Here's a map of my downwind run in the Dakotas last Wednesday. I started at West Pollock State Recreation area and finished at the purple star. The distance is about 16 kilometers or 10 miles. (Of course, last Wednesday I had to slog all the way back to West Pollock against the wind. But for those who might want to pursue downwind fun here in the future, I recommend using the roads on this map to run a shuttle.)
The Great Plains just might be unexplored territory for downwind runs. Anybody who's driven across the Plains with boats on the car knows how relentlessly the wind blows, and now that I've found decent downwind action on two bodies of water there (in western Nebraska on July 3 and in the Dakotas last Wednesday) I believe that there have to be spots where good downwinding is not just possible, but likely.
The problem is that the Great Plains don't offer much in the way of amenities for surfski paddlers looking for a fun vacation. The towns in the Columbia River Gorge have good restaurants and coffee shops and craft breweries and all that nifty stuff; the Great Plains has... farmland. I think the Plains as a destination might have to be limited to the super-hardcore paddling junkies who are willing to huddle around a propane stove cooking ramen noodles when they're not in their boats.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment