Aug 14th, 2009
by vmichael.
It has been quite a cool and rainy season here in Illinois this summer. It’s been fairly disappointing to have cancelled 2 or 3 planned trips on the water due to thunderstorms. It seemed even those trips where weather was ideal, once we got on the water, the skies opened up and it began to rain. There were a few instances where it rained momentarily, then stopped.
We ran the Kanakakee River and got out dry! We were not so lucky with our Rock River or Wisconsin Dells/Mirror Lake trips. The Kankakee River is great river to run when the water is normal. There are a few areas where the water rushes around rock formations and makes you feel like you’re on a true river adventure. It’s tempting to paddle back up stream to go through the riffles more than once. It’s a bit of a rush! The stretch of the Kankakee River is very scenic, like most of the larger rivers in Illinois. The Kankakee runs along the Kankakee State Park for more than half of this trip, which makes it a more naturally scenic paddle. However, with a just a little longer drive, the Rock River scenary is hard to beat.
The Rock River is a few hours West of Chicago, but provides scenary on a much grander scale. This part of the Rock River, like the Kankakee, flow through state parks and therefore has less human habitation. The Rock River is relatively large, slow flowing river. Sadly, our recent was trip was cut from 11 miles to about 5 because of the cooler temperatures and rain. It was quite uncomfortable and some paddlers didn’t have the proper clothing to stay dry enough to fight off the chill.
Mirror Lake near the Wisconsin Dells, WI is a low population, finger lake, South and downstream of the Dells and Lake Delton. You can portage at a small spill-over to Lake Delton, but the boat traffic on Lake Delton is not something kayakers want to deal with, usually. The rock formations here are really unique and stunning. The Oak and Maple mixed with Pine make for some nicely textured foliage. The water and shoreline are clean and the waterways peaceful. Once again, a paddle adjacent to or in a state park means “nature.”
In all of these paddles, friendships evolve, spirits are cleansed, eyes are opened, things are learned and fun is had!
Each of them great experiences, rain or shine… but I still prefer sunshine!
Cheers,
Victor
Posted in: Illinois, Wisconsin, paddling, rivers.
May 7th, 2009
by vmichael.
Well, it certainly was a busy Spring. Between coming back to Illinois from Arizona, replacing our floors, unpacking, a photo shoot in Texarkana, TX, unpacking more, building and planting our raised bed garden and adding our rain collection barrel, I was actually able to pull off a Spring Kayak to launch the season. What a great launch it turned out to be, too. I had a TON of help!
This event coincides and introduces the Get Out ‘n Do It Meetup Group. The Meetup Group will offer free outings, such as this, to introduce people to various outdoor activities before investing in longer trips or expensive gear.
My wife, Rachael, deserves major props for helping me with last minute details and helping me load and unload the trailer. I know I would not have been able to this myself. I also owe thanks to Mike McGreevy and Bruce and Stacy Jones for allowing me to use their extra boats, allowing me to provide more attendees with a chance to get out on the water sooner! Continue reading →
Posted in: Illinois, lakes, paddling.
Mar 7th, 2009
by vmichael.
I felt slight pause about our backpacking trip into the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness. This wilderness is nothing like the Midwest. Even in the milder temperatures of late Winter, the dry air and the terrain still find a way to take their toll. The lesson is basically to research and prepare yourself for the environment. Like all trips, water was most important for this 3 day excursion because of the unsure state of the creek. Living pretty close by, basically under 2 hours and downhill from the snowy Flagstaff peaks, I was pretty confident that the recent snow melt was still feeding the creeks. If the creek wasn’t running, I had read of some pretty reliable springs in the canyon. Worst case, we were prepared with some extra water and the notion that we might need to cut our trip short. Continue reading →
Posted in: Arizona, backpacking, camping, hiking.
Feb 27th, 2009
by vmichael.
The weekend has finally arrived! Rachael and I are picking up our friends from the airport in Phoenix tonight and we are heading out bright and early in the morning to one of the Sycamore Canyon trailheads to experience and epic trip. We have not done as much this winter in Arizona as last, which is disappointment. Now, late February and we have some catching up to do. It helps that the winter weather is waning. We were, however, able to paddle Lake Pleasant and I was able to spend 10 days in Flagstaff for my WFR, so it was not a total bust.
Stay tuned for the update on this Sycamore Canyon trip.
Posted in: Arizona, backpacking, camping, hiking.
Jan 18th, 2009
by vmichael.
On January 10, 2009 I became a certified Wilderness First Responder!
I took the 9 day NOLS/WMI class in Flagstaff, Arizona.
I recommend NOLS for any outdoor leadership training. In particular, the Wilderness Medicine Institute cirriculum. The instructors were nice, knowledgeable and taught well. I appreciated their focus and ability to keep things serious while doing exercises and scenarios. Wilderness medicine is indeed a serious business.
Cheers!
Posted in: Arizona, medical, survival.
