Trip Report: April 24 - Fox River Paddle Update



Five of us decided to paddle Saturday, despite the forecast for rain. We chose wisely. The morning started out slightly misty, but dry with almost no wind. Darria M, Doug T, Joe M and I paddled north toward Blackhawk County Forest Preserve in calm and delightfully quiet conditions. I can't say we saw a lot if wildlife but there were the usual ducks and occasional jumping fish. We joined a boy scout troop at Blackhawk, camping out for the weekend. One of our paddlers had a slight mishap at the landing and ended up going for a swim. The wind picked up slightly during the return trip and a very light misty rain started but not strong enough to warrant fishing my rain hat out of the dry hatch. Back at the put-in/take- out, I worked with Darria to successfully complete her first wet exit. She did great. We were all packed and on the road before 2:00 pm.



Afterward I stopped by Geneva Kayak to purchase a Yakima Boat Loader (slide out pipe stored inside crossbar) so I wouldn't damage my new car while solo loading. The thing is great! While there, I learned that a group regularly paddles out of the Ferson Creek park every Wednesday evening. Maybe Ryan could provide the details?



Jim Berg