Scrapbook Adventures
Paddling the Upper Iowa River - 8/25/02

Text and photos by Kip Ladage

In an effort to offer fellowship opportunities to members of my church and our partner church, we recently extended to our parishioners an opportunity to paddle the Upper Iowa River in Northeast Iowa.  I was given the responsibility of coordinating the outing.  The route I chose for our group was what I consider the most scenic portion of the Upper Iowa River.

Our float trip began at bridge four, on Cattle Creek Road.  This access is a few miles east of Highway 139, just south of Kendallville, Iowa, near the Minnesota border.

The river conditions were typical for a summer day in late August.  Water flow seemed normal to low, temperatures were 70º-80º, winds were calm, and the sky was a beautiful, mostly sunny blue dotted with scattered clouds. 

Our paddling entourage consisted of five canoes (11 people) and my wife, daughter, and me in our Loon kayaks.  For my wife and daughter, it was the first time they had paddled a river other than the Wapsipinicon (near our cabin) or Sweet Marsh -- a man-made, cattail-bordered wetland a few miles from our home.

We rented canoes from Hruska's Canoe Livery, a bustling recreation business in the tiny town of Kendallville, Iowa.  The folks at Hruska's have a good selection of canoes and kayaks available, complete with shuttle trailers, paddles, and PFDs. 

The first half-mile or so of paddling proved to be a learning experience for Charleen and Sue.  My understanding was that this trip was Sue's first paddling adventure and Charleen's first opportunity to work the back of the canoe.  They did a little bit of zig-zagging, but soon figured out how to control the canoe.  After their brief "on the water" lesson, they had no serious trouble during the rest of the afternoon float.

Since our paddling group included people of all ages and abilities, and no effort was made to stay quiet, I didn't expect to see much wildlife during our four to five hours on the river.  Were we pleasantly surprised!!  Our first "wild" animal sighting was a sizable herd of cattle crossing the river.  Rather than wait for them to cross the river at a snail's pace, I paddled up to them and offered a bit of verbal encouragement.

 

We were treated to more wildlife only a short distance downstream from the cattle.  At one point, a mink nearly bumped into my kayak as it tried to swim across the river.  Then, we had a hen wood duck swimming nearby, just out of the safety of the overhanging tree branches.  As the woody was swimming near us, two whitetail deer ran across the river and into the safety of the wooded shoreline.  Perhaps the most memorable sightings were the bald eagles.  One nearly mature bird remained perched over the river as our group floated underneath.  The other bird was disturbed by an inconsiderate group of paddlers who apparently didn't appreciate the sight of such a bird in such a beautiful setting. 

  

Our paddling route afforded us an ideal location for a brief rest stop under an iron bridge (#5 on the Hruska's map).  We stretched, snacked some, and skipped stones for a few minutes before continuing downstream.
 
  
 

As we moved downstream, what we considered to be pretty scenery transformed to nothing short of stunning.  Towering limestone bluffs dropped abruptly to the water's edge.  The stark, rugged texture of the rock contrasted with the smooth and gently flowing river.  For a while, everywhere we looked, the landscape captured our attention.  It didn't take long before we agreed a return trip, during the peak of fall colors, was necessary.
 

  
 

Our easy paddling continued through the bluffs en route to our take-out point near bridge six.  (If you are wondering, the folks at Hruska's provide paddlers with maps of the river route.  Bridges and landmarks are labeled with special notes provided for specific trips.)  Since I hadn't paddled this stretch of the river in years, I couldn't remember the exact access point for our take-out.  Fortunately, the folks at Hruska's had signs posted along the river bank that clearly marked the end of our trip.
 
 
 
 
 

 

Although our paddling adventure was only four or so hours long, we were able to enjoy some of the natural world's most impressive work in our corner of the state.  Plans are underway for a return trip.  Hopefully we will have a few more church members join us.  I'm sure we will be treated to exceptional fall scenery.
 

For more information, contact us at Ladage Photography.
 

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