Over Labor day weekend, I attempted to do a 32 mile trip from Belvidere to Byron, IL. Start point is just past the last dam in Belivdere, off Appleton road, right by the VFW. It's called Hickory Bill's Island. The end point is the downtown Byron boat launch, just outside of town. You can park overnight at the boat launch in Byron, then I got permission from the VFW to leave a car for the overnight.
There's a forest preserve and Lithuanian club around the 13-15 mile marker, which is an idea place to camp on the kish. You then get to the rock river at the 22 mile marker, then go 10 miles to Byron. I had done this trip previously in 2016, but went further to Oregon.
This trip was with 3 other people. My experienced Dad in a kayak, and 2 rookies in a canoe. It was during a major flood, which was a huge mistake. We didn't realize there was rain up north, which fed the river to a gauge reading that was 6th highest in recorded history in a 24 hour timespan.
There's a forest preserve and Lithuanian club around the 13-15 mile marker, which is an idea place to camp on the kish. You then get to the rock river at the 22 mile marker, then go 10 miles to Byron. I had done this trip previously in 2016, but went further to Oregon.
This trip was with 3 other people. My experienced Dad in a kayak, and 2 rookies in a canoe. It was during a major flood, which was a huge mistake. We didn't realize there was rain up north, which fed the river to a gauge reading that was 6th highest in recorded history in a 24 hour timespan.
The first 6 miles are the toughest, with constant turns and obstacles. In the floodwaters, my kayak rookies tipped twice. Bags would spill out each time, and it took us about 2 hours to grab everything and reload. We also lost paddles on the second spill, so the canoe was compromised down to 1. The swirling waters would force you to shores, but with trees and fall on the shores, it was quite hazardous. The first 3 hours had the two falls, which put us behind for our goal. Fortunately, the 4mph + currents kept us somewhat on pace.
We'd camp at the Lithuanian club 14 mile marker. and set up right on shore for the night. After a good dinner, storms came in at 8pm, and it didn't cease until 7am the next day.
Because of this, the current went to an insane 6+ mph, and the water level went up several feet, up over the shoreline. We'd have to cut the trip off short. Between the canoe being down a paddle, flow, and incoming storm, we had to cut things off.
We sent the two rookies to go find and uber and pick up cars at the end point. Then we dragged all boats and gear along the flooded shoreline to the Forrest preserve. It was about 2 miles of portaging, and we had to drag boats and gear over several gates. We'd finish at 11am, right as another huge storm came in.
In the end, it was a disaster of a trip that we shouldn't have gone on, but we got out of it unscathed. I learned to check flow, because the initial river levels just told me height, not flow. I should've compared that to historical levels and checked flow, but I didn't.
But hey, we survived. Learn from my mistakes.
This river is passable, just not in flood conditions.
We'd camp at the Lithuanian club 14 mile marker. and set up right on shore for the night. After a good dinner, storms came in at 8pm, and it didn't cease until 7am the next day.
Because of this, the current went to an insane 6+ mph, and the water level went up several feet, up over the shoreline. We'd have to cut the trip off short. Between the canoe being down a paddle, flow, and incoming storm, we had to cut things off.
We sent the two rookies to go find and uber and pick up cars at the end point. Then we dragged all boats and gear along the flooded shoreline to the Forrest preserve. It was about 2 miles of portaging, and we had to drag boats and gear over several gates. We'd finish at 11am, right as another huge storm came in.
In the end, it was a disaster of a trip that we shouldn't have gone on, but we got out of it unscathed. I learned to check flow, because the initial river levels just told me height, not flow. I should've compared that to historical levels and checked flow, but I didn't.
But hey, we survived. Learn from my mistakes.
This river is passable, just not in flood conditions.
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