Redwater River Paddle, US 85 to US 212, 4-21-91

Being a paddler is a tough hobby for someone living in the Black Hills. There are few suitable runs, and all have short seasons dependent on recent rains. Even so, my friends Karl and Tod had tried running a few creeks in kayaks, and friends Craig and Don had explored a few of the rivers flowing outside the hills. I’m not sure who put this trip together; but our plan was to try and paddle the Redwater River from US 85 to US 212 near Belle Fourche. We would start at the US 85 bridge about five miles south of town, and finish at a railroad bridge on the east side of Belle Fourche.

Our Redwater River Paddle.

From the start the river was a series of tight meanders winding through ranch lands. The water was generally 2-3’ deep with a lot of riffles. There is a river gauge on the Redwater above Belle Fourche, but I don’t know if we’d checked it, and it likely it got too few paddlers for there to be a recommended flow back then. We saw lots of birds along with ducks, deer, and a mink. This wasn’t a wilderness paddle, the ranchers were using old car bodies for bank stabilization.

After about three hours we crossed the SD 34 bridge. The next section was characterized by many old tires. There were two drainage diversion ditches; one with a three foot drop, and the other with a 6 inch drop. The river was noticeably shallower past the ditches. We had to cross two fences and one cable across the river. We tipped the canoe twice. One time because we hit a tree, and the other time while we were trying to run a large wave. Unfortunately, I was in the stern both times. I spent about five minutes paddling Karl’s kayak without tipping, but the boat was too small for me.

I would paddle a few other times while living in the Black Hills (the Missouri in ND with Craig, and the Niobrara in NB with a large group from work), but this was my only paddle trip around the hills. For up to date information on paddling the Red River: American Whitewater Redwater River Link.

The Pole Pedal Paddle, April 6, 1991

The Pole Pedal Paddle was a winter triathlon held in Jackson, WY that was meant to serve as the area’s final blowout of the winter. The PPP was a misnomer as there were actually four events; downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, road biking, and canoeing or kayaking. My home in Lead, SD had a similar race as part of its Winter Carnival called the Glide, Ride, and Slide. The Lead version had both downhill and cross country skiing, along with a mountain bike leg. I raced the Glide, Ride, and Slide from 1988 through 1991 and managed to do okay on this much smaller stage.

Karl and I were interested in racing the PPP. After our friend Tod moved to Jardine, MT, we finally had the connection we needed to make the race possible for us. We didn’t train specifically for the race. But I was cross country skiing a lot in the winter and racing both classic and freestyle in our local race series. Though I didn’t bike in the winter, my main sport in the summer was mountain biking, so I felt that I had two disciplines covered. And I had finally learned to downhill ski after moving to the Black Hills, but skiing at Terry Peak would prove a whole different world than skiing at Jackson Hole. On the other hand, I had not done more than a handful of canoe trips in the last decade plus before the race. Our plan was for Karl and I to drive over from Lead, meet Tod, and spend Friday getting organized. The three of us would race solo on Saturday. 

My PPP Race bib.

Karl and I left Lead after work on Thursday and spent 8 ½ hours driving to Jackson, where we got a motel room. I’m not sure if we drove through Worland or Casper, but we used the cut off through Pavillion that allowed us to bypass Riverton.

On Friday I rented a canoe from the Snake River Kayak School. I was able to stash the canoe at the put-in for the paddle leg which was likely at the Southpark Boat Ramp where US 26/89 crosses Snake River. Then we met up with Tod and got comp passes for Jackson Hole which let us ski for the remainder of the day. I only skied the racecourse which was on the Gros Ventre run. Most of the upper expert trails Karl and Tod skied were too difficult for me. Tod had skied for Colorado School of Mines in college and Karl was an excellent skier. Both were better cross country skiers than I was, and Karl was much stronger on the road bike. Also, in contrast to me, they both did a lot of whitewater paddling. We stayed Friday night in Jackson with friends of Tod, who had spent the winter season as ski bums.

The race started with waves of Le Mans style starts to the downhill ski run. I started with about ten other guys in my division. We ran about 50 feet and then jumped into our ski boots. PPP attracted a range of entrants. The were dozens of team classifications and I entered the Men’s Recreational while Karl and Tod were in the Men’s Racing Class. Some folks were there just for a good time, and several of the teams were in full party mode start to finish. But the field also had some top drawer talent, especially in the ski legs. We would be heading down the run used for FIS women’s giant slalom. I was surprised to make it down alive, and even had a bit of fun trying to make high speed turns. But I got passed by everyone in the wave behind us, and I’m sure my slow and unpredictable skiing was a hazard to the other racers.

Next up was cross country skiing. The drop off point for our gear had been relocated since the morning, and my first struggle was to find my skis. My next struggle was a battle with bad wax. I had my skating skis, and had totally missed the wax on a warm morning, leaving me with essentially zero glide for the entire leg. Some of Tod’s friends from Gardiner helped out, but I was horribly slow. There were two climbs up part of the downhill slope, and I managed to catch a pair of skiers on those. By the end of my leg, I managed to ski off about half my sticky wax, but I’d worked way too hard for little progress.

The bike transition area was also at the ski area (Later versions of the race would add a fifth run leg here). I got away clean, but the first third of the race was very windy. ( I assume we rode down the park road to Moose, then into Jackson and finally south on US 191 toward the Hobacks). The bike course was flat and fast, and I made up four places on my all steel Schwinn Traveler touring bike.

The final leg would be on the water. I got into a borrowed wet suit and vest at the transition. I made my first blunder well before getting out of sight of the transition. Unable to steer the whitewater canoe, I hit the bridge abutment and spun around in a circle before reaching the first bend. But I settled down enough so that a course volunteer let me continue down river. I was getting passed by everyone in the race. Even though the water was easy with just a few wavy sections I managed to hit the bank twice. Next time, rent a boat with a keel, and maybe even practice a bit! I tried paddling from the stern, flipping around and paddling backwards from the bow seat, and trying to kneel in the middle (far too hard on the knees) but never found an effective position. But I made it to the end at Astoria Hot Springs. The biking took about an hour and the paddling about two hours. I finished dead last in my division, by a wide margin.

My official splits were:7:27, 27:07, 1:07:26, and 1:58:28, for a total of 3:40:28. Several of my splits were near the slowest of the entire field. Later versions of the race reported the cross country leg was 10K, the bike leg was19.5 miles, and the paddle was 9 miles, and I assume that’s about what the 1991 course was.

Karl and Tod did much better. Tod led through the ski legs, then Karl passed him on the bike. But Tod got through the paddle transition area first, and Karl never saw him. When Karl passed me on the river he didn’t believe that I had already seen Tod. They both ended up middle of the pack in the racing division at around 2:35.

Overall, the race was a blast. All the legs were fun despite the misadventures, and most of those misadventures were correctable. Karl and I drove home on Sunday in light snow.

Karl and I would come back in 1992, but this time as part of a team with Brad Young. The team entry cut down substantially on logistics. We only had to haul a single boat and bike, along with all our ski gear. I have no notes from that race, but the results show us taking third place in the Men’s Racing Division on 4-4-92. Brad skied the downhill leg. I took over for a run leg as there was not enough snow left to have a Nordic ski race. Karl then rode the bike leg, with Brad doing the final paddle leg. Brad had borrowed a sea kayak from a friend of Leroy Hart’s. The long, keeled boat was much faster than the white water or touring boats most other teams used. My run went well, a little over 20 minutes for what was probably a 5K course. There were some fast runners. I remember looking over my shoulder to spot an overtaking runner, not seeing him, then turning ahead to where he was already 10 feet in front. I would later encounter that same runner that summer at a hotel in Boulder when I was there to visit my folks and my cousin Betsy and her family. I was wearing my PPP T-shirt poolside when we struck up a conversation.

My other PPP race bib.

The PPP debuted in 1975 and lasted until 2022, when the Jackson Hole Ski & Snowboard Club canceled the 2023 Pole Pedal Paddle due to rising costs, volunteer shortages and a decline in participation.