Daily Stats (side trip)
Start: 10:00 AM - Wrightstown, WI
Finish 2:00 PM - De Pere, WI
Time: 4:00 hours
Daily dist: 11 miles
Total dist: 5000+
Companions: About 30 other paddlers!
Weather: Beautiful partly cloudy skies, 70’s
Notes: A Fox River Heritage Paddle
Start: 10:00 AM - Wrightstown, WI
Finish 2:00 PM - De Pere, WI
Time: 4:00 hours
Daily dist: 11 miles
Total dist: 5000+
Companions: About 30 other paddlers!
Weather: Beautiful partly cloudy skies, 70’s
Notes: A Fox River Heritage Paddle
My parents in the voyager canoe
Today brought another opportunity to paddle with the Fox River Heritage Trail group. The paddle today backtracked up the river eleven miles to Wrightstown where we put in for a run downstream to where we started our day yesterday in De Pere. Today’s group was quite a bit smaller than yesterday but we still had 17 boats on the water one of them being the very full voyager canoe. I had planned on paddling in the canoe with my parents but gave up my seat so that a woman and her daughter could enjoy the ride.
We once again passed through a lock as we made our way downstream, of course no where near as full as yesterday. Beyond the lock a brisk tail wind combed with a strong current helped us set a fast pace downstream on the river.
A couple of hours into the day we were in need of a break but couldn't find an open and accessable piece of shore line to accommodate everybody. Just as we resolved ourselves to staying in our boats and rafting up for a break, one of the guys in our group paddled ahead and managed to find a shore side property owner that was gracious enough to let all of us pull out on his lawn. During the break three of us played musical boats in order to open up a spot for me in the voyager canoe. The voyager was an interesting experience, somewhat like a dragon boat (sitting side by side with multiple rows of paddlers) but with a quite-a-bit more relaxed pace.
Another hour of paddling brought us to the take out in De Pere. After shuttling drivers back up to their cars at the put in and loading up our boats and gear many of us adjourned to a local pub where we celebrated a great day on the water with a burger and drink.
My mother would never be satisfied until I finally saw it in person. So after lunch my parents took me to the famous home of the Green Bay Packers, Lambeau Field.
The last two days were an amazing chance for me to join well over one hundred local paddlers on the water. In addition it gave me a chance to paddle with both my parents while they experienced some of the same things I have on my journey including locks and (even if just for a short time) the wide open water of Lake Michigan, not to mention the kindness and generosity of fellow paddlers. Thank you Heritage Paddlers for allowing us to join you for two legs of your summer long adventure on the Fox River.
RSS Feed