Fall 2010: Two Weeks Out: Flambeau Selected!

We made the final selection of river: Flambeau, from Deadman’s Slough to Camp 41

Big Bear Lodge will be providing the shuttle at a total cost of $65. Everyone please bring $12 (+tip) in cash to pay the livery.

The Twin Cities group will meet on Friday, October 8 around 9:30 AM at Christian's for a 10:00 AM departure. According to various mapping resources, the trip will take a little more than 3 hours.


View St. Paul to Big Bear Lodge in a larger map

We'll meet up with Craig at 1:30 PM at Big Bear Lodge. They will follow us to Camp 41, load our gear and us and bring us to Deadman’s Slough.


View St. Paul to Big Bear Lodge in a larger map

The green dot is our starting point at Deadman's Slough and the red dot is our end point at Camp 41. Maps can be found at here: Flambeau River State Forest.

We should be on the water by 4:00 at the latest which gives us plenty of time for a leisurely 4-5 mile paddle to our first camp.

Fall 2010 Trip: Four Weeks Out

We are four weeks out. I just checked water levels for the upper St. Croix, they are just below OK whereas the levels for the Flambeau they are great as of yesterday, Sep 8. It looks like we are closing in on the Flambeau!

As we move closer, please consider the following:

1. Meals: People self-selected for one of the slots, sorry Ben, you were late for Saturday morning.

• Lunches, from your personal stash. I like to bring whole weat bread, cheese and sausage. Everyone as they like it.
• Friday dinner: Christian will do his traditional first night steak dinner, i.e. BLT with steak instead of B. 
• Saturday breakfast: Craig
• Saturday dinner: David
• Sunday breakfast: Joel

Paul and Ben will be assistant cooks. Dish duty is shared by those who are not involved in preparing the meal.

     2. Gear:

• Canoes: Craig has one and I have one. Ben, David or Paul, do you have or can you organize a third canoe? If not, I'd suggest renting at the U of MN Rec Dept , they charge $35 for the initial three days. Best rate anywhere. One problem: they open at noon, we need to pick up on Thursday if we want to get an early start on Friday. As I mentioned before, I can easily haul two canoes. 
• Canoe packs: I have enough for 2-3 people. I also find that cheap storage boxes from Target work quite well for a tame river trip. They are quite water proof in the event of rain. 
• Tents: we've got 5+1 for sleeping, i.e. Craig insist on sleeping in splendid isolation because of his loud breathing. Seems we need two more tents. I have a snug three person and Joel has one, too. Ben, David or Paul, if you are insisting on your own, please let us know. Oh, and I am planning to bring my dog Mellie along. She's like the cat in Catch22, sleeps on your face and bites your nose off when you wake up from a suffocating nightmare (in fact she is a lamb and suffers the cold nights shivering silently except for her shattering teeth. Ask Joel).
• Sleeping bags and pads. I assume everyone has this. If not, pipe up, I am sure we can come up with the necssary.
• Kitchen: I think we've got it covered: Joel for the tripod grill, Christian two-burner Coleman stove and French press and Craig the dutch oven (yummm). Add to this list for any items you need to prepare your meals or you cannot do without
• Living area: plan to bring your favorite camp chair. I'll bring a tarp, in case it rains (or snows).

2010 Fall Trip Planning: Flambeau Option

Nine Mile Creek to County W Landing, about 22 miles of paddling.

Trip from St. Paul to Riverside Landing: about 2:30 hrs.

Shuttle options:

Flambeau Sports: (Dave) has rentals and shuttles in Lugarville.
Nine-Mile Tavern Canoe Rental: right near start point of trip.

Maps:

State Forest Map
General Area Tourist Info site "Paddle the Flambeau river"

Narrative:

The North Fork of the Flambeau is tame ... a few ripples. Water levels can be an issue. We'll be looking at a stretch of around 20 miles

Nine-Mile Creek or Dead Man's Slough (gulp) which is west of Fifield on hwy 70 to "Camp 41" take-out.

Lotsa wildlife ... and then there's the animals. I paddled this scenic stretch a number of times a few years ago (including once with Joel, Pablo and Christian). Order a map from Flambeau River State Forest, W1613 Co. W, Winter, WI 54896 or call at 715-332-5271 today or print it out from the State Forest web site, above.

There's a good mix of challenging whitewater and peaceful stretches below W. In this section of river, you are in the heart of the Flambeau River State Forest. There are two campgrounds, Lake of the Pines and Connors Lake, located a short drive east of the river off of Highway W. Launch at the Highway W bridge. About 5 miles into the trip, you will encounter Porcupine Rapids. The Porcupine Rapids are difficult, and there are 3 main drops in this set of rapids. Proceed through this section of river carefully - there’s a good deal of current at this point.

I (Craig) took multiple trips thru this section (Porcupine Rapids) with a bunch of inexperienced 12 year olds and no one had great difficulty. We would take-out a mile or so downstream of these rapids at Camp 41.