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During the summer of 1975, I had just returned from nine months in France–studying French and skiing. Having been apart during that time from my girlfriend, Katie L’Heureux, we decided to “test the water” of our relationship with an epic paddle down the Wisconsin River.

A few years earlier, my mom and dad had purchased a new aluminum Grumman canoe and I’d spent a several days paddling the 22 miles from Sauk City to Spring Green with them. But rather than another simple day-trip like that, I thought it would be an adventure to paddle the 135-miles from just below the dam in Wisconsin Dells to the Mississippi River at Wyalusing. Why not?

Since this was a time before the internet, I had to plan the trip by reading canoe guides and using my own experience on the river. So how long would it take us to do this epic paddle?

I figured that since I had done the 22-mile trip from Sauk City to Spring Green in a day, we could easily paddle 22 miles each day, for six days straight. Right?

What I did not know then, was that paddling 22 miles would take about 6-7 hours of steady paddling–on a good day. But good days did not come often in August, with low water levels and abundant sandbars, heavy thunderstorms, and strong prevailing westerly headwinds. This was going to be epic.

Once we knew our starting point and destination, we needed to figure out transportation to and from the river. We somehow managed to convince each of our parents to help us with the shuttle. Katie’s parents drove us and the canoe up to the Wisconsin Dells, where we started our trip. And my parents agreed to meet us precisely six days later, at a boat launch in Wyalusing State Park, on the Mississippi River.

At the put-in in the Dells, with Katie’s parents (Lynn and Jim) and sisters (L-R) Christi, Muggins, and Michele.

Day #1 (19 miles / 5 hours from the Dells to Portage)
The first day of paddling was easy and picturesque, gliding along the sandstone cliffs south of the Dells. We covered almost 20 miles in about five hours of paddling and stopped on a sandbar to camp just upstream from the Highway 78 (now I-39) bridge near the city of Portage. So far, so good.

Day #2 (12 miles / 5 hours from Portage to Lake Wisconsin)
On the second day we went past Portage as the river turned south and then southwest. As it did, we confronted a strong headwind that slowed our pace to what seemed to a standstill. We collapsed on a sandbar just as we entered Lake Wisconsin, realizing that we had only gone 12 miles in five hours of hard paddling. We would definitely have to pick up the pace if we were going to make it to our destination at the scheduled time.

Day #3 (28 miles / 8 hours from Lake Wisconsin to Mazomanie

On the third day we paddled across the 11-miles of Lake Wisconsin, formed by the hydro-electric dam at Prairie du Sac. Once we made it past this dam, the river would be wild and scenic all the way to the Mississippi. But how to get past the dam?

Fortunately, I had read in a canoe guide that all dams on “navigable waterways” must “provide safe portage” around the dam. As we approached the dam on the left side of the river, we could not see anyone who might help us with a portage. I stood up in the canoe and waved my arms hoping that someone would see me. And it worked!

Just as we arrive at the dam, we saw a man driving a tractor across the top of the dam. He came over to our canoe, and I asked him if he could help us portage. He jumped out of the tractor, and grabbed a couple of chains and hooked them under our canoe. We did not have to lift a finger, as he lifted our boat, and drove it across the dam down to the river.

We paddled until sunset and found another beautiful sandbar, just above Ferry’s Bluff near Mazomanie.

Day #4 (23 miles / 7 hours from Mazomanie to Lone Rock)
We got up early, realizing that we were half-way through the trip and had 75 miles to go. And it was going to one of the hottest days of the summer.

Below the dam at Prairie du Sac, we played tortoise and hare with a motor boat. As we launched our canoe, we heard a motorboat speeding to catch up and pass us. But as we paddled across the shallow water, he got stuck and had to get out of his boat to drag it across the sandbar. Downstream he again came up behind us, but again got stuck on a sandbar as we glided over it. The river is boss.

We also may have gotten heat stroke that day. As the sun beat down on us and the temperatures soared into the 90s, we stopped for lunch. After our lunch of sausage and Gouda cheese, we used the wax casing from the cheese to express our feelings about this epic canoe trip.

Day # 5 (27 miles / 7 hours from Lone Rock to Boscobel)
Our good luck with the weather ended on the fifth day as we awoke to the sound of rain on our tent. Rather than paddle in the rain, we opted to sit on the sandbar and wait it out. Eventually our disappointment turned to glee as the rain stopped and the sun came out.

That night as we pitched our tent, dark clouds returned and the wind began to pick up. So we pulled the canoe up next to the tent and tied our tent to it for added protection. But as nightfall came, the wind suddenly started to blow hard, and our canoe began rolling toward the river. I jumped out of the tent to secure it, and just then a big gust flattened our tent.

I was able to put the poles back up, and we held on for dear life as the storm raged on. We wondered how wise it was to be holding aluminum poles, soaking wet inside the tent, as lightening surrounded us. We learned later that several tornados had been sighted only a few miles north of where we were camped!

Day # 6 (25 miles / 6 hours from Boscobel to Wyalusing State Park)
Finally, on the 6^th day we finished the trip enjoying the wilderness of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway. Most of this stretch of the river was completely wild, with no signs of development. Magically, the rain stopped and the wind shifted to the north and was then at our backs. We made the best time of the entire trip, covering the last 25 miles in only six hours of easy paddling.

As we entered the Mississippi a massive barge slowly churned by us. Almost as long as a football field, the barge made us feel so small and insignificant.

We pulled out at a boat ramp just downriver from Wyalusing State Park and sat in our canoe in the shade of our rain tarp, as we awaited the arrival of my parents. We did not wait long for them to arrive, and after the requisite “we did it!” photo, we loaded the canoe onto the car and headed back to Madison.

So what did we learn on this epic canoe trip? Like a river, life has twists and turns, ups and downs, and rain and shine. But if you’re willing to stay in the canoe and keep on paddling, some day the wind will be at your back and you’ll make it to where you’re going.

All the photos are HERE