SOUTH YANKTON, Neb. -- A custom-built wooden raft measuring 16 by 36 feet rests atop clear, azure water in a tucked away cove just east of Gavins Point Dam on the north embankment. Lake Yankton feeds a waterfall that audibly spills into the tiny nook just off the Missouri River where the vessel, named the Eagles Nest, will launch on a 1,000-mile adventure down the famed water trail.
A group of ten boys and four counselors with the Bald Eagle Boys Camp of Mill Hall, Pennsylvania, migrate canned and dried provisions down the cove’s sandy slope from their bus parked just off Toe Road, and up the wooden plank to the hull of their raft. Last-minute details are finalized as the fruition of effort, planning and dreaming come to a confluence.
The idea of the float trip was inspired by previous expeditions the camp had undertaken with the Mississippi River in 2005 and the Ohio River in 2015, both culminating at the takeout spot of Cairo, Illinois.
Inspired by the previous outings, Nate Kauffman, a counselor with the Bald Eagle Boys Camp, put pen to paper and started planning. True to the camp’s ethos, the boys felled trees that would become the superstructure and railing of the Eagles Nest and planned the trip’s logistics.
“We are a therapeutic program geared toward boys from ages nine to 16,” Kauffman said. “The boys in this program, come from troubled homes and lives.”
Once the Eagles Nest was assembled and tested on a local Pennsylvania river, the wooden raft was meticulously disassembled for shipping it to the Mighty Mo. This is where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, enters the camp’s epic.
“Last July, I emailed David A. Reilley and asked him for some navigation maps of the Missouri River, and he very quickly sent some our way in addition to other relevant division and district contacts, and from there I emailed different people in the district about river condition and additional information,” Kauffman said.
Kauffman drove up to Yankton, South Dakota, prior to the trip to get a better understanding of the layout and logistical challenges that would await the troop. He found the perfect spot to reassemble the boat but would require a telehandler to move the timber and some coordination with district rangers.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the largest water-based recreation provider in the nation, and this request for using an area to launch the raft for the boys’ group is consistent with our congressionally authorized purposes of recreation,” said Justin Scholl, Chief of Natural Resources.
USACE helped accommodate the boys in nearby Cottonwood Campsite where a circle of 12, one-person tents would be the young adventurers’ base camp for three days while the Eagles Nest took shape just down the street.
“Justin and the other rangers have been very helpful since we arrived,” Kauffman said.
The assembled Eagles Nest, nestled in its picturesque cove - juxtaposing the mechanized boats cruising the Missouri River near the dam. Curious onlookers stopped to watch the progress, take photos, and even ask the counselors "permission to come aboard."
Guitars and analog entertainment like domino and board games found homes under the large bench seats that encircled the central table, the communal area and schoolhouse of the raft. Wood utensils, seasoned cast iron cookware in the kitchen, and an iron stove with kerosine lanterns adorned the wooden vertical stern posts of the canopy. The 21st century couldn’t come aboard the Eagles Nest either – except for the outboard engine as a necessary navigational insurance policy.
Similar in size to the Keelboat taken by Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery, the Eagles Nest, with its crew of 12, will be exploring the same wild and sinuous river in their Corps of Adventure, as well as a host of other people that have been lured to the fourth largest river system in the world.
“These trips are really good for a group,” Kauffman said. “It requires pulling together as a unit to problem solve as the trip passes and we are faced with obstacles.”
On the morning of Aug. 3, 2024, the untethered Eagles Nest exited the small cove to be accepted by the silent strength of the Missouri River’s current. The crew waved back at people gathering on the shore and along the road while morning fishermen on the river honked their horns in salute of the young explorers.
As the crew learns the movement of the water and perfects navigating the Eagles Nest with their ore sweeps, they will experience the river in ways very few modern people have. For the next 1,000 miles, the young men will no longer live in climate-controlled rooms, cars or buildings; their thermostat will rise in the east and set in the west; their music will be played live; and their bonds will grow with each conquered obstacle. No longer will they be apart from the rhythm of nature, but a part of it.
There are eight congressionally authorized purposes within USACE: recreation, fish and wildlife, navigation, hydropower, water supply, water quality, flood risk reduction, and irrigation. Perhaps a ninth one should be added - adventure.