On this day, I shot big. For charity, I attempted to paddle as many Fox River miles as I could in one day. Starting in Algonquin, I was going to hit many dams. My goal was 35 miles, but somehow I pulled off 51. I hit the water at 6am, and ran the river until around 8:30pm.

Portaging:
Typically it was a nice break to get out and stretch. The 3 exceptions being Elgin, St. Charles and Aurora. Elgin is annoying to have to wheel out past the library and main street through traffic, but that's quick. St. Charles took about 45 minutes, getting out on river right and crossing several roads, before putting back in over rocks. Aurora's take out was gone, so I had to scramble it up rocks, but then the put in was easy.

Sights:
So many of them! It was really cool to see all the individual towns along the riverfront.

​Flow:
Water level was low, but not atrocious. I maybe had a 1mph current on average. A few scrapes here and there, but nothing awful.

There is a Dam free 67 mile stretch on the lower Rock river, starting in Sterling and ending in Moline.​ Over the holiday weekend, I completed this paddle with a group. We found islands to camp on, and would paddle 21, 24, and 22 miles in 3 days. This was not a float trip.

We started in Sterling/Rock falls, just past the dam at Lawrence park. Our endpoint was Ben Williamson park in Moline, which is 2 miles upriver from the Mississippi. While we would have loved to have gone all the way to the end, there's a series of two dams in Moline, and we didn't want to push the trip to include an extra portage. Let alone on the final day after doing three 20-mile days in a row.

Water flow was solid, 1-2 mph at all times. This section did not have much bad wind, even though it is fairly open at this point. There are small towns along the way (like Prophetstown, Erie, and Cleveland that made for good water stops. There isn't much in the way of rock formations out this far.

Towards the end, as you come into the quad cities, does boat traffic pick up. In general, it was very quiet and remote. Overall, it was a great long weekend out on the water

First paddle of the year: I did the full dells run in a day. This trip consists of starting in Yorkville and paddling to Wedron. It takes you through the scenic dells area.

I started at the Yorkville rec center launch, just past the dam on the south side. I took out at Ayer's landing, who was still closed for the season.

The water level was a little below average. There wasn't a ton of current, nor wind to slow me down. I completed this paddle in 5 hours and 11 minutes. For a 26 mile paddle, that is right at 5 mph.

The Upper Iowa river spans over 150 miles across northern Iowa and Southern Minnesota. It begins in Mower County MN, and flows through the driftless area, before feeding into the Mississippi. I attempted a 126 mile stretch of this, moving from Lime Springs to Lansing IA. Due to low water conditions, I only made it halfway, opting to end at the 60 mile marker in Decorah.

On 8/1/20, I went down the DuPage River rapids section in a canoe with two family members. The river was low, measuring to 2.4 ft at the Shorewood gauge. We started at Shorewood, and went to Channahon State Park: 10 miles.

Here is video from that section.

On the fourth of July, I did a fast paced paddle through the Fox River Dells area. I started in Yorkville, and pushed hard to get to Ayer's Landing around 1pm

Part 1 is around Blake's landing and the Fox River Resort, as you just start to come into the dells area.

Part 2 passes some farm fields and is a break in the cliffs

Part 3 is just past the big Island, as the river starts cutting south. There's a long line of cliff.

This is my favorite section of river in the Chicagoland area. It's very scenic and is a special part of the Fox River in Illinois.

Over Father's Day weekend, my dad and I completed a 28 mile run down the fox river. As the same with other trips, we started in Yorkville, camped around Sheridan, and ended in Wedron. The weather held up for the weekend, and it was a nice paddle.  I'm going to chart out where we started, ended, and camped.

This weekend, I went on a kayak trip down the full length of the DuPage river. I started at Weigand Park in Naperville, and ended at Channahon state park in Shorewood. 28 Miles. Along the way, I passed through the rapids south of Hammel Woods. The gauge at Hammel was reading at about 3ft at the time, average.

​I took two videos from my time on the river in the rapids area. Enjoy!

Over Easter weekend, I went on a solo kayak camping trip down the Fox River in Illinois. I took a 28 mile trip from Yorkville to Wedron. 0 portages and lots of scenic camping. I did 18 miles of paddling day 1, and 10 on day 2. Overall, I paddled for about 8 hours.

I put in at Yorkville, just past the dam. There is a boat launch west of IL-47. I had my wife pick me up at C&M canoe rental. I found a campsite at an island nearby the Sheridan juvenile center. 

I got some great videos from the dells area. Enjoy!

This past weekend, I went to the Wisconsin Dells. There's a solid 42 mile trip from Castle Rock Dam to Portage WI. There is just one portage, a long one in the middle in downtown WI dells. The plan is to paddle 10-14 miles on day one, and find camping somewhere in the islands. Day 2 takes you through a lake, portage, and then back into the lower dells area. Day 3 is all river, taking you out to the end.

I did this trip with group of 5 others. 3 had never kayak camped before. 2 had gone on a few trips, to say the least. In mid October, highs were in the upper 50s, and lows in the low 40s. Not too cold, and not a lot of bugs. 

Day 1 was windy. We made it about 12 miles. We started around noon with a car swap. We left all boats and gear at start, drove to end, then hired a taxi to take us back to the start. Little back and forth, but saved us travel at the end. 
The wind was constantly in our face all day, making it a bit of a struggle. We hit the 7 mile bridge around 3:30, a bit behind pace. Fortunately from there, the current picked up and things got moving. We passed through the canyon around the 10 mile marker and had no issues despite choppy wind.

Day 2 was a mixed bag. The water was calm in the morning, leading to a smooth paddle through the open lake area and then through the narrows and into the dells. We took our time going through the scenic dells, so hit the portage right at noon. We'd get back into the water around 2pm, after lunch and portage. 

The portage takes forever, as you go uphill, through a big parking lot area around a power plant, then back down a hill. I'm happy to report that they've widened the last part going downhill, so it was much easier to traverse. There are clear maps marking the route, and signs along the way. 

The second half of day 2 it began to rain and mist. This would last from 2-8pm, and eventually got us all wet and cold. We'd find a decent beach somewhere in the pine islands, around the 32 mile marker. Once the rain cut off, we were able to start up a fire and have some dinner. 

Day 3 was very straightforward. We paddled 10 miles through the wider portion of the river. Eventually you see a bridge, as you get into portage. That's roughly the 3 miles to go marker. You scoot under two bridges, then go to the takeout on the left. 

Overall, it was a great trip. Nothing too crazy compared to previous trips. In October, there wasn't much speedboat traffic to contend with. The elements were a challenge, but nothing we couldn't overcome. The Wisconsin river can be a big challenge, but overall goes pretty smooth with its many islands and sandbars.