2010 Fall Trip Planning: St. Croix Option

Information on St. Croix option:

Gordon Dam to Riverside Landing, about 23 miles of paddling.
One portage, around Copper Dam

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

Shuttle options:
Wild River Outfitters: $225 ($144+$35 per extra canoe+tax, seems high but 225/6=$37.50 per person, not too bad.)
Jack's Canoe Rental: $131, or $22 per person. Jacck's gave us a shuttle last year, from Namekagon Trail Landing to County K for a very reasonable $78. Looks like we would hire them again!

Map:
NPS Brochure Gordon Dam to Riverside Landing Map:
black and white map but has a lot of info! Landings, mileage markers, rapids, camping, ...

Narrative:
A very good write-up with play-by-play descriptions can be found at Great Outdoor Recreation Pages (GORP.com), Cruising the St. Croix.

Issues:
Water levels can be iffy, but right now it is in very good shape.
First camp site is only 1.5 mile down, the next is about 8 miles. I'd prefer to go to second. Depending on wind, weather, water levels and start time that should be feasible.

Wisconsin Almost Drought-Free

I occasionally check a drought monitor website, U.S. Drought Monitor - Midwest. This is the first time since I started checking this site that NW Wisconsin is NOT under some moderate to severe drought condition. It looks like the drought has moved into the Arrowhead of Minnesota. I'd say that this bodes well for either trip option for this fall!

2010 Fall Canoe Trip Planning

The canoe outing will be Oct 8, 9 and 10 for a stretch similar in length and difficulty to our previous trips, i.e. some easy C1 and few if any portages. So far, we have confirmed five intrepid paddlers:

Joel Alter
David Hest
Ben Lexau
Craig Shanks
Christian Franken

That leaves one possible spot for a sixth person.

River options:

1. Upper St. Croix River, from Gordon Dam to Riverside Landing, N of Danbury, WI., the northernmost part of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.


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Pros: 155 miles to put-in. We are familiar with the general area. On our list for several years. As a National Scenic River Way, the St.Croix/Namekagon system is maintained by the National Park Service. Campsites are well-maintained and comfortable and the NPS website is an excellent source of information
Cons: iffy water conditions, meaning possibly too little water. That's why it has been on our list for so long. The NPS maintains information on the water levels. Real-time data is available from NOAA, like for the Danbury gauge.

2. North Fork of the Flambeau River, near Ladysmith, WI.

View Larger Map
Pros: steady water. This is the river level gauge at Bruce, which is quite a bit further downstream from where North and South Forks merge.
Cons: about 176 miles drive, I initially thought it was farther than just 20 additional miles. Craig, take a look at the map to make sure I have more or less the correct put-in. This doesn't seem that bad when compared to the drive to the St. Croix.

The thought is to shoot for the St. Croix and us the Flambeau as a back-up if water is too low. Christian will research the Upper St. Croix and Craig will collect information on the Flambeau.

I'd be driving the family van having everyone except Craig, who hails from Washburn, WI. Thus we'd have enough entertainment because of the associated banter. We can (and will) carry two canoes.

As we get closer, we'll make lists on who brings what. 

Cannon River Paddle

Well, admittedly not a wilderness adventure, but nevertheless a good way to spend a sunny afternoon out of doors. Lynn had suggested to head for Taylor's Falls and paddle from there to the Osceola Bridge. I called Taylors Falls Canoe and checked on availability. No problem, canoes are available, come on up I was told. However, the price was rather dear, compared to what I recalled: $45. I went for my morning jog and noticed that a hot wind was blowing from the south, not too strong but enough to not be too excited about the 3-4 hour paddle due south and without much shade. I mentioned this to Lynn after my return and she wondered what about the Cannon. Indeed, from past experience I had found the Cannon River much more intimate when compared to the rather broad St. Croix. So I placed a call with Cannon Falls Canoe and Bike Rental. Kayaks (for James and his friend Joe) were all spoken for but they were able to hold a couple of canoes for us. At $30 per, the rental was a much better deal, too.

Lynn made some sandwiches and I prepared a waterproof pack for camera and other sensitive stuff. We left home at 11:45 and reached Cannon Falls at 12:45. The place was bustling with one party renting some bikes and another picking up several kayaks and a canoe. A young man, son of the owner quickly located our reservations, and after signing the necessary disclaimers we were ready to shove off. We had been warned of the strong current right outside the rental place and some nasty sharp rocks a little ways down. The first several 100 m had some nice C1, but nothing unmanageable. And I saw the rocks that we had been warned about, indeed not something I'd like to become acquainted with.

Joe and James managed very nicely, too. I am think that the two of them would be a good team for a future river trip. Both know how to canoe and they do get along just marvelous. If I can just bear the noise those two make.

We passed the big group that went in ahead of us rather quickly and saw quite a few parties resting on sand banks. One old timer, not a canoeist, was just hauling in a half-meter catfish. He said it was his third of the day. When Lynn asked him whether he would eat it, he said he'd release it, just like the other ones. I was disappointed that I did not bring my fly rod, the smallmouth bass were breaking the surface all over the place, often jumping clear of the water. We saw many turtles, some were painted or map turtles, and one humongous snapping turtle, at least 40 cm long. There were also black damselflies (ebony jewelwings, Calopteryx maculata), always pretty to see. While looking up information on the damselfly I learned that there are as many dragon and damselfly species in Minnesota as there are butterflies. Amazing!
We broke for lunch at one of the few sandbanks, the same we had used to rest when I and Scott, another dad, took a bunch Colin's eight-grade classmates on the same trip. Before snacking on Lynn's sandwiches and water melon we took a nice dip in the river. James found a very health-looking river mussel.

Farther downstream we had to make the obligatory stop at the rope swing, which was quite busy on this hot day. From there, I forgot how short the way is to the take-out at Trout Brook. All in all a very nice afternoon on the Cannon River