Le Sueur River Dawgs celebrate 1,000 miles together

LE SUEUR, Minn. (KEYC) - It’s a special milestone for the Le Sueur River Dawgs.

“We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. We celebrate every hundredth or so mile as we go along the river, and it’s a big deal to us-- just to be able to be together and put 1000 miles in,” said canoeist Brian Pfarr.

The group has been paddling Minnesota rivers for 17 years.

Its members include business professionals, politicians and a retired police chief, and with only six of them, the River Dawgs are small but mighty.

“A couple of these guys have been life-long canoeists, but it started with a few guys canoeing between Le Sueur and Henderson, and it’s grown from there,” Pfarr added.

Each summer, the River Dawgs select a new route on one of the area’s rivers.

They take it on in just three-to-four days, with the trips averaging around 70 miles-- only stopping to set up camp on the river banks, or a nearby campground, before hitting the water once again.

“We’ve gone from river-to-river. We’ve done the Rush River, we’ve done the Route River, we’ve done a little bit of the Mississippi River,” listed canoeist Shawn Kirby.

The River Dawgs have kept up with the number of miles they’ve paddled over the years.

Friday morning, they were at 980 miles.

After a 20-mile expedition from Seven Mile Creek in St. Peter to Le Sueur, they closed out 1,000 miles together.

Members say it marks the end of a chapter.

“As far as the planned trips, I think this will probably be the end of it,” Kirby mentioned.

But it’s also the beginning of a new one.

“We’re all good friends. We get together often, so good friends in Le Sueur, so we’ll get together and see what the next adventure brings,” Pfarr stated.

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