3. What is a good resource for river conditions on the Missouri River?

The link below allows the user to select multiple monitoring sites on the Missouri for current water levels.

http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/glance.php?wfo=eax&gage=kcdm7&riverid=203276&view...

5. What kind of clothing should I wear?

Something that covers your body from the sun.  I like Underarmour Heatgear it wicks moisture well and fits tight so you don't chafe.  You don't want cotton, takes for ever to dry.  If I am going to be in a kayak that covers my legs, I just wear Walmart Starter shorts.  If in a canoe, Underarmour tights or scrubs.

Q.  Do you Wear Gloves?

A.  No...for the reasons stated earlier.  Buy some Tuf Foot and use it nightly for a month or two before the race.  Bring some waterproof tape to cover any "hot spots" that might develop.

Q.  What kind of navigation lights are required, and good?

A.  A full set of navigation lights are required for all boats.  Even if you don't think you'll be paddling at night.  White stern light and the red and green bow lights are required.

A.  On the stern, I've seen several folks use the $5 Ozark Trail mini LED lantern that can be found at WalMart.  Mount it on the lid of a clear plastic peanut butter jar mounted to the stern of the boat, and screw the jar over it.  Waterproof, cheap, and will run the entire race on one set of batteries.

A.  On the bow, red and green lights are required.  Cheap, and easy, are the Eveready red and green battery powered "glow sticks".   Attach with velcro and tape to the boat.  Another option are taking Sylvania Dot It H20 puck lights, and cover one lens with red electrical tape and one with green electrical tape.  The tap lights attach to the boat with velcro and will last the length of the race.  If you want to get fancy, you can find 4-LED little red and green accent lights on eBay that will run off a 9V battery, or any 12V source.  I use 8AA batteries to run my pair of red/green bow LEDs.  Everything is velcroed in place.



Q. Paddling at night?

A.  The race is scheduled during periods of near-full moon AND when the moon is actually out during the majority of night hours.  Do NOT plan on running down the river with some kind of light setup on the boat lighting the way.  It doesn't work.  Use your night vision for the most part.  Wear a $15 LED headlamp for instant light when you need it.  Carry a LED spotlight or other type of bright flashlight to look for buoys and channel markers (which are reflective, and show up great with LED light).  I used a 2 D cell LED Maglite attached to the side of the boat.  I could reach down and turn it on, and turn the boat left to right a bit and scan the entire shoreline for channel markers in the dark of night.  Find a marker on the far bank, turn off the light and aim for it using the treeline shapes as a guide.  One headlamp and one maglite did the trick for me.

A.  Note that paddling at night is NOT required to finish the race in under 88 hours.  The checkpoint cutoffs are set up to allow for layovers at checkpoints for the dark hours.  If you plan to paddle at night you should be prepared with good lighting.  It's also a good idea to paddle with a group.

Q.  Do you use a single or double blade paddle?

A.  Double blade paddles work best in kayaks, surfskis, and race canoes where the paddler sits low to the water.  Single blades work best in canoes.  some folks bring both to switch up now and then and use different muscle groups, if the seating position in the boat makes it efficient.  There is no speed advantage to a double blade (in a craft that makes using either possible) over a LONG race because instead of swinging a 10 oz carbon ZRE single blade, you are swinging a 24oz paddle around, and your overall stroke rate is about the same.  All this is my opinion.  I paddled an excursion canoe with only a single blade and don't even own a double.

Post race:  massages, bbq dinner free with 1 voucher per racer, awards, building applause for each and every finisher, tatoos available at Threshold Tatoos in St. Charles, beer available at the microbrewery nearby, photo ops as you pull in, lots or comradery, and a dang fine boat show.

Folks helping you out of the boat, and carrying your boat up the bank for you, is one of the finest experiences of the whole race.

Carp jump at all times of day and night.  They are mostly in slack water areas at the mouths of tributaries or behind wing dikes.

Do the barges travel at night?  Are there other recreational boaters (with motors) on the river at night?

In past river relief has sometimes been able to negotiate wiith barge lines to put to shore at night for the week if the race....no guarantee that will occur ....and most definitely there are recreational boats....mostly catfisherman

If you run nav light...have a strong hand light to shine their way and let them know you are there....should not be a big deal

But you must use common sense too ...and if a boat seems to be clueless of you....move out of the way

As for barges....they have to stay in the main channel....so if you know-how to read the channel location (shore beacons and channel markers)....you can get out of the channel

Kind of like knowing where road is and making sure you get onto the side walk when a car is coming

barges at night are intimidating...waves in dark etc...and one boat a few years back got confused and cut right in front if a barge at night ....got run over....and rescued by barge crew.....IMHO it was the paddlers fault and not the barges....they even crashes lead barge to shore and reversed engines to flush them out.....keep in mind barges have total right of way

Parked barges can be a hazard to....and all too often do not have proper lights ...typically parked sand barges are most guilty...give a parked barge very wide berth. "there is nothing interesting to see on the underside of a barge ".  

Bryan

I agree with the above posts about being aware of your surroundings during night paddling.  I know how prevalent the mp3 headphones have become for everyone, but at night you might want to practice some discretion and listen to the river.  I spent a number of hours in dense fog between Hermann and Klondike last year in a cloud bank that no spot light could penetrate.  The only way I was able to navigate the river (including the potentially treacherous Berger Bend) was by listening to the water.  It is also a very pleasurable and peaceful experience to be on the Missouri at night and I for one would hate to lose out on that for a few tunes I have heard a hundred times already anyway.  The best part of the entire 340 for me was the alone time at night with the river.  Just a pesonal preference, but something to consider.

An overall level of fitness is something good to shoot for.  Whether you have time to train on water or not.  I've watched people agonize over whether a boat weighs 40 pounds vs. 35 pounds when they could easily lose 25 pounds and achieve a greater effect.  I'm betting that whatever you're doing in Iraq will keep you fit.  Then, when you get back home you can take that fitness to the water to fine tune stroke, etc.

The Cobra Expedition is a decent kayak for finishing the 340.  It will hold your gear and be stable and relatively efficient.  Go with the mid-wing if you can.  It will be a good paddle for you as you transition to an even faster boat in years to come.  Learning to use it won't be that difficult.

There are some good tupperware boats out there and they are getting better. I like the PRS Spirit, though they haven't made inroads into the midwest, yet. I'll probably start bringing one or two up with each of my trips for Mike Drost, if anyone is interested in testing them out. --West