Hoosier Canoe & Kayak Club

Happy New Year!  As we begin the new year, we are looking for your input on what you want to see the club do this year.  See below for details on the trip planning meeting on January 26^st.  Keep an eye out for details on a paddle around New Year’s day.  As you participate in trips, we always appreciate trip reports for the newsletter.  If you have something you’d like to share in the newsletter, send it to Dwayne James by the 17^th of the month.  See you on the water!

Trip Planning Meeting

January 26, 2019

Have a favorite river you want to share? Want to help train some newbies? We’re always looking for trip leaders, various volunteers, new rivers to paddle, new ideas, and section chairs and co-chairs.

Bring your paddling ideas and get an early peek at our trip calendar for the year. If you’re interested in being a trip leader or other type of volunteer, but not quite sure what to do, sign up anyways! We’ll show you and guide you on what to do. We’re all here to have fun.

We will be laying out our 2019 Trip Calendar on Saturday, Jan.26 @ 1:30 pm at Duane Garloch's home.

Duane's Address: 2755 Sawtooth Oak Circle Westfield, IN 46074-5854

Duane will be making beef chili and vegetarian chili. Bring a dish to share and BYOB.

Here is the link to the event:  https://hoosiercanoeandkayakclub.wildapricot.org/event-3169552

We had another great year of paddling in 2018.  I want to thank everyone who came out and paddled with us this year and even more so want to thank everyone who volunteered with their time to sponsor a trip this year.  Without the help of trip sponsors, we would not have all of the great trips this club hosts each year.  Look for announcements about the annual planning meeting early in 2019 for your opportunity to give input on what we will doing in 2019.  If you have not sponsored a trip in the past, please consider do so next year.  If you are not sure how to sponsor a trip, feel free to contact the fleet chairs or other board members, and they will be happy to give some guidance.

We had a great annual meeting on November 10^th.  Lonnie Bedwell gave an inspiring presentation about his life and adventures including being the first visually impaired person to kayak the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon (lonniebedwell.com).  Brad Beaubien also gave a short presentation about the White River Vision Plan.  We have solicited input from the club for input on the White River Vision plan.  A summary of this input can be found in this newsletter.  If you have and done so already, go the mywhiteriver.com and take the survey.  The more input from paddlers, the more we will be heard.

See you on the water!  - Duane

Register for the Pirate Party this Saturday Oct 20.  

As our year is coming to an end, join us at our annual meeting on November 10.  We will be voting for club officers and board members, enjoying great food, and reminiscing on the past year of paddling.  We also have a wonderful guest speaker, Lonnie Bedwell, who is the fist-ever visually impaired kayaker to complete the entire 226 mile stretch of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

Make sure and see the newsletter for all of the details.

See you on the water!    Duane

IMMINENT CONCERN FOR LOCAL BOATERS: the Emerichsville Dam near 16th Street on Indianapolis near West Side has failed over the weekend, dropping the water level at least 6 feet. Although the attached article states they expect "no affect for public safety' there have been kayakers spotted near the dam which certainly would identify an extreme danger! Please if you are planning a trip out on White River avoid being anywhere upstream or downstream of this area. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2018/10/09/white-river-indianapolis-disappears-hole-dam-drops-water-levels-nearly-6-feet/1579207002/

As the leaves start to turn we enter into my favorite season of the year.  There a plenty of paddling opportunities on the calendar which is filled with classic events for the HCKC.  These include the Grayson Lake Fall Overnight and Raccoon Creek Covered Bridge Festival the weekend of 10/13.  On the weekend of 10/27 we have the Russell Fork Rendezvous and Eagle Creek shore-line clean-up.

The big event for October is bi-annual Pirate Paddle and Party on 10/20.  This has been a popular event in the past.  This year’s party will feature HCKC’s very own one man band Bob Heckler.  Check out the newsletter for more details and follow this link to register.

https://hoosiercanoeandkayakclub.wildapricot.org/event-3046447?CalendarViewType=1&SelectedDate=10/23/2018

See you on the water!    Duane

Although Summer officially ends on September 21^st, our paddling season does not!  Coming up we have our annual trip sea kayak trip to South Manitou Island and white water trip to Gauley Fest, along with flat water trips on the Wabash River and White River.  Check the calendar for details for these trips along with other events in September.  Looking ahead, watch out for information on our biannual Pirate Paddle and Party on October 20^th and our Annual Meeting on November 10^th.  And look for an email  seeking volunteers to help clean up Raccoon Creek on Sept 20 or 22.

See you on the water!      Duane          

Summer rains are bringing some refills to our streams just in time for the annual Indiana Paddlers Rendezvous the first weekend in August.  We also have two more Triathlon events we will need help with.  And the touring kayak group has a few big trips planned for the month.  Check out this newsletter for details on all of our planned trips and watch for announcements concerning a very special guest speaker for our annual club meeting and for more on the Pirate Paddle and Party coming in October.  Hope to see you on the water.   Duane

As the summer weather is in full swing, we have several paddling opportunities coming up.  We have also had some cancelations due to water levels and heat, so remember to keep a lookout for last minute changes.  The HCKC’s open house at Geist park was one of the cancelations.  Look for this event to be rescheduled.  In late June and July we have the annual trip to the Yough in PA for the whitewater group, 300 springs Green River trip for the flatwater paddlers, and Lake Champlain for the sea kayakers. The Indiana Paddler’s Rendezvous for all paddlers from around the state will be in early August. If you have never been on any of these trips, it’s definitely recommended you try at least one of them. Also, please remember we always need volunteers to provide safety boats at Eagle Creek during the Triathlons throughout the summer to help keep the athletes safe during their swim.  See you on the water!  Duane 

Summer officially arrives later this month, though it feels like it has already been here for some time.  We have enough events planned for June to get everyone out on the water.  There are several white water, flat water, and sea kayak trips on the calendar along with training opportunities.  Check out this newsletter and the calendar on our website at https://hoosiercanoeandkayakclub.wildapricot.org/events (remember to log in to see everything).  If you have questions about any trips, contact the trip sponsor.   See you on the water!   Duane 

Hopefully the snow is done by now, but some members did get out for a snow paddle.  We have a month full of paddling opportunities including Cagles Mill to start the month and our annual trip to Wisconsin for the Wolf and Peshtigo rivers over Memorial Day weekend.  Checkout this newsletter and the events calendar on the HCKC website for details of all our trips (remember all events are not visible if you do not login).  We are also offering our first session of introductory and intermediate skills classes at the end of May.

See you on the water!

Duane