This weekend, I took a half day trip with my dad from South Elgin to Geneva. The Fox river was up from recent rain, and flowing at a decent 3 mph average. Our 7 mile trip started from John Duerr Forest Preserve, and ended in Old Mill park. We had to portage one dam, in St. Charles.
This 7 mile trip took about 3 hours, on the water. The portage in St. Charles spanned 4 blocks, and took about 30 minutes. It was a quicker trip than I had estimated, because of both the flow and tailwind.
This 7 mile trip took about 3 hours, on the water. The portage in St. Charles spanned 4 blocks, and took about 30 minutes. It was a quicker trip than I had estimated, because of both the flow and tailwind.
The St. Charles portage would have been rough if it wasn't for my kayak wheels. The weight of the boat was a challenge, but we were able to make one trip, instead of multiple to grab gear. We took out on the west side of the river, walked it through downtown, then popped back in by some rocks by the 2nd bridge past.
My canoe still has some unresolved leaks from last year. As it was drip drying, I located two possible seeping cracks which I patched up when I got home. It was bad enough that we had to dump the boat out twice along our trip. Other than that, it was smooth sailing! I really enjoyed this part of the Fox river, even though it was more civilized than I usually prefer.
Some notes:
-Old Mill park in Geneva has 3 hour parking right by the river, You'll need to find further off parking for longer days.
-We ran into some boats from the St. Charles Kayak Club, including one competitive racing boat.
-There were a couple of speed boats out before the St. Charles dam. One didn't see us until they waked us. Let it serve as a reminder to take waves head on in a canoe, so you don't flip!
My canoe still has some unresolved leaks from last year. As it was drip drying, I located two possible seeping cracks which I patched up when I got home. It was bad enough that we had to dump the boat out twice along our trip. Other than that, it was smooth sailing! I really enjoyed this part of the Fox river, even though it was more civilized than I usually prefer.
Some notes:
-Old Mill park in Geneva has 3 hour parking right by the river, You'll need to find further off parking for longer days.
-We ran into some boats from the St. Charles Kayak Club, including one competitive racing boat.
-There were a couple of speed boats out before the St. Charles dam. One didn't see us until they waked us. Let it serve as a reminder to take waves head on in a canoe, so you don't flip!
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