Lost Souls

Took Mike up on his proposal to do some Labor Day exploring. The wilds of the upper Plover River. Higher than I new it went. Out of the county, past Shantytown and halfway into the next county.

Mike, Mike, Kurt, Ruth, Carol and Barb; Four kayaks and a canoe. All quiet at the put-in. Through the whole route they’ve made nice channel improvements. Ostensibly for the fish, it narrows and deepens the river and increases the flow. But good for paddlers too. After six weeks of almost no rain, we needed every nano of depth.

But it wasn’t long before depth was the least of our worries. Got a little past the “turn-back” point and LOTS of blow-downs blocking the channel. Haul the boats over, scratch them through, portage around. OK, let’s stop and scout this mess. Time for the big decision. Thankfully, we found that by flogging ourselves with stinging nettles down a muddy, rocky logging “road” for 100 yards we could attain a nice idyllic hunting cabin with a spring and a new launch spot.

From there, no issues. A few beaver dams, and plenty of riffles to thread through. After the blow-downs, a welcome relief.