Tom and I had planned this outing with our eldest sons for quite some time. Initially, we had decided to paddle the Namekagon River, but while monitoring the water levels of Namekagon and Upper St. Croix it became clear that the water levels would be tenuous at best, because of drought conditions. Since my friend Joel had mentioned and praised the Upper Iowa River just a week ago, I discussed this as an alternative. Tom was immediately enthusiastic, as he, like me had done the Namekagon before. We decided immediately to switch plans and head south instead of north. I kept monitoring both rivers, due to the recent rain the water levels on the Namekagon were still low, but at least they were not dropping while those of the Upper Iowa were above average.
On Thursday, June 17, the day after our return from Portland, OR, I called Hruska's, a Bluffton, IA based outfitter. Duane Hruska, the owner of the campground and canoe livery service indicated serious concerns about the high water levels. He also said that it would all depend on whether they would get any more significant rain tonight, as the levels were decreasing. He also said that it would depend on our skill level but that he was not renting out any canoes this Thursday.
I alerted Tom of this fact and he thought we should still move forward with our plans.
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