“That river will kill you”, “the whirl pools will suck your canoe completely under”, “a small motor boat should not be on that river…let alone a canoe…are you crazy”, “The water is so polluted…you will become sick”, and on and on….
Let’s get some insight into this MR340 phenomenon. I have asked several three time finishers to write about their racing experience on the Missouri.
Bryan Hopkins, West Hansen, Christina Glauner, Chuck and Di McHenry, Katie Pfefferkorn
Wesley Echols of Rhode Island, USA announced the launch of a new US surfski website
SurfskiRacing.com.
The course and date of the South Dakota race on the Missouri River have been set. Race begins at Bob’s Resort, just north of the State Highway 212 bridge on the Missouri River in north-central South Dakota and continues to the face of the Oahe Dam.
Paddlers from South Dakota are planning a marathon paddling race on their stretch of the Missouri River. It is a very different river from the lower Missouri where the annual MR340 race takes place. The picture above is from the 2008 MR340 Race. I have never paddled on the Missouri in South Dakota.
Three course options are considered:
A) North: The Oahe Dam in Pierre, SD, holds back a giant lake that stretches back into Nodak. This route would be high winds and a barren, dangerous landscape. 100 miles plus. More big-water lake than river. Here high winds would almost be guaranteed. The area is all cliffs, prairie, high prairie. Lots of spots the river is two miles wide.
B) Central: This route is the one I have championed, about 85 miles, a city on either end for various logistics, and a grueling stretch at the end, the Big Bend, it’s about four miles by land, where the river doubles upon itself, and on water, it’s a good 35-mile chunk. This area is more river-like, narrower, with some current, not much, and a prairie landscape. Total mileage would be about 85 miles. Option: Add a dam traverse at the bottom, make them paddle another 5+ hours down to a good town/stopping point.
C) South: Starting in Yankton, paddlers would face low-water channel hunting for about 90 miles down to Sioux City, Iowa. Lots of history down that way, and rolling hills, a few trees, some summer cottage areas, too. It’d be great city to start/end, with some towns in between.
I am using currently Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS with heart rate monitor for my outdoor exercise. The picture below shows this GPS unit mounted with a suction cup on a deck of my Thunderbolt-X kayak.