The following is another guest narrative from Patricia, a reader of this blog, who lives in Omaha and paddles on the lakes of South Dakota.
Platte
Creek is an inlet on the east side of Lake Francis Case, southwest of Platte
SD. According to MapQuest, it's
about 150 miles or two and a half hours from Sioux Falls. I camped there on a Wednesday night and
went paddling that afternoon. I
was eager to be outdoors, and so forgot to check the weather, which included 20
mph winds; otherwise I might have not made the trip. But having driven up from Omaha, I decided to see how far I
could get. There was a nice boat
ramp with light traffic on it and I started out with some reservations, as the
wind was pushing me nicely along, which meant I would be facing into it on my
return.
The
banks were less wooded and more open ground. Near the campground there were lots of yucca plants, which
for some reason always make me think of Day of the Triffids, the sci-fi classic
movie.
There
were huge rocks along some of the shoreline, which quickly turned into pasture
land. I saw many small herds of
cattle either moving along the shore or coming into the water for a drink.
A
very curious sight was this flock of Canadian geese with one domestic white
goose tagging
along.
As
I rounded the large S-bend, I could feel the wind and the waves pick me up a
couple of times and lift me forward.
It was exhilarating but I couldn't forget that it wouldn't be that easy
coming back. Water conditions
settled a bit after the turn and I came upon a cluster of farm buildings on the
shore with dead trees in the water and heron nests.
However,
the most interesting tree had to be a dead stump on the other side of the
creek. I say that because my
attention was drawn to a noisy squabble between a grackle and two kingbirds
over it. The grackle had
possession and the kingbirds were dive bombing and trying to drive him away.
Past
the farm, the water thinned down to a small creek with more trees on each
side. The winds subsided in the
shelter of the land and trees, and the bug activity picked up.
I
turned around when the combination of biting flies, shallow water, and concerns
about the return trip finally overcame my curiosity. I could see trucks on a road above as I made my turn.
On
the way back, I spotted a white egret on the shore, but couldn't get too close
as I was conserving my energy for the paddle back to the ramp.
It
was a wrestling match once I emerged from the narrow to the wider part of the
water. I don't have any pictures
coming back as I didn't dare stop paddling for fear I would fall back. The waves looked about 12-18" to
me and the wind was strong. Coming
around the bend, I checked my progress against the large rocks on the shore,
and sometimes there wasn't any change.
Eventually
I did work my way back to the ramp.
I wasn't soaked by the waves but I was wetter than usual. (My kayak is a sit-on version with
drain holes, so it's natural for some waves to get in.) I set out at 4:15,
turned around about 5:45, and was back at the dock by 7:45. In retrospect, I would probably paddle
this trip again, but only with less wind.
I would also book campsite 33E; it's close to the shore and has a small
beach of its own, where I think I could tie my boat up and not have to bother
with unloading at the ramp.
One
benefit of the hard work paddling: I slept well that night.
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