Getting dunked in the Kickapoo River

 So our friends from Missouri had traveled to northern WI to watch the predicted Northern Lights. They went to Eagle River Wisconsin and rented a Yurt at a campground with plans on kayaking, swimming, and enjoying the beautiful campground they'd booked into.

The Yurt was dirty, the bugs nasty, the lake had Swimmer's Itch, and the showers smelled like rotten eggs. The lake was filled with speed boats and water jetskis running all over...😕

They spent one night there and left in the morning as the clouds moved in and the prediction of the Aurora Borealis fell apart. 

When they arrived I was unprepared, but they were prepared with meals and great company. I invited them to stay with us and had to do some creative straightening up so they all had places to sleep. Their oldest son who is 11, really wanted to kayak. Did I know of somewhere they could go?

YES! I've wanted to try kayaking myself, but didn't want to try it solo for my first time. We went to Titanic Canoe/Kayak rental in Ontario Saturday early afternoon. Every rental place was crowded with people. I've never been there on the weekends and it has been 6 years since I canoed with the grand kids.

We got set up with older kayaks and a canoe and set off. Jesse and his little boy had trouble with the canoe right off and tipped it while bumping into the shoreline. Eventually we worked things out and they used a shoelace from Jesse's shoes to tie an empty kayak to the back of their son's kayak.

Mom and Dad put the youngest boy in between them on the canoe and things went fairly well.

On the weekends, the river is super crowded from bridge 1 through 4 with tubers and floating coolers. Party people. There was a lot of dodging and passing. It wasn't as enjoyable as going in the middle of the week was when I took the kids.

Once we passed bridge 4, it got quiet and peaceful. We still had 3 miles to go to get to out pull out point. We all relaxed and enjoyed the views.

These are shots of me that Kristi took.

Here is our friends' family.

After we stopped on a 'beach' to chill out and have snacks, the youngest boy was towed by the 11 year old.

I have to admit that the first time I tried getting out of the kayak, I lost my footing and ended up sitting down on the river bottom. It wasn't a bad dunking and I laughed! After all, this is a new skill and I needed to figure it out.

I climbed the bluff to take a shot of our 'rest' area. I wanted to see if my waterproof pocket camera would still work.

We paddled and drifted on to the the site where we were to pull out.

The shores near the bridges and pull out/launch areas are filled with riprap rocks so the footing get tricky as well as the current. I pulled myself to the shoreline and carefully walked feeling each step of the way and got out without incident.

A complete stranger assisted me in pulling the kayak up the ramp. I returned and helped others and saw both of my friends take a splash in the Kickapoo River. Jesse tripped up and went totally under. Kristi had done the same but only went up to her chest.

Somehow their cell phones survived and we all got out safely but we laughed and laughed. We were also nice and cool in the hot and humid air.

In conclusion. The river was a bit crowded at first. However it is one of the most popular places to rent a canoe, kayak, or tube and go down the river. It is scenic. The river is usually very gentle and easy. Buses pick people up and shuttle them back to their cars. 

Yes there were folks being loud and having fun, yes parts were crowded, but it was fun and everyone was friendly. When my friends tipped their canoe, strangers helped them. When their canoe got grounded on rocks a guy walked out and pulled them back into the flow.

Will I go again? OH yeah. In fact I'm trying to figure out how to kayak the less popular stretches. I'm even running images of getting a crappy kayak if I can figure out how to transport it and a bike at the same time.

A new world of exploration has opened up. Charlie needs a doggy life vest....then he could go with!

And I'm sure I'll have more Dunkings in The Kickapoo.

Have you done the Kickapoo? If you haven't, you are missing out!

Our Big Canoe Trip ~ Kickapoo River Review

I'd say that canoeing the Kickapoo is pretty easy, yet by the time you've gone nearly 9 miles on the river, your skills will be brushed up quite a bit.

We chose to use Titanic Canoe Rentals because the website said specifically that they were dog friendly. We thought Morris would like to do an adventure with us.

The owner of Titanic was pleasant and thought it was great that we were taking Morris. We soon pushed off and 'went with the flow' as Bill told us to.

Morris kept an eye on the other canoers and kayakers. Having a cute little dog made us very popular. One girl especially kept asking to pet him and of course Morris was accommodating.

 Morris Navigates!

 Morris Naps

Morris is Captain!

The river was very low and slow and in places of course the current was swift and went around sharp bends. 

When we started Ariel had no idea how to hold a paddle. Soon though she began to figure things out.

For the first 4 bridges, the river was crowded and as the owner of Titanic told us, the river would have some idiots on it.
We were not surprise to round the bend and hear a dad yelling at his son NOT to stand in the canoe EVER again!

We floated past as then righted their canoe and when the dad tried to get back in he went ... ker-splash! We went on as they had a ton of people helping and we never saw them again.

We continued on and found a quiet place to eat our sandwiches. We stopped in other places to let Morris explore the 'beach' and Ariel wanted to wade.

The water wasn't too cold as the Kickapoo is muddy and stays a bit warm. Our stops were pleasant.
When we neared the Wildcat area near the canoe launch there, we realized that we might be running a bit late on our time.

However.
With this scenery, we couldn't just paddle on by.

It is not recommended to take a 'good' expensive camera on this trip. I can see why. But I think renting a Kayak this fall would be an awesome way to see some fall colors.

I would recommend also that if you were to canoe the Kickapoo, do it during the week. Weekends can get crazy.

If you can spare the time canoe to Bridge 7, 10 or 12. Once you get past 5 most of the party folks are left behind.

Bring water, lots of water. Bring a lunch. Make sure everything that is valuable is in a zip lock bag with air in it. [Helps things float if you capsize.] 
And ... well you would have to try and capsize your canoe.

If you have a good pet you want to bring, Titanic advertises that they are pet friendly. And the owner and Shuttle Bus driver were exactly that. Everyone that we met, even the fellow from Drifty's was polite and friendly.

Of course this is their summer business.

My grand daughter is 12 and will be 13 in August. How did she like it? She did! 
She never complained, she never whined, she was a trooper. She learned to paddle and even learned to read the current ahead of her.

Morris? I think he was happy to get back on land when we finished. He was tired, after all, he is 12 yrs old now too.

I am thinking that a kayak adventure is in store for me this fall.
I've always wanted to try it.

This whole day cost us $30. Was it worth it? Yes. Yes.
Yes!