I did discover some cool caves along the south side of the river, along Mayo island. After dodging a few barges, I found Sheehan, and explored. On the west side, there is a little channel with a beach that takes your right to the middle of the island. This is the best place to park your boat.
This weekend, I did a short trip to Sheehan Island for some overnight camping. While it was only a 7 mile round trip, the weather made it quite challenging. The illinois river has no current, making it just as easy to go upstream as down. It really depends on which direction the wind is blowing, and how hard though. I did discover some cool caves along the south side of the river, along Mayo island. After dodging a few barges, I found Sheehan, and explored. On the west side, there is a little channel with a beach that takes your right to the middle of the island. This is the best place to park your boat. I would wind up camping on a beach. i found two uprooted trees, and setup a camp in between. It was going to rain, so I set up a full shelter. This paid off when I woke to constant rain. At least I had a spot to eat breakfast and pack up gear! I parked in the bridge park parking lot at Ottawa, just off 23. My car stayed fine overnight. It looks like there were other cars there too, parked longer term. It's always nice to see that your car is secure while you are gone. Besides the heavy run coming back, it was a solid paddle and trip.
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Yesterday, I made the 9 mile run from Montgomery to Yorkville on the Fox river. I paddled in my kayak, primarily for fitness. I set myself up to do the paddle on a short timeframe, and completed the run in about 3.5 hours. The water level was up and flowing, but there was a decent headwind, negating the current. I definitely would have been faster without the wind, as I would grind to a halt when not paddling. I like this stretch of river, and have done it half a dozen times at least. You pass through plenty of forests and parks, and it's fairly remote. While you do pass through a bunch of residential areas and run parallel to train tracks, it's still a fun paddle. There is a larger chain of islands just past RT. 34 in Oswego, and you can scoot around between them. It's very scenic.
The particular stretch I did features no portaging or major obstacles to overcome. I put in by Rt. 30 in Montgomery, and then take out before the Dam in Yorkville (right by the whitewater park). No fuss or major difficulty. |
James T.The Kayak Maniac Archives
October 2022
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