His Ride
Jarett Bies
To hear Jarett Bies speak about kayaking on the Missouri River is
like entering a church service on a high holy day, with the preacher
imparting his wisdom upon the flock.
“There’s a sense of being and being a part of something that is much
greater than your’ self,” Bies said. “There’s an intimacy when you’re that
close to the water in a self-propelled craft, but it’s different than just
driving across the state. There are things you’re going to notice going
at that pace, being the only engine behind your transportation, I think
that makes it something special.”
Bies served in the Marines from ’86-’90, and was stationed
throughout posts in the Pacific: San Diego, Hawaii and Okinawa. It
was during his time in the Marines that Bies discovered there was
something about the water that was calling to him, but it escaped him.
When he was attending graduate school in St. Cloud, Minnesota,
Bies’ friend had received a kayak from his fiancé. While his friend
served as a law clerk during the day, Bies took the kayak out onto Lake
Minnetonka, and that’s when he found his calling.
“The idea of exploring the water was something that I had wanted
to do but it had never really clicked how to go about it, until I paddled
my buddies kayak and it really did click,” Bies said. “So when I finished
graduate school and moved back to Sioux Falls, I bought my own
kayak and I’ve been at it ever since.”
It was in the year 2000, when Bies finally paddled on the Missouri
River, and if it wasn’t for some persistence, it might have come at a later
date.
“I think it was in 2000, I was working as a news assistant at the
Argus Leader, and there was an outfit based in Vermillion that was
doing guided trips on the river, so we were going to be doing a story on
this new business venture and there was a seasoned veteran reporter
that was going to go with them, and I convinced him to let me go
instead. That was the first time I paddled on the Missouri River,” Bies
said. “I just really fell in love with it. Later things changed, and I ended
up living in Vermillion, which made it a whole lot easier to spend time
on the river.”
Even as an experienced kayaker and veteran of the Missouri River,
Bies has seen his group in situations where it may not have been lifethreatening but certainly a serious reminder of the power the Missouri
River has.
“I was on an expedition last August where we got into a spot where
there were a lot of standing waves and wind, people in our group
weren’t the most aggressive paddlers because sometimes you can end
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up being able to muscle through that, but we ended up having a group
separation,” Bies said. “Three or four people carried on and then a
thunderstorm came in, and we were worried about them, two of them
ended up in Nebraska. Thankfully, some people helped them with
lodging. So I’ve never been in anything life threatening or in fear of
someone else’s life, but you paddle past things sometime and you can
think about what ifs? Definitely a reminder as to how serious and in
control the water is.”
Now Bies owns his own LLC, South Dakota’s Best River Races, and
has set up a number of kayaking events since moving to the area. The
races that Bies works with include four races on the Missouri River
taking place throughout the year. One of which is the South Dakota
Kayak Challenge, which is a 72-mile endurance race on the Missouri
River, stretching from Yankton to South Sioux City, Nebraska. There is
also The Fort to Field 50 paddle battle that runs from Fort Randall to
Springfield, River Boat Days Kayak Run and the DamN Back race.
“The DamN Back is a short 10-mile race that starts and ends at
Riverside Park in Yankton. That one is a little more challenging, the
most people we’ve ever had for that event was around 20 participants,”
Bies said. “It’s more fun but in terms of the people who would want to
take part in it, it’s not for beginners. Paddling up against the current
is challenging and we’ve had a few participants who have hit the wall
during that race.”
All the proceeds from the races are used on operational costs, but
whatever is left over after covering those costs is donated back to
organizations that focus on helping with the river. This year, Bies plans
to donate profits from the Fort to Field 50 to the Outdoor Women of
South Dakota, a non-profit that aims at getting more women involved
with outdoor recreational activities.
“We’ve never solved anyone’s budget crisis, as much as we’ve tried
to make contribution turnaround and give back what we have to like
minded organizations,” Bies said.
Bies hopes that the races he sponsors and events he takes part of,
can bring awareness to what Yankton has to offer. The Missouri River
being a world-class body of water to enjoy, but also some of the other
smaller bodies of water that are in the area.
“I’d love to see more people out paddling,” Bies said. “Without
that kayak, I couldn’t be out in that tiny spot with a quarter of a mile
of moving water on either side of me, a bald eagle overhead or a
paddlefish jumping out of the water. It’s truly something to experience.”
vBy Ben Wheeler