Who We Are
| Most of the 300+ members
of the Wisconsin Sierra Club's River Touring Section (RTS) are
canoeists, both whitewater and quiet-water, but there are also a few
whitewater kayakers and sea-kayakers. All paddlers are welcome; at the
moment most of the club's activities focus on river canoeing. Our ages
range from 8 to 80.
We are not active in terms of meetings, since most of our members are scattered throughout Wisconsin, with a few in Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois. At our annual January meeting in Oconomowoc ...we schedule all the trips for the coming paddling season, ...we discuss issues of interest in Wisconsin such as hydro-dam relicensing, ...we decide how to distribute the fees we charge for our white-water clinics, ...we have a wonderful pot-luck meal, ...we see slides, videos, pictures of recent trips our members have taken.
You may join RTS by coming on a trip with us or by getting in touch with the Section Chair. We will put you on the RTS mailing list after you complete the sign-up sheet that trip leaders pass around at the put-in for each trip. And you will stay on the list so long as you paddle with us at least one trip every other year. Members get advance notice of the trips for the coming season and an invitation to the annual meeting. There are no dues at this time. We encourage all those who paddle with us to join the National Sierra Club, but we don't check your card at the put-in. That's all there is to becoming an RTS member. There is no fee for participating in RTS trips except for the two whitewater clinics. However, for all RTS activities, participants must provide their own gear, both for canoeing and camping as necessary. Trip leaders have the responsibility of screening people who wish to go on their trips, in terms of their skill level and experience. If you're new to the group or are not known personally by the leader, you can expect to be questioned about where you've canoed before, what kind of boat you have, etc. This not meant to be an inquisition, but to assure the safety of all participants in a particular trip. Some RTS members also plan private trips of their own, which are sometimes on more difficult rivers. These trips are not RTS trips, are not publicized, and are open only to people expressly invited by the trip's organizers.
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