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Kansas Prairie Packers An organization for individuals and families interested in hiking, backpacking, canoeing, bicycling, cross-country skiing and other outdoor activities. |
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Kansas River Float October 17th and 18th 2009 Submitted by John Stambaugh I knew Saturday would be cool and damp when we met Dave Dunford, Russell Gray, and Ray Jordan at the Desoto boat ramp. They were all bundled up in rain gear, rubber boots, and their clothes were hanging on the bushes. They looked cold. They had put in on Thursday in Topeka and came down river to meet us at Desoto. After loading our canoes and kayak we immediately had to wade our boats to the river channel. The river was low and with the wind it was hard to read the river channel. We were in and out of our boats a lot, luckily the water was not too cold for those of us that did not have the foresight to bring rubber boots. We went about eight miles on Saturday to a sandbar near Bonner Springs to spend the night. This was the last sandbar for the rest of the trip to Kaw Point. It was a good place to spend the night and Ray soon had gathered fire wood and had a fire going to dry clothes and warm out bodies. The sun came out late in the afternoon. If Ray is along you can count on having popcorn in the evening which is a really nice treat to have while sitting around the campfire. It was a little cool that night, there was frost on tents in the morning. We were on the river at 8:30 AM on Sunday. It was a much warmer day than Saturday. According to Jeanne’s map we had about 25 miles to go to Kaw Point. The river was deeper so there was not any dragging of the boats, just a lot of paddling. We had a portage at the I-435 bridge, which added to our entertainment when Russell got tangled in a fishing line. The fisherman spoke some eastern European language and was not happy with the entanglement. Russell handled it well and we were soon carrying our boats to the last leg on the trip. It was amazing to me that we were paddling through an industrial area and other than noise from trains and cars you would have thought we were in going through an uninhabited area. The trees along the river blocked the view of most of the industry. It was much more pleasant than I had anticipated. Mary Glanville said that she counted nineteen bridges that we passed. We went around a curve and there was downtown Kansas City, Mo. From there it was about three miles to Kaw Point. We got to Kaw Point at 4:30 PM on Sunday. It was a good trip, challenging at times, but still a good trip.
Pictured are: Mary, Dave, Jeannie, Teresa, John, Russell, Denise and Ray.
Membership entitles you to our monthly newsletter, preference for trips with limited group sizes and enjoyment of the outdoors through a variety of activities. |
