June 7, 2015, Sunday - One Last Canoe/Kayak through the St Anthony Locks with Boy Scouts

Time: 12:30pm to 5:00pm

Location:  Boom Island

Tickets

The Upper and Lower St Anthony Locks are scheduled to close forever on June 10th.  This is being done to prevent the spread of Asian  Carp up the Mississippi River.   Since this will be the last weekend ever to canoe/kayak through the locks, we should try to fill up a lock with canoes & kayaks full of Scouts!  And by Scouts we mean Boy Scouts, Venture Scouts, as well as Sea Scouts.  Sorry, no Cub Scouts.  Girl Scouts are welcome as well, but they must follow whatever their rules are for stuff like this, over and above any Boy Scout rules.

Troops 33 & 100 have canoed/kayaked through these locks MANY times.  It is safe as long as no one does anything stupid, (i.e. "Hey, I dare you to see how close you can get to the Falls!").  Troops are encouraged to provide adequate adult supervision.  And while that doesn't mean that there has to be one adult per canoe, canoes with younger Scouts should have an adult in them.  Troops should also try to stick together as a group going downriver. 

This Trip is around 10 river miles, and depending on boat traffic, wind & the speed of the current it will be around 3-4 hours of actual paddling.

We will assemble at Boom Island at 12:30pm for a short safety briefing, (get there earlier!), and then start putting in the water.  We will then arrive at the Upper St Anthony Lock at around 1:30pm.  We will then canoe through Upper & Lower St Anthony Locks, then continue canoing/kayaking down to the Lock #1 at the Ford Dam, and then take out around 5pm at Hidden Falls Park.  Troops are welcome to arrive early for a picnic,(plus to shuttle cars down early), as well as plan to stay at Hidden Falls for a picnic afterwards, (if cars are still being shuttled).

Because this is a water based activity, normal Guide to Safe Scouting rules for that type activity will be in effect.  Troops will need to make sure that all Scouts have been swim tested, as well as been trained in canoeing prior to the day of this event.  Event organizers will take care of the Float Plan, (we are getting the permits from the park personnel as well as the Corps of Enginners). 

Every person in every canoe, both youth AND adult, must be wearing a properly fitted PFD, NO exceptions.

While we MIGHT have a couple exta canoes, in general units are responsible for providing their own canoes/kayaks.  To get those extras may require you to help transport them from where they are stored to Boom Island, so be aware of that.  Most Scout camps do rent canoes, so you should check with them SOON before someone else reserves them. Some stores like REI, Midwest Mountaineering, and a few others also rent them.

In the event of either bad weather, or the river being too high/fast, an email will be sent to the person who is registering for the unit to notify them that the event is cancelled.  It will be up to that person to notify the members of their unit of the cancellation.

There is no cost for this event.  The organizer will be paying for any permits himself.

Note that you will have to pay for parking at both Boom Island and Hidden Falls.  Please carpool as much as possible because there aren't that many parking spots at either location.

If you are not affiliated with a Troop you can register on the site individually. Just list something like Metro Lakes District Chair as your Troop number.