July 8, 2007 - Hot, sunny and nonexistent?

The temperature was in the 90's and the gauge was low but what the heck? Off we were to the put in north of North avenue with the destination of Mack Road. One problem, though. As you can see from the 1st picture there was no river at Mack Rd. This brought back some bad memories (can you really have BAD memories when kayaking?) of Kent and my trip last year when we unexpectedly ran out of river at Gary Mills road. Since the river did not exist at Mack Rd we went north to Gary Mills road. The river was back from last year's absence and it looks like they made some nice improvements. Since this was our revised takeout spot we did not experience it first hand.

The beginning of this stretch and the end were very nice, river levels were ok and the scenery was great. This is one of the most secluded parts of the river and at times it feels as if you were in the deepest parts of a national forest....or one of the last trips down a river that was due to be flooded and made into a lake (did I hear Kent squeal like a pig?). The middle section was low and we had to drag the boats on occasion. We saw 4 blue heron in flight all at once and a fifth flew by shortly after. A father and 2 boys were walking the river and one of the kids caught a decent size carp with his hands!!!

Again, I plea for rain!!!

Streak = 20. New territory explored!!

The streak hit 20 consecutive months as we hit the river on July 1st despite the record low reading of 4.82 on the Naperville gauge. Although Pat's leg needed a little pulling (he thought with the river depth that we would be dragging the kayaks down the river, not paddling), Dan has been thinking of this "new" trip for many months and was going to do it with someone or not. What is this new trip you ask?



We put in at DuPage River Parkway (East branch) with a takeout at Knoch Knolls (West branch). We had previously (about month 5 of the streak) floated down the WBDR and passed by the convergence of the EBDR so we knew it was not too far south of Knoch Knolls. With the low water level we anticipated more dragging than floating but that was not the case. The 2.66 miles of the east branch were a non issue and we did not get stuck once. We did see a beaver, a deer (in the water), a meercat (maybe), a jumping carp and multiple herons. Both Pat and Dan thought this was one of the best stretches of either river.

The first picture is Pat indicating that we had come to the place where the two rivers met. You can also see in the pictures that there was a noticeable difference in color between the two branches: murky light green east branch verse, dark clear west branch. Once we headed up stream on the West branch the low water level was a factor and we did need to walk a couple time during a 100 yard stretch. Overall this was a keeper trip that will be repeated.

Door County, Wisconsin 6/20/07

Pat and I put in by Weborg point in Green Bay in the Peninsula State park. We first paddled to the harbor to look at the yachts and sailboats that were docked. This area was quite sheltered and allowed us a leisurely float gazing at the obviously expensive boats. I suppose I would take one if I was given one but I prefer the man powered 'yaks (I would take a few more of those...see previous entry!).

Once we left the harbor we set out to reach the next point on the horizon. Being in such a big body of water with a recreational kayak we kept close to shore, knowing if we ventured too far out a sea kayak would be the preferred vessel. Battling the winds and the rough water, it did not take long to validate that we were not on the Duper and we would actually have to paddle instead of float. On the trip back we were going with the wind and the waves so it made for a much easier paddle.

June ended as our 19th consecutive kayak month yet we did not get on the river at all. We need some RAIN!!!

June 9, 2007 - REI paddle demo days

Fairly lame way to extend the consecutive month kayak streak but kayaking is kayaking and this counts as a float (I will kayak again in June at Door County so the streak would continue regardless).

Lisa and I headed to Lake Arlington to "test drive" a kayak or two. Lisa initially wanted to go in a tandem but I convinced her to try a solo. We both took out a 'yak and took a leisurely paddle around the lake. There was quite a few people taking advantage of the beautiful weather and access to free boat usage. When we returned the boats (recreational, been there done that) I got back in line to try a sea kayak. This was noticeably quicker and less stable but I really enjoyed it. A sea kayak and a whitewater kayak would complete the fleet quite nicely.

Memorial Day float

No pictures today to commemorate our tributary float to all the men and women who have served over the years. The rain on Saturday revived the river from its death march and the gauge hit a whopping 5.30. This was enough to allow us to float leisurely (i.e. very slow) from Community Park to Royce road. A distance traveled many times but different each trip.



As Kent and I traveled in our singles we enjoyed a few Red Stripes and some homemade, fresh- off-the-smoker beef jerky. A fairly uneventful trip but any trip on the river is better than no trip on the river.

May 12, 2007 - Lonely trip, but streak hits 18

The recent Yakima rack sale at REI has allowed me to have rack possibilities on both vehicles. Loading kayaks on their side on the SUV is very challenging and this will allow a much easier double kayak transport situation.

This trip really accomplished two things: trying out the new rack and extending the consecutive month kayaking streak to 18 months. I loaded my solo and my bike and headed down to Warrenville road (a first ever put-in spot). I locked my kayak there, drove to Community Park, left my car and rode my bike back to Warrenville road. With all the solo logistics accomplished, I became one with the Duper. The gauge was at 5.24 and I did get stuck in one area due to low water level. As I passed by a group of "breaking" I-88 construction workers one yelled out: "Do you need a job?" I am not sure if they were that desperate for a warm body or that a lonely kayaker radiates the "I need a job and think I may find it out on the river" vibe or what.

I declined the offer (I wonder what the reference to the wind was with that job offer?) and took out at Community Park. After loading the kayak, it was back to get my bike and end the excursion.

April 29, 2007 - a "maiden" voyage

As mentioned in a previous entry, Kent seems to be living a charmed life. There was no news of any more new toys, yet today's float gave him the first ever kayaking trifecta......yes, 3 days in a row on the river. When this fact was pointed out Kent couldn't remember how long ago he had done anything fun 3 days in a row (your honeymoon was how long ago?).

As the title of this entry states, this was a maiden voyage. We all took our lovely brides for a float on this perfect day with the temperatures in the upper 70's and the river over 6 ft. Pat and Mary rode in "Big red" the Mad River canoe, Dan and Lisa took the blue bomber kayak and Kent and Tracy were in the orange peel kayak. We put in at Pioneer Park with the destination of Knoch Knolls. Although this section does not give you the "thousand miles from nowhere" feeling that some sections do, it does provide quite a scenic view of some million dollar plus homes. The "ladies" all drooled over which was their favorite and secretly wondered why they hadn't met the guy that could afford a house like these. Just kidding girls, we all did a little drooling.

This was a day we saw numerous other kayaks and canoes, either in transport to the river or just finishing or beginning. We did not actually pass or get passed while we were on the river (maybe due to the fact we were 3 abreast...easy boys!). It may be the "magic" of the Duper that takes a hold of people and allows the mindless chatter to spill out since the fairer sex had no problem easing into participating. This was a fun day that we will need to repeat in the near future.