THIRD ANNUAL SPRING PADDLE ON THE SKUNK RIVER
Greg Vitale
May 18th 2002
Breakfast at the Grove on Main is a great way to begin any adventure. Those that managed to eat the one size fits all pancake sat a bit lower in the water. All told, those Skunk River Paddlers gathered thirteen cohorts in eleven boats on this sunny and quickly warming morning. Gerry, Bobster, and Mark are three of our strongest supporters from the Des Moines metro area, which was well represented.
We visited with each other as we moved downstream, coming across Mud Swallows, Red-eyed Vireos, Catbirds, Common Yellow Throat, Wood Ducks, Geese, Belted Kingfishers, Orioles, a Red Tail Hawk, and a Turkey Vulture and so much more along the way. Sweet William, honeysuckle, and columbine were in bloom along the banks too.
We also had to be somewhat vigilant too. Being a small river, we had to make our way around several downed trees. Rick anticipated this and one spot in particular, so he brought a few saws along. Travis, the Dakota Tree guy, soloed his tandem canoe, stood on water, and cut the limb out from under his feet and still managed to stay dry. His skilled efforts saved us from a short, but tough portage. This was the same place where several of us last fall cut out a bunch of downed trees from this massive wood dam that had built up over the years. Our efforts proved useful.
The pace picked up a bit when several of us ran the fast shoot just upstream from Sleepy Hollow. Only after I ran the shoot with Monty in a canoe did he mention that he didn't have much experience with that sort of thing. Paul, comfortably the most senior paddler in our group, proved beyond a doubt that his boat does tip. Being a doubter, he had to repeat the lesson a few times but seemed no worse for the wear. We should all be as adventuresome as Paul at any age.
Bob, Cynthia and Catherine, our other Des Moines area paddlers, all had other commitments, so they took out at Sleepy Hollow, a Story County Conservation Board Park. The Skunk River Paddlers adopted this park this spring. Travis, Gerry, Bobster, Rick, Mark, Lynn, Monty, Ethelgive, Paul and I all paddled down to River Valley Park where we were took out which is just upstream from a dam.
The takeout at River Valley Park is the site of the first Iowa River Trails sign used in the state. The site was just improved this spring by the Skunk River Paddlers in cooperation with the Ames park department, who were great to work with. The sign was made possible by the efforts of Gerry, Dave, Rick and many others over the years. It is great to finally get it on a river, and begin to put that vision in our lives.
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WEST FORK OF THE DES MOINES RIVER AND CHEEVER LAKE
By Robin Fortney
June 1-2
John Pearson organized this tour of two state preserves located in the vicinity of Spirit Lake in northwest Iowa. John had planned to take us to the Little Sioux, but water level was too low, so we moved east about 20 miles where the West Fork had plenty of water.
John, Kathryn and I met at Fort Defiance State Park on Friday night. I got there late, but Kathryn and John still had a fire going. Since the campground was crawling with giggling and screaming girl scouts, we stayed up late chatting and eating s'mores.
The next morning we ate a hearty breakfast, enjoying Kathryn's civilized cooking habits. Then we drove up to Peterson, Minnesota where we met Gary Phillips, biology professor and outgoing Iowa State Preserves Board chairman. The four of us paddled down this intimate section of the Des Moines River while Gary pointed out the best pools for catfish and John named birds and plants that caught our interest.
By 1 p.m. we found a nice sand bar for lunch located adjacent to Anderson Prairie State Preserve. This preserve has a rolling prairie that was abundantly blooming and bur oak savanna. Unfortunately, it was tick season and the women had to be inventive to find adequate cover for our legs. The trip ended about 4 p.m. above the dam at Estherville. Gary and Kathryn headed home, while John and I headed into nearby Estherville and found dinner at a Chinese restaurant.
It rained hard during the night, so we got to pack up soggy gear the next morning before heading to nearby Cheever Lake State Preserve. Cheever Lake is a fairly deep marsh, ringed by cattails and water lilies. To access the marsh, we had to paddle-crawl over cattail root mats. I saw my first yellow-headed blackbird, and lots of Canada geese and other waterfowl. It was a windy morning and it took quite an effort to paddle around the lake.
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MAQUOKETA RIVER
By Robin Fortney
I am very fortunate to serve on the Iowa State Preserves Advisory Board. One of the joys of service is getting to know how the preserves system works and meeting people who know and care about Iowa's special places. On Friday, July 19, I participated in a quarterly meeting of the preserves board at Wapsipinicon State Park in Anamosa. The Wapsi wraps its way through the park. It had recently flooded and the water and bank side vegetation were still pretty muddy. One of our paddling colleagues, Greg Beisker from Ames, attended the meeting as an interested citizen. Sometime when you are paddling with Greg, ask him about his favorite places.
On Saturday morning, ten members of the Preserves Board, Central Iowa Paddlers and Iowa Department of Natural Resources gathered at Pictured Rocks County Park southeast of Monticello to float the Maquoketa River. The park had recently flooded and we got to slide through considerable mud to get to the river.
We were lucky to be joined by the area wildlife biologist, Bob Sheetz, and his wife. Bob told stories about the park, the wildlife and neighbors. He said the county is working hard to keep ATV riders from riding roughshod over the park and he also noted his concern about rock climbers putting permanent bolts into area bluffs to make climbing easier. It seems to me that sporting communities owe it to themselves and their neighbors to learn to play in ways that prevent destruction of habitat and scenery as much as possible.
We put in about 9:30 a.m. Bob and John Pearson pointed out Indian Bluff State Preserve located on private land along the river above Eby's Mill. I enjoy knowing that there is a lengthy greenbelt of public and protected land along this river. We stopped several times on gravel bars to see what natural treasures could be found. Lynn and I found at least a half-dozen varieties of fossil coral. We stopped for lunch on a huge white sand bar, the only sandbar we saw that day. It was a hot day in civilization, but the lazy tree-lined river, light breeze, good company and sharing of good food made for a pleasant float. Due to water flow being fairly high, we arrived at the Highway 136 Bridge by about 2:30 p.m. This is an easy, scenic trip and I recommend it.
Order a copy of the new Iowa State Preserves Guide and get acquainted with these special places. As you'll see, many of the state preserves are accessible by canoe. Find information about the Preserves Guide at:
http://www.state.ia.us/dnr/organiza/ppd/preservesguide.htm.
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PADDLING IN VERMONT
By Robin Fortney
I don't get to see my family very often. Most are strung along the east coast. Fortunately, however, some of my family members have adopted paddling as a favorite sport. So, as I was planning 2002 vacation trips, I called Wendy and asked if I could come visit around July 4th. She and her family live near the White River in eastern Vermont. They bought a large tandem touring canoe several years ago, but my brother-in-law discovered that he prefers fly-fishing and Wendy was itching to get her own boat. I told I'd help her find a solo boat during my visit.
I drove the 1,500 miles so I could take my own kayak. It was a pleasure to watch the sun setting into Lake Erie when I passed by Cleveland. New York offered up its Finger Lake District, wooded hills and vineyards. When I left Albany-Troy and turned north into Vermont, I knew I had entered a special place: mountains, cool clean air, winding roads, rocky streams, charming villages with no strip malls and no city sprawl.
I arrived at my sister's in late afternoon on the second day after 21 hours of driving. Within minutes, another sister and her family arrived, making a total of nine for the week. Barb's family had just spent a week on the Allagash River in Maine where they had been severely chewed up by black flies (locals said the worst season for black flies is between Mothers Day and Fathers Day) and had climbed Mount Katahdin a few days earlier. We all needed some rest time.
For the next five days, we spent a portion of each day on the water. On day one, we drove over to New Hampshire's Grafton Pond to paddle some flat water. Wendy had purchased a recreational kayak just before I arrived (so we wouldn't waste time shopping!) and she looked forward to breaking it in. We spent a hot day paddling among the islands, swimming, listening to loons, enjoying wild iris and water lilies, and lunching on a private isle made of bedrock. Over the next four hot days we tried out several reaches of the White River. Locals love it. We shared the river with folks in PFDs, inner tubes, rubber rafts, canoes, kayaks, and white water boats. In the evenings after dinner, we sometimes went back to the river to body surf over rock ledges, fly fish or just sit and catch up on our lives.
One day, my sisters and I drove over to Woodstock to check out a bookstore (I told Steve Parrish that I'd get him information on the Appalachian Trail in payment for loaning me his kayak), outdoor gear store, country store, and raptor rehabilitation center. Another day took us to Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire since my niece is checking out schools. We celebrated the 4th eating a feast of rainbow trout that Herb caught. Far too quickly, vacations come to an end and soon I headed back to the rolling plains.
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GREEN RIVER
By Dave Kraemer
The Kraemer/Duerson family is back from five days and four nights on the Green River in Utah. It was a fantastic trip, with good company and stunning scenery.
Mary, Colin, 15, Michael, 13, and I paddled with friends from Wisconsin (Len, Lamberg, Marybeth Danielson and their progeny: Max (Colin's age), Lilly, 17, and Sarah, 10). Twenty years ago, Len and Marybeth paddled the Green on their honeymoon. This was a bit of a reprise, with kids and friends, and a slightly altered route.
We paddled a stretch of the Green called Stillwater Canyon, from the Mineral Bottoms landing to the confluence with the Colorado River, a distance of 52 river miles. The canyon is almost entirely contained within Canyonlands National Park and affords one of the best ways to view this treasure, down in and up close. The river gorge is framed in steep red rock exposing eons of geology -- petrified sand dunes, metamorphic rock, and dinosaur tracks. Ancient ruins of cliff dwellers dot the map. Rocky mountain sheep come down to drink (we saw one), and cougars reportedly roam the cliffs (we saw none). Little lizards dart through the side canyons and crickets seek out the cool underside of your tents, tarps and gear each night. Otherwise, there were few bugs. A green ruff of willows and tamarisk lines the shore. Many sand beaches extend into the river meanders, offering campsites and swimming holes, which you want to take advantage of because it's so blasted hot.
When Len and Marybeth paddled the Green long ago, they took the stretch upriver from here, which also is popular, but the lower stretch proved to have much better scenery. This stretch of the Green is largely flat water. The channel is maybe 30-60 feet wide in most places. Utah, along with the rest of the West, is experiencing extreme drought. The river is at a level lower than anyone can remember in 30 years, or so our outfitter said. We found the flow to still be adequate to make the paddling not strenuous, and we came upon only two riffles. The first was large enough to be classified as rapids, and with our crew, we took the time to scout it before sending boats down. It proved to be no problem. The second we just blasted through.
The forecast, posted on the board at a local bike shop in Moab, was to be "hotter than a snake's ass," and indeed, it was. Temperatures hit 100 degrees each day. Hard to be exact because we didn't carry a TV or an Internet link, but as soon as the sun broached the canyon rim each day, the heat cranked. We sought out shade in the canyon any chance we could.
We were outfitted through Tex's Riverways in Moab, which rented us three aluminum Grummans, shuttled us to the put-in and picked us up at the confluence. In addition, we hauled out three kayaks, a Wilderness Systems Alto, a Wilderness Systems Epic, and a Dagger Calisto, all recreational or sea kayak-length boats which were fine for this broad river.
Our first day, the loading at the outfitters in Moab and the shuttle out to the landing put us on the river not until noon -- a late start, we thought. Our plan for most days was to get up as early as possible, paddle in the cool of the day and find a campsite early to sit out the heat. Not possible on the first day. (And as we came to find out later, not possible any other day either, given our party's predisposition to sleep in. Oh well). But we were fresh and didn't mind the heat.
We made 13 miles on the first day and I was encouraged by our progress. At this rate, we would not have to work too hard on any day. Which was generally true, but the current slowed on the second and third day, making forward progress somewhat slower. We managed to pull another 13 on day two, 16 or 17 on day three, and nine or 10 on day four to the confluence, where we camped early beneath shady trees, read, swam and polished off our last two bottles of wine.
For the connoisseurs, we ate well. Tandoori chicken the first night, eggs and potatoes for breakfast, tortellini with pesto, venison and black bean burritos and risotto, plus the aforementioned vino. With the canoes, we were able to take two coolers with block ice. There is no portaging. The chicken was frozen in marinade. The burritos also were frozen ahead of time. Most of the dry food was packed into a plastic storage container, which worked well for keeping stuff whole. The block ice lasted through the trip, and each day it provided a side benefit of several gulps of cold drinking water, positively the best luxury on the trip, even better than the wine, garlic, anchovies and at least a half dozen kinds of cheese.
Water is critical in this environment. It is the desert. And the Green is a very silty, brown river. We took along two purification systems, a top-of-the-line Pur pump-type filter, and a Katadyn bladder and ceramic drip filter. Both worked great and both were necessary. The Katadyn is a big blue bag that holds five gallons of water that seeps through a ceramic filter at the bottom into a hose that drips into your water container. It has the advantage of handling a lot of water, but the disadvantage in that it takes a long time for the water to drip through. The only pressure is applied by gravity. Each night we made a tripod out of paddles and set up the Katadyn to drip. By morning, we had five gallons of water. Beautiful. The Pur pump we used to fill our individual water bottles and the remaining five-gallon container (we took two. The recommended daily intake of water per person is one gallon, so with nine people, this worked out). The Pur is much faster than the First Need filter I'm familiar with and which was not recommended. But the silty Green River did choke it up almost instantly, even with a handkerchief tied around the intake end to filter dirt. It continued to work for the rest of the trip, but pumped harder than when it was new. In following days, we filled a plastic basin with water and let it settle overnight before pumping. This helped keep some sediment out of the filter.
Canyonlands is a controlled wilderness. Everything is packed out, including human waste. Tex rented us a portable toilet in addition to the canoes (not a bad deal for $25, and they clean it out at the end). Pooping in an aluminum box wasn't as bad as it might seem, though by the end of the trip the potty was pretty ripe. Penance was paid by the canoe lucky enough to be loaded with the crapper each day.
Other gear that worked well included dry bags, the food box, coolers, broad-brimmed hats and bandanas. Take lots of bandanas. They're great for everything from cooling down to picking up hot pans from the stove.
We cooked over a two-burner propane stove most nights. The first night out, I cooked the chicken over charcoal. Burning is allowed only in fire pans within the park, and with the drought conditions, it is limited to charcoal only. I took a round aluminum oil drip pan to burn in, and a grill grate, which worked well. Ash is scattered into the river, which is also where you're supposed to pee. I was somewhat surprised at this, but in the arid environment, anything left on the rocks or sand will stay there sometimes literally for years, so into the river it goes.
This is true wilderness, and while we were prepared and comfortable the whole time, conditions can easily turn threatening in such an environment. For the first 20 miles or so of the trip, a dirt road dogs the canyon, affording mountain bikers access to the canyon lands (biking is hugely popular here). But after the road ends, there is absolutely no nearby access out of the canyon. Any evac must be downriver. From other canoeists, we heard of one party that put in when we did that was running dangerously low on water. We are not sure how they came out, but were somewhat concerned for them for a while.
At the confluence, Tex and other outfitters meet canoeists with jet boats. Gear and canoes/kayaks are loaded on top and the outfitters blast you up the Colorado River to Moab. It's about a three-hour ride.
This was a memorable trip. Catch me for photos.
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IOWA WATER TRAIL ASSOCIATION
Update by Gerry Rowland
The Van Buren trails group reports much progress on developing the Van Buren County Scenic River Trail. Bill Printy, the blacksmith at Iron and Lace, has been kind to share some neat activities along the river trail. Bill writes from Bentonsport:
On Sunday, June 1, a group of thirty adults and children from the Harmony Bible Church in Danville, Iowa under the leadership of Nathan Williams took the float from Bentonsport to Farmington through the Villages of Van Buren Scenic River Trail. The day started at Bentonsport with a demonstration of pottery making and blacksmithing at the Iron & Lace shop, then a stop at Bonaparte for lunch and on to Farmington for takeout. An enjoyable family outing with the river running at about 7000 cubic feet per second and a flow of five miles per hour.
We just got our boat dock in the river at Bentonsport a few days ago and already over seventy canoers, boaters and rafters have enjoyed the use of it! Looks like we are off to a busy summer season.
On Friday morning, May 31, 23 boy scouts and eight adult leaders under the leadership of Scoutmaster Steve Schwartz, put in at Eldon to canoe through the Villages of Van Buren. With a current flow of 5 - 6 mph they had an enjoyable day on the river and camped Friday night at Bentonsport. They will depart Bentonsport on Saturday morning and camp just below Croton, Iowa on Saturday night, June 2, and will take out at St. Francisville, Missouri on
Sunday afternoon. The boys are qualifying for the "50 Mile Afoot Afloat" Award. These boys are members of Scout Troop 33 of Donnellson, Iowa, sponsored by the American Legion Post 474 of Donnellson. When I talked to them on Friday evening they were having a great time looking over Bentonsport! The river is in good condition and other than being HOT they were looking forward to a good trip to St. Francisville.
Bill has promised more stories from the river, so I've put a new page at www.desmoinesriver.org. As a reward, the scoutmaster e-mailed a thank you for putting the story on the web. If you have reports from your trails, let me know.
I enjoyed a solo paddle south of Des Moines last Saturday. I found the permanent eagle nest, watched the mature bald eagle flying out and back from her perch high above in the cottonwood tree. I also saw a fledgling eagle taking some practice flights, an amazing sight. I also made a water trail presentation to the Izaak Walton League state conference on Sunday, and was warmly received and encouraged. The mayor of Ft. Dodge was in attendance, and told me of improvements along the riverfront. I checked out the new launch area by the lower dam, and they have done a lot of work.
Also, watch out. I have a Des Moines River Water Trail sign from First Class Signs in Ames, and it is gorgeous. I'm ordering more signs, so I may be looking to put some up along the river.
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