6/23/2018 VV to Hunter’s Bridge

Today was a last minute decision to go kayaking. The water levels have been rising rapidly throughout the area due to a heavy rain north of us last Saturday/Sunday. As a result the Mississippi is nearing flood stage as are all the area rivers. We had intended to go to the Root River today, but that is simply too high to be safe. The Black River had risen over 6 feet this past week, but was starting to drop, and has dropped these last 2 days to 7.1 feet, from 10 feet. So we decided to go, and a good decision is was, high water does equal a fast trip. We covered 13 miles in just over 2 hours, averaging 6.2 miles per hour–a new record. There was only one small sand bar, so stopping was not an option. We simply paddled at a steady relaxed pace and completed our journey. The water temperature has cooled from last week down to 70°, but the air was a sunny 80°–a perfect combination. Overall, Tom, Bill, Teresa, and Myself enjoyed our day.