KAW 173 – Day 8

River Mile 43 and kayaked 24 miles to River Mile 19 on the Kansas River Water Trail.

When dawn broke this morning, we all agreed we really had the best night of sleep of the entire trip. The temperatures last night were a cool 71° and I think we were all so tired we just passed out. We did have a great evening on the sandbar, with a bonfire and my friends brought sparklers to celebrate my birthday! We stayed up a little later than normal and stared at the stars. Lisa had brought along a pair of binoculars and we used those to enjoy the stars. Along the way we’ve all learned so much from each other….from the ones that know birding the best, from the entomologist, about sandbar tracks, and about the stars in the sky!

We departed a little later than normal, because we had come far enough the night before that we didn’t have very far to go to meet up with the Eudora Paddle group. So we enjoyed a little longer to linger around a morning campfire and breakfast. We took our time getting our things together knowing it was the second to last morning of our journey.

We got on the river a little after 9 AM and paddled downstream just a few miles to Eudora, my current home. We waited on a sandbar because we knew a lot of folks were coming. The Dirty Girls Adventure group did a fundraiser to join us for the KAW 173. About 30 of their friends came along, and the money that they paid for the trip was donated to Friends of the Kaw! We stopped on a sandbar about halfway between Eudora and De Soto and they presented us with a check for $1600! We are so grateful for this donation to our work to protect and preserves the 173-mile-long Kansas River! We love our River partners!

We had to leave the sandbar and get going onto our next community visit at De Soto. We took off and everyone else stayed back and enjoyed the sandbar, which is exactly what we want! We paddled on to De Soto, and when we arrived we were greeted by the De Soto Rotary Club. The De Soto Rotary Club has a special relationship with us… They have funded our Kids About Water Program over the years, we’ve partnered with them on the pop-up Paddle at Lexington Lake, which is coming up in August, and they also have adopted the De Soto boat ramp in our Adopt-A-Boat Ramp program. We are so blessed to have such a great river partner in the city and the Rotary. When we arrived, they had set up a tent in the shade with tables and chairs… and tons of food! We were treated to pizza from KJ‘s in De Soto as well as fresh salads and fruit! I think they knew exactly what to feed us when we got off the river because it was perfect! The Mayor of De Soto joined us and talked about the river and the relationship to the city. We really appreciate all of the people that came out today to greet us and to show how much they appreciate the river trail! We stayed for a while and lingered, it was such a great place to stop there at the park. But soon we knew that we needed to get on down the river. Thank you to my hometown for the warm welcome!

We had a community Paddle scheduled from De Soto to Cedar Creek and we needed to get going. We took off from there and enjoyed the spectacular scenery. So many bald eagles that there are too many for us to count. We also saw beavers today and once we got to the sandbar for the night, we found signs of a big turtle that had been on the sandbar! The wildlife that we see, that we witness, and that we find signs of, is the best part of the journey for me.

I’m sitting here on this sandbar (above) looking out over the river, just west of Bonner Springs. We found a beautiful spot under a shade tree and are enjoying each other’s company. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel when I got to Day 8. I honestly worried that I would be physically exhausted, or that I would have an injury such as tendinitis. These are the things that kept me working out all winter to make sure that I kept myself healthy. What I’ve learned, on Day 8… is that I’m stronger than I ever thought I was. Both mentally and physically. Because it takes both to do this. You have to stay mentally strong to make it 173 miles in a kayak with thunderstorms, rain, heat warnings, wind, and the elements. And you always, always, have sand in your shoes.

When I think about the six people that gave up their vacation to come with me on this crazy journey, it brings me to tears. They are all good people. Some of the best that I know. Good hearted, strong, the kind of people that will do anything for you. There’s no better group to go through this with, I found that is true. We’ve all become stronger together and I am incredibly grateful for this day, for this journey, and for these people. We are all a bit sad that this is the last night…the river time has been good to us.

19 miles to go. We’ve got this,… I’ve got this. I’ll see you at Kaw Point!…and may you always have sand in your shoes .

Dawn, Your Kansas Riverkeeper

KAW 173 – Day 6

River Mile 92 and kayaked 25 miles to River Mile 67 on the Kansas River Water Trail.

We departed the cabin early this morning. We knew this was a big day with a community visit in Topeka and we wanted to be on the river early and be well prepared. We had spent the night before discussing all of our strategies for portaging Topeka and making it past the diversion wall at Tecumseh. We knew we had a big day ahead, as we were planning on a 25 mile track. Today was a busy day on the river.

When we left the cabin, there was a fine fog all across the river valley. Spectacular colors bouncing off the sky, colors of pink in between the sun shining through the fog. It looks like mist rising off the river. We enjoyed a very beautiful and slow paddle into Kaw River State Park where we would meet with Secretary Loveless of Kansas Department of Wildlife Parks and Tourism, as well as Dr. Ted Daughty, the husband of Governor Kelly.

We were so surprised to see so many of you at the boat ramp in Topeka. What a wonderful way to arrive, with all of you there on the boat ramp cheering us on! I cannot begin to tell you how much it meant to everyone on our team. We have two people on our team that hail from Topeka and I think it was really wonderful for them to see such a great showing from their hometown.

We enjoyed a few minutes there, discussing the water trail and talking to local media. But the real fun was paddling down to the Topeka weir with Secretary Loveless and Dr. Daughety.
When we arrived at the Topeka weir, we were once again greeted by a great group. Many of our volunteers came to help us unload our kayaks and port them. We also had friends that brought us food from a local Topeka eatery, which includes wonderful breakfast burritos that were bigger than you could ever imagine! Along with our friends, we got settled and we’re ready to takeoff once again.

The biggest challenge on the river remained ahead. There is a diversion wall at Tecumseh that has been in the river since the 1920s due to a power plant that is owned by Evergy. The plant has recently been decommissioned, but the wall remains. It is a challenging area not only due to the wall, but there is also a granite bar, boulders in the river and a lime stone ledge. Between all of these forces in the water, it can be difficult at any water level. It takes a little bit of skill to figure out the best route and it’s an area that we constantly advocate for change. We all celebrated when we made it past this point in the river, because from here it is pretty much smooth sailing. We still need to port Bowersock in Lawrence, but we have many friends that will be waiting for us to help. There is also one more portage it in Johnson County, but again it’s not a difficult one.

We made it to our favorite sandbar, just upstream of Lecompton. We have affectionately called the sandbar Beaver Hollow. This is one of the best little hidden gems on the river. Tons of wildlife, a great little sandbar tucked away on the backside of an island, shade for sitting, and plenty of room for our tents.

We are all grateful to be back on the sandbar and on the river. I’m pretty certain each of us will sleep well tonight. Tomorrow, we will meet you all at Lecompton for a paddle to Lawrence. We look forward to also having a community visit in Lawrence at the 8th Street boat ramp. I hope you all can join us, can’t wait to see you on the river!

For the river,

Dawn, Your Kansas Riverkeeper

KAW 173 – Day 5

River Mile 92 on the Kansas River Water Trail Day off river due to high flows.

We woke up refreshed this morning at Sach’s cabin. We made a big pot of coffee, sat on the front porch and watched it rain and rain and rain. We were really thankful that we were able to stay in the cabin. We spent our morning discussing logistics for the rest of the trip, looking at hydrographs of the river flows, looking at weather forecasts and strategizing for the next half of the river. A couple of folks in the group fixed breakfast and what a feast! All with food that was provided by the owners of the cabin, just for us. We enjoyed bacon, scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls, hashbrowns, juice and coffee! We truly didn’t feel like we deserved all that but are very thankful.

Here along the river in Silver Lake, it rained until early afternoon. A few people took time to go for a long walk, others read a book, some took a nap, we organized gear… but most of us spent time figuring out how to get all of our gear dry. Finally, the sun came out and we found all the sunny spots we could find to lay everything out. I think we can say that by the end of the day everything is dry… for the moment!

This evening we have enjoyed each other’s company on the porch again. We feel like we are prepared for the second half of the trip. We even made a few adjustments to our gear and our plans for then next three portages as well as well as the Tecumseh diversion wall. Late this afternoon in the sun, we also got out our rescue ropes and practiced our throwing skills. It’s never a bad idea to practice those techniques.

We feel rested, and ready for the next half of the journey. We are so very grateful to the Sach family for the roof over our head for two nights, all of the food that they provided, and their sincere hospitality. Do us a favor and look up Kaw River Adventures and send them some Facebook Love!

We are on to Kaw State Park tomorrow morning for our community visit. We will be greeted by Secretary Loveless of Kansas Department of Wildlife Parks and Tourism, as well as potentially Governor Kelly for a brief part of the tour. We are delighted that all of these people see the value of the Kansas River Water Trail. We will be there at 8:30 AM tomorrow, we hope to see you there!

For the river,

Dawn, Your Kansas Riverkeeper