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The Des Moines Register 4-4-99 |
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The Des Moines Register 4-4-99 |
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| I have been drawn to rivers for as long as I can remember. I grew up on the shores of the Niantic River in Connecticut. I rowed, swam and sailed until I gave in to the temptation to follow the river down to the Long Island Sound, which was strictly forbidden. I'll never forget the sight of my Father rowing my boat the 6 miles upstream, or the pain of losing the use of the boat forever (which probably saved my little life). |
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| Over the years, I occasionally sailed on the Sound with my family, and I took some canoe trips during college days in Vermont. I moved to Iowa in 1979, and enjoyed rowing on the Iowa Great Lakes and Storm Lake. Then came the floods of 1993, and for the first time it came home to me that there was a mighty river rather too close to where I lived. The old longings to be on a river came back with unexpected urgency, mixed with awe and fear of this powerful, raging neighbor. | ||
| For
two years I eyed the kayaks displayed on the sidewalk outside
of the Boulevard Sports shop. Every few months I would go in
and ask a few questions. In the summer of 1996, I bought a Scupper
Pro kayak and accessories and began paddling on Gray's Lake and
Easter Lake. The river called me, and I put in at Birdland Marina.
People at the ramp asked me if I thought I could make any headway against the current, and I replied that I had no idea, and that it might be a very short trip. I was so proud after paddling a quarter mile that I called my wife to come and take a picture. I had no clue what the river would compel me to do. |
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| During the summer of 1996, I paddled the river as far north as Saylorville Dam (from Cottonwood Park up almost to the spillway), along the Des Moines waterfront (paddling up from SE 14th St. and lifting the boat over the Scott Ave. Dam), and south of Yellowbanks. I paddled upstream, then drifted back with the current, and usually never got more than a few miles. The season ended with a float sponsored by the Sierra Club, where then mayor Arthur Davis welcomed the 30 or so paddlers. I did not go out during the winter. | ||
| The paddling bug hit hard in 1997. By July, I was doing a paddle/bike shuttle that allowed me to cover a lot more of the river. I did the Saylorville to Birdland Marina run, and bicycled back along the wonderful Saylorville Bike Trail. I ventured up to the Boone Highway 30 boat ramp, paddled 17 miles to Madrid, and biked back in intense heat. I found myself itching to take on the Hartford to Red Rock run. This was a 25 mile trip each way by bike and by boat, including a hard row on more than 8 miles of Lake Red Rock. I had purchased a 4WD Mazda van, which allowed me to get back into the more remote access points, but the return leg was always by bike. | ||
| Summer was turning to fall, the water was getting colder, and I stopped rowing after a trip up and back on Big Creek in October. By November I could not stand it, and I bought a wet suit and neoprene boots. I was thrilled to find the herons still out in November and December, and I found that the snow and ice made it rather easy to get down to the water. The eagles were out in full force in January, with as many as 30 in the trees and soaring overhead. I was used to having water in the cockpit, as this a "sit-on-top" boat that gets extra stability by allowing water into the seat and the foot wells, so I was not afraid to get wet. The winter gear kept me comfortable, and I paddled nearly every week until Spring, 1998. | ||
| In 1998, 2 additions to the repertoire were suggested to me by the river spirits of the ancient Moingona. I was determined to go the distance, but I needed to know where I was in relation to the downstream access point, and I needed to minimize the return time and maximize my time on the river. I purchased a portable GPS system, which gets position, speed and distance from satellites, and I bought a very used car as my downstream pick-up vehicle. I would tow the second car to the downstream boat ramp, drive back upstream, paddle 15-20 miles to the tow car, and drive the boat back to the van. The GPS would tell me exactly how close I was to the downstream car, and it worked like a charm. | ||
| By June of 1998, I was eating up the miles. Madrid and Saylorville, Boone waterworks to Madrid, Dolliver State Park to Boone, Humboldt and Ft. Dodge to Dolliver flew by. The floods stopped me for a while, then I covered Yellowbanks to Bennington, Red Rock to Eddyville, and Eddyville to Ottumwa. The Ottumwa run in early October was especially hard, 20 miles in 2 foot waves and 25 mph winds. Once I had conquered that stretch, I knew I could make it all the way. My wife, Margaret Jane, was kind and encouraging to let me go forth. | ||
| In
November and December, I alternated far north and far south,
and I began staying out over two or three days. I did the Selma to Keosauqua run, Farmington all the way to Keokuk, Ottumwa down to Eldon and Selma. I went north, paddling from West Bend to Bradgate with the brilliant fall colors and the elusive deer, Emmetsburg to West Bend, and Estherville to Emmetsburg in a late November snow storm. In December of 1998, I made the scenic and challenging trip through Humboldt County, with 4 dams to portage and the "seashore" setting of the Lake Nokomis section of the West Fork. On December 18, 1998 I completed the Des Moines River journey by paddling from Keosauqua to Bonaparte. This completed a 15 month, 404 mile, 160,000 paddle stroke, 40 outing expedition. |
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| All this time I was recording access points, bridges, dams, and other landmarks in my GPS. During this past summer, it occurred to me that I had the makings of a recreational trail recorded in the GPS as latitude and longitude coordinates. I had been focusing on the individual sections of the river, now it occurred to me that this was one very long river trail system. I began putting the access points, GPS coordinates, driving directions, dangerous areas, and interesting features onto my web site, http://www.netins.net/showcase/gazebo. I put up my notes on the river adventures. I felt compelled to do this, really. | ||
| I was then driven to write letters to the editors of all the newspapers in towns along the Des Moines River speaking out for the creation of a Des Moines River Canoe and Kayak Trail. At least a dozen papers printed the letter, and I began to get enthusiastic responses. Ruth Egeland, the webmaster for Keokuk Tourism, has put up a river trail page with more than 60 photographs at http://www.keokukia.com/ desmoinesriver. Every day, I hear from paddlers and environmentalists who are enthusiastic about the river trail idea. I have found that people are working hard to make their area of the river "paddler-friendly", and are greatly encouraged by the vision of a mighty river trail that was given to me by the spirits of this ancient and historic river. I'm hoping the new governor and the new head of the DNR will take the largely ceremonial step of proclaiming the Des Moines River Iowa's longest trail system, because most of the work has already been done. I hope members of the Sierra Club and others who love Nature will join our hardy band in bringing river trails to all of Iowa's magnificent rivers. | ||
| The immediate purpose of the trail, I believe, is to focus attention on the recreational opportunities of Iowa's longest river and to encourage paddlers in Iowa and from around the world to experience a world-class wilderness experience. The ultimate purpose, as I have learned from the river spirits, is to save the ancient river from the degradations of man. The ancient river Moingona had, for a half a million years, the protection of forest and prairie to absorb the rains and hold back the soil. European settlers foolishly stripped away those protections, and only now do we realize that we strangle the river to our own peril. If you spend time on the river, you will learn that with its peace also comes responsibility. | ||
| And yes, I've been paddling with the eagles in this January 99 thaw. I have two wonderful, seaworthy kayaks with all the accessories. If you have a wet suit and some insulated boots, come out with me on the icy river and see why Iowa is where winter kayaker and bald eagles meet. | ||
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of this great system. Check out his web site http://www.netins.net/showcase/gazebo Gerry suggests we join him in writing to individual cities and counties along the trail to build and maintain boat ramps, camping facilities & chemical toilets and signs for portage trails, warnings at obstacles. Similar trails have been set up in Michigan, Minnesota, Maine, Washington, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Illinois. Why not Iowa?? |