This past weekend, the weather was nice enough to get out for a 10 mile run on the Fox River. I started up by route 30 in Montgomery, and paddled to the dam in Yorkville. After recent rain, the current was a brisk 4 MPH, and I actually had to lay off paddling/explore a few islands to prevent arriving at the end before my pickup ride arrived. It was so fast, I drifted a good chunk of the time. If I take out the breaks, a 5 hour trip becomes 3 hours.
The weather was a bit cold, but nothing too awful. The killer was the wind on the open water. I need to invest in better waterproof gloves. Under wraps, it was manageable though. The nice thing about the kayak is how it keeps your lower body covered from wind. I could feel the cold from the water sneaking in through the boat's bottom though.
Overall, this stretch of the fox is a very easy paddle. The current keeps up most of the time, and there are few obstacles. Really, the biggest danger is the dam/whitewater course in yorkville, but it's not hard to keep distance. While I considered running the whitewater, I decided against it because of the hypothermic risk. The high level of water did rise over a good chunk of the boulders there, so it would have been a good opportunity. Oh well... next time.
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