surrounded by boats, specifically three other boats that we seemed to pass, just to have them pass us and we would then pass them again, this went on for the vast majority of the race. Ti first thing we noticed was that the Missouri River (unlike the Red Deer and Bow in Alberta) was deep enough in most places to get a full stroke into the water, something that we've sadly been missing in our practices. This made the ease of paddling easier and the stroke much more efficient as we could get the vertical motion needed to drive the canoe forward. T he only time this didn't occur for any distance was a small 1km stretch just before checkpoint 2 where we opted to go around a lrage sandbar to the east. Two kayaks went to the west and passed us. By the time we reached checkpoint #2, the fastest boats really pulled away and we could barely see them on the horizon and four boats made up the "chase group", comprised of 2 kayaks, one 20' carbon fibre/kevlar canoe and our little prospector chugging away at an average speed of 11.6kph (7.2mph) we had our GPS rigged. Unfortunately that would not last long, by mid-day the wind had started to pick up and soon we found ourselves paddling into 20-30mph headwinds, virtually negating the current. In fact some paddlers told me when they stopped, the wind would actually blow them upstream against the current. It was this wind that caused most the problems. By 2:00 about 6 boats had already dropped out, by 5:00 I was told that number had increased to the double digits, by the end of the race, 23 boats would succumb to the wind and distance.

Over the last 32km (20 mi), the wind really played havoc with our speed. Our shourt, wide flat bottomed boat with no skirt scooped the wind and pushed us back. Coupled with the biggest challenge of the race - drunker recreational boaters purposely causing wakes - some over 3' tall) our speed fell to an average of 7.8kph (4.5 mph) for a total race average of 9.2 kph (5.7mph). After pulling into Bev's at 6:51pm we were both feeling pretty good - especially after we were told we were 7th overall and first in our division. We took a quick swim in the water - jumping off the pier (once on purpose, the other by accident) then went and sat down for dinner with some fellow racers, such as Bryan who won overall in just over 10 hours. Bryan talked to us of the Missouri 340 and really stolked our interested, perhaps next year, but definately we'll be in a much better boat, perhaps a Jensen or something similar. This year we have to focus on the Water Safari in Texas in a few weeks therefore a trip to Kansas City is sadly not in the budget.

Unfortunately we couldn't stay for the awards ceremony the next day. We rigged our canoe for the 1600 km (1000 mi) drive back to Calgary (we were to go through Wyoming and Montana this time). At 10:30pm or so we started our trip back to Canada, having said bye to event organizers Jarett and Stephen and several other racers that we met along the way. We decided this is definately an event that we will likely be back to again, it was organized great and the hospitality was quite amazing. Kudos to all that helped organize such an event and have it run so smoothly. I am sure everybody, regardless of how they finished, enjoyed themselves and the event. On Monday morning just before leaving South Dakota, we pulled over at a rest stop and had a quick awards ceremony of our own, more of a keepsake picture more than anything.

We arrived back in Calgary at just after 1:30am Monday May 31st, tired but excited that we had just accomplished a race after 24 hours of driving and very little sleep each. It truly is amazing how far your body can be pushed if you are determined to finish something. As a side note, it was joked that we currently hold the Canadian Record for the SDKC, albeit not a good one and only because we are the only Canadian boat to take part, but hey, why not live it up while we can right?

Hope to see you again next year SDKC. Keep me informed Jarett and Stephen.

Next up, 262 miles of the Texas Water Safari - June 12, 2010

100 Kilometres Of The Beautiful And Weir-d Bow River

This was a big weekend for Team Chinook, it marked the two week countdown to the inagural South Dakota Kayak Challenge and four weeks to the Texas Water Safari. It was also the second 100km (61 mile) trial run for Team Chinook and the first in temperatures exceeding 20C. It was also our first practice run where anybody with internet access could track our progress virtually live through our SPOT unit, as we paddled the world famous Bow River from Bowness Park in Calgary to Carseland Alberta.

Being mid-May, the water level in the Bow is still relatively low, as such the flow volume is low and the speed is slower than normal. This section of the Bow offers relatively little in the realm of dangers for paddlers and is very straigh forward, there are a few class 1+ rapids and numerous ripples. The only real dangers are the two weirs that are along the way, on in downtown Clagary and one just to the east as you enter Carseland. Each providing a mandatory portage due to their trecherous hydraulics. I've heard and read before that the weir in Calgary is responsible for a number of deaths, one of them not to long ago. As you approach both weirs, signs warn you of the danger ahead and a string of bouys delineates the safe zone from the danger zone.

The weirs were created for aeration and diversion of water to irrigation channels and produce an amazing hydaulic cycle that if you get caught it, it would be impossible to get out of. It also provides a habitat for pelicans as they wait in the wake of the water looking for fish that get swept over. Due to the construction of Harvie Passage in Calgary and the removal of the Weir, we ended up having an 800m portage, although I must admit that it was an easy one, along the Bow River Bike Path. We did run into an older gentleman who was familiar with the Texas Water Safari through readings and wished us luck.

Below the construction, the water level dropped dramatically not even allowing us to get the entire blade of the paddle into the water, after a few hundred metres the water deepened, then would shallow out again. This pretty much was the course for the rest of the urban paddle. As we approached south Calgary we finally found life in the river, people were out at the dog park and the fly fishers were out in full force. We managed to see some impressive trout being reeled in, one was easily in the range of 24 inches, which to me is a big fish.

Over the next 30km (18 miles) we passed easily two dozen fishing boats and easily twice as many fly fishermen/women than we did boats. It was our first time having to share the river with watercraft or person this year, and from our numerous and brief conversations, it was many of these people's first times out as well. Its amazing what happens once the temp hits the mid teens.

After running a few class 1+ we were greeted by a big white warning sign telling us to stay to the left channel to avoid the weir in Carseland and prepare for a mandatory portage. At this point our average speed fell from 10kph even to about 3 as we had to exit the boat numerous times to ferry it through shallows, rock gardens and wet gravel bars. Thankfully after 40 minutes we were at the portage and the end of our route. Total time was 9 hours and 32 minutes and total distance was 101km (61 miles) for an average moving speed of 9.9kph (6.1 mph), providing a food warm up to next weekends timed 360km (225 mi) practice run.