This year I recruited James' friend Joe and his dad Bryan to join us on our early summer outing. Based on an article in Backpacker Magazine I considered the Thunder Bay, ON area. One of the problems with looking at Canada is the passport requirement, thus the Ontario option slipped. Of course, there are always the BWCA, and I also suggested Voyageur's NP and the Vermilion River.
Bryan made an intriguing suggestion with proposing to look at South Dakota water. Until now I would have visualized semi-arid badlands when thinking about the Dakotas. As I would find out, they do hold plenty of rivers, though water tends to be an issue as the season progresses.
Bryan suggested the Cheyenne in W South Dakota. I got sidetracked by the Sheyenne further east and also remembered the Little Missouri River in Theodore Roosevelt NP. A quick call to the ranger station of T. Roosevelt set me straight on that one: little chance to have enough water, even as early as July 4. The Sheyenne seemed pretty enough but lacked remoteness and its course through relatively densely populated farmland suggested lack of sites for overnight camping.
I even considered some rivers in E Montana but here the driving would just be too far. Finally, Bryan pointed me back at the Cheyenne and Belle Fourche. Mark McClain's Canoecamping.org site has a good summary of the Belle Fourche/Cheyenne system. I also found Dawne Olson's More Creeks and Meadows blog very helpful. Dawne was nice enough to send additional information by e-mail. Another good trip description came from Jarett and Laura's Kayak Sodak Blog.
Both blogs indicate some of the adversity to be encountered when paddling rivers in W South Dakota: low water levels, heat and biting insects. Water permitting, the 110 miles between Elm Springs and and Hwy 63 look feasible. They both used the services of Caleb Gilkerson's Steamboat's Inc.
Driving times are as follows:
St. Paul to Elm Springs: 9 hrs 45'
St. Paul to Pierre (if we need to meet outfitter there) 7 hrs 15'
Pierre to Elm Springs: 3 hrs
View Belle Fourche-Cheyenne Trip in a larger map
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