St Croix Canoeing 2016

Post date: Apr 19, 2016 6:15:56 PM

Key Facts:

• Departed Minnehaha United Methodist on Friday, April 15, at about 6:30 PM.

• Returned to MUMC on Sunday, April 17, around 11:00 AM.

• Camped at Wild River State Park - two sites at Group Area Basic A.

• For canoes and shuttling on Saturday, we used Wild River Outfitters (http://wildriverpaddling.com/). We booked 8 canoes, met at the outfitter at about 8:30 AM. It's a 45 minute drive from the park to the outfitter.

• The roster included 12 scouts (in 3 patrols) and 4 adult leaders (3 of them driving).

• The estimated cost per scout was $12 for grub, $8 for the group site reservation, and $16 for canoe rental.

Tasks:

• Make reservation - Hartford

• Make arrangements with outfitter - Hartford

• File Tour Plan - Martin

• Communicate to scouts - Hartford

• Communicate specifics to participants - Hartford

• Cross-check adult training across planned activities - Martin

• Cross-check roster against vehicle/seat count - Martin

• Review health records - Martin, Hartford

• Write up "notes for next time" after the event - Hartford

Notes for Next Time:

• Verify training for adult leaders farther in advance. (Doing this 2 weeks in advance did not allow for filling in any gaps.)

• Set a goal to have at least two adult leaders with current CPR/AED and Wilderness and Remote First Aid certification at for high adventure and other trips

• Establish firmer "buddy boat" guidelines: toward the end of the trip we got strung out pretty far along the river, and some boats were out of sight of another Troop 1 boat for some time.

• Establish wait points along the river to help with the line getting strung out; on the St. Croix, we can use the mile markers at camp sites to plan

• Wind was a challenge! Consider paddler size when setting up canoe pairs in windy conditions, and if a light Scout is in the front find ballast to weight him down (Dan's boulder under Stuart's seat was sheer genius)

• Scouts did a great job this time of getting loaded quickly with correct gear; one less stove than we needed was taken, which we will address at the 5/2/2016 meeting with a labeling project.

• Camp set up was also very effective; one tent that was missing bones was brought and had to be swapped--we need to do another tent assessment, possibly as part of the 5/2 meeting or a later meeting.

• Breaking camp for canoeing was smooth

• We had a successful campfire program--low key, because everyone was tired, but an effort was made

• At supper, most patrols ate as a patrol; there was a little bit of wandering and begging for food from Scouts who didn't like their patrol's food; we need to continue to enforce the patrol dining method

• Breaking camp went very quickly and efficiently. We had time after packing and policing to play games and take walks, and even left a little early to spend more time returning gear to the shed.

• Early season camping at state parks often means that the office isn't open when we arrive, and if we have an off-site activity we may never encounter the park staff. We were not able to purchase wood at the camp office. Fortunately there was a lot of down dead wood at the site, and we used that despite the no-gathering regulations (the quantity of dead wood was such that no one will miss the little we burned!); in the future, when using state parks early or late in the season, we should be prepared to purchase local firewood at a convenience store near camp.

• The outfitter, Wild River Outfitters in Grantsburg, http://wildriverpaddling.com/, was great to work with, and I would use them again for a similar or even an extended St. Croix River trip.