We’ve officially signed up for the South Dakota Kayak Challenge. The team is Andy, T, Danelle and Hogan Haake. We’re borrowing a 4 person aluminum boat from Bernie Arnold and this is our first training run. The plan is to paddle after work from Weldon Springs to Blanchette Landing in St. Charles. We’re fortunate that T’s mom, Sharon is providing the shuttle before the paddle starts.
I had heard that Weldon was a bit flooded, but ignored it figuring that it would all work out. The road stopped into water just after the Katy Trail parking. That left us a lot of flooded fields to cross to get to the water. It was decided by the team but pushed by me that we had a boat and could easily get to the river. So we decided to go for it. Sharon would wait 30 minutes in case we changed our minds.
Getting to the river was a mix of paddling and navigation. Then the flooding ended and a bit of a portage…
Eventually, we got to the river and paddled all the way back without issue. A successful training run with no serious issues. This proved the race was going to be possible and fun!
Hogan Haake