For many years, we've been camping on the lower Wisconsin River in the summer. It's close to home, the shoreline is relatively undeveloped, and there are hundreds of sand bars on which to camp. We think of it as our cheap summer cottage.
The weather forecast looked good, and the river had finally come down, so we spent four days paddling and relaxing. We put in just west of Spring Green, a 45 minute drive from home, and took out near Gotham, about 14 miles (23 km) on the river. The two spots we camped on sand bars are shown on the map below.
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| Spring Green to Gotham |
We decided to do the shuttle by bicycle, as it's a good route along the river, on low-traffic roads.
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| At the Put-In |
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| Boat Loaded |
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| Bonnie Returns |
Bonnie wanted to do the shuttle, so I loaded the canoe while she was gone. She reported a "stiff headwind".
We didn't plan to paddle far the first day, and camped on one of our favorite sand bars.
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| First Campsite |
We spent the next day on that sand bar, just relaxing and trying to stay cool.
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| Sun Shade |
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| Relaxing in the Shade |
A couple years ago, Bonnie got interested in fishing. She decided to give it a try before dinner.
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| Fishing |
She actually caught a fish!
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| Fish! |
Which we ate it for dinner.
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| Dinner |
The next day was sunny and warm as we paddled on to the next campsite.
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| Bow Paddler |
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| Stern Paddler |
We had a lot of neighbors that night, as it was July 4. We saw a guy with a motorboat go by, carrying a big box or sign reading "Fireworks". Bonnie suspects he might have been selling them to campers on the river. A few unofficial fireworks went off on neighboring sand bars, but things were quiet by 10 PM.
The weather was gradually warming up, as it started out quite cool for July. High water earlier produced lots of mosquitoes, and light winds didn't help, but we had a small screen tent, to which we retreated in the evenings.
Sunday morning, we packed everything up and paddled the last 4 miles (6 km) to the Gotham landing, where Bonnie had left the car. The wind had picked up, and we've learned that it works better if I take the bow when it's windy.
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| Scott in the Bow |
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| Bonnie in the Stern |
