Kayaking with Derek - Lake Alvin, June 2011

What can be better than spending a couple of hours kayaking with your adult son on an area lake! My son, Derek, called last night and asked if I was up to a kayak cruise on Lake Alvin. This morning he arrived on a bicycle at our home by 9:00 a.m., and I had the kayaks all loaded up: my 13 foot dagger on top of the car, and the Folbot Aleut bagged up and on the rear seat of our Honda Civic hybrid.

When we arrived at the public access area on the northwestern end of the lake, the temperature was already near 90 degrees and there was only a whisper of wind; the lake was nearly mirror calm. There were a couple of fishing boats out on the lake, and from a distance we saw someone launching a kayak.

We headed northeast on the lake, keeping to the southeastern shore, trying in vain to find some shade under the tree cover.

As we moved to the northeastern end, just to the right of the fishing dock, we ran into a herd of cattle trying to cool off in the lake. This is not a sight that I have seen before on Lake Alvin, although part of the land on the eastern shoreline is private property. Derek was amused by the loud conversation among the cows as more of them crowded into the shallow water.

We continued into the spillway, just to check out the flow and the scene. There was a brown coating on sections of the lake today, sort of like algae, but brown rather than green. I think this was apparent because of the exceptional calm over the surface of the lake. A few people were visible on the swimming beach soaking up some rays.

Our return to the southern end took us past the public access dock and into Nine Mile Creek. We crossed under the bridge and stopped for a few minutes to observe the cliff swallows in their pouch shaped mud nests. I could see heads peeking out of the entrance hole of the nests and clouds of birds flying in the nesting area under the bridge.

As I normally do on a Lake Alvin cruise, we continued up the creek to the point where it narrows down into a rocky channel. There was plenty of depth to the water today. We did not see much in the way of animal life, except for a few jumping fish, an occasional turtle, and lots of perching birds. I guess that it was just too scorching outside for animals to hang about on the shoreline.

This was the first cruise of the year for the Folbot. It went together easily today and seemed eager to get back on the water after so many months resting in bags within the backyard shed.

It was altogether a fine day.

Water Sampling Project at Lake Alvin

Over the past few years, members of the South Dakota Canoe/Kayak Association have assisted Dakota Water Watch with a water-sampling project of area lakes. This is an effort to develop a base line and interval data to record trends in our area waterways. This year, we gathered at Lake Alvin to receive directions from the Dakota Water Watch representative, and about five teams set out in kayaks to predetermined locations around the lake to record observations and take water samples for laboratory analysis.

We recorded observations regarding visible and actual depth of the water, clarity, water temperature, and color. In addition, we made meteorology observations of conditions that might have an impact upon our data. We also collected samples of water at our assigned sites that were bagged and taken for laboratory analysis.

A water sampling activity undertaken by a fleet of kayaks that spreads out over the lake surface doesn’t take long. Most participants also get in a little bit of a cruise as well.

As my partner and I set out, we came across two young guys in an inflatable kayak. The older of the two told me that he bought the kayak recently at a rummage sale in Harrisburg for $60, including the paddles. They were having a great time fishing; I noticed that their anchor was a small bar bell weight secured by a rope. The guy who bought the boat told me that it was deflated at the rummage sale, but he was assured that it held air, and it did. This was their second cruise. So, for a $60 investment, they are able to go out on area waterways. As I looked at the high freeboard of the inflatable, though, I knew that it would be tough to deal with windy conditions.

The day continued at Lake Alvin with the annual canoe/kayak fair where people could try out various boats. It was a great opportunity for people who wanted to give kayaking a low risk try. This year, however, I was not able to stay for the fair. There were, however, many boats available and plenty of skilled SDCKA members to serve as coaches.

Two Recent Grads on Canoe Expedition to Hudson Bay

In 1930, Eric Sevareid, who would go on to become one of the top CBS radio and television reporters and commentators of the 1940s -1970s, graduated from high school in Minneapolis and, with a pal, set off in a canoe for Hudson Bay. He wrote about this expedition in a book entitled Canoeing With the Cree in 1935, a book still available and one of the classics in canoe wilderness travel. I read this book many years ago and remember it still. Eric Sevareid was paired up with Walter Cronkite for many years, and I remember him well during that period when CBS news was the dominate broadcast voice on television.

This year, two young women who are just now graduating from St. Olaf Collage in Northfield, Minnesota, are setting out on June 2 from Fort Snelling in Minneapolis to recreate the Sevareid journey. Their website at http://hudsonbaybound.com gives details of their plan, and they are documenting the voyage on a blog at http://www.hudsonbaybound.blogspot.com/. I plan to vicariously follow along on this 2,250 mile trip that begins on the Mississippi River, into the Minnesota River, on to Big Stone Lake, down the north flowing Red River of the North, to Lake Winnipeg, into the Hayes River, then to York Factory on Hudson Bay.

Although a few others have recreated this journey over the years, these two young grads hope to become the first women to follow Sevareid’s path. I try to tag along on expeditions like this, much as I do with Roz Savage’s row around the world. Expeditions like this are inspiring to me. I like to follow people who set out on their own path to challenge themselves and nature rather than follow a more traditional route to career, financial entanglements, and conformity. So, I will be checking in regularly to see how their trip is going.