This past weekend, we set out to answer a question we hear more often than you’d think: “Wait, Wisconsin has whitewater?” Spoiler alert: We absolutely do! We took on three of the state’s most iconic paddling rivers—Peshtigo, Pike, and Wolf—and captured some of the action on video. First up, we […]
Tag: whitewater kayaking
Red River Dunks
My first paddle day in the Midwest this season after kayaking in the Southeast US earlier this year. Apparently I’m still shaking off some winter rust. And yes that should be “CFS” for Cubic Feet per Second, not “CFI”. I shot the drone footage right before we launched our kayaks.
Clean-up and Fun on the Wolf River
On a chilly 35°F day we spent about 4-1/2 hours on the river picking up bottles, cans, flipflops, and other trash on Section 4 of the Wolf in the Menominee Reservation in Northern Wisconsin. Here’s footage of the named rapids. In hindsight I should have shot more of the trash-gathering […]
3 Rivers Near Merrill
This past Saturday was my first whitewater kayak day of 2022. I joined paddlers from the River Touring Section of the Wisconsin Sierra Club led by Dave Hiller. We ran the Prairie, the Pine and the Trappe, all near Merrill, WI. Water 33⁰F. Air 40⁰F. Other paddlers were Mari Gasiorowicz, […]
Top 10 Paddle Days of 2021
The Internet loves lists so I’m capping off the year with my top 10 list of favorite kayaking days of 2021. First some stats… Each year I track the “who, what, when, and where” of my paddles, plus other info such as river levels, water and air temperature and so […]
TRR Tennessee and North Carolina kayaking
On a recent trip to Tennessee and North Carolina with a Team River Runner crew we did some whitewater kayaking on two rivers: the Nolichucky and the French Broad. River levels were low but immense fun. Cohen (from the Minneapolis TRR chapter) and I traveled to Johnson City, TN where […]
Scouts Learn Whitewater Kayaking
This past weekend I had a great time helping introduce about 40 Boy Scouts and adult leaders to the skills, thrills and joys of whitewater kayaking. Whitewater instruction was one part of the big BSA Bay-Lakes Council “Camporee” held at Gardner Dam Scout Camp on the Wolf River near White […]
Kayak Videos: Music or “Au Naturel”?
I regularly post kayaking videos on YouTube and occasionally on Vimeo, but in case you missed any or all, here are my 2021 videos to date. I’m also sharing videos created by Angela (AKA “ang gru” on YouTube), who recently joined our gang of enthusiastic Wisconsin whitewater kayakers. By the […]
The Challenge of Piers Gorge
Whitewater kayakers and rafters flock to Piers Gorge for spectacular scenery and intense excitement. Piers Gorge is a beautiful valley formed by the Menominee River, which serves as the border between Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. I have kayaked here a couple of times before. On a beautiful day in October […]
Paddling the Wolf River at 1800 CFS
Wisconsin’s Wolf River ran last Sunday, July 27, at an incredible flow rate of nearly 3,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), which was the all-time high since USGS record-keeping began there. Normal flow for the Wolf ranges from 300 to about 1,000 cfs. Brian T., Derrick W. and I decided […]