Day 3: Seven Days of Drifty

Day Three: Tuesday August 2nd

Woah day three already? Do you even remember your work passwords? Believe it or not this is your last full day on the river. Tomorrow you are hopping back on your bike.

By now your paddlin’ arms should be nice and warmed up and your catalog of sea-shanties well-rehearsed. You’ve got “paddle the most remote stretch of the lower Wisconsin” on your to-do list for the day. Even more bald eagles and turtles. Probably some river otters. Definitely not many humans. Once you pass Port Andrew/Blue River there’s only one bridge for the next 30 miles. But that’s ok because you stopped for supplies and lunch in Boscobel.

The river is more interesting in this section and you explore all the secret backwater channels. There are plenty of sand bars to stop at and stretch your legs too. You check the notes you scribbled down at the start party and they say generally on this leg people are camping somewhere between Boscobel and Bridgeport and that Wauzeka has beer and food but you have to paddle 3/4 of a mile up the Kickapoo river.

You do it because there’s plenty of daylight left and your teammate is craving lager and pizza. After the stop you leave Boondocks and float back down the Kickapoo only to be dumped out right at the foot of several large islands you can camp on. You pick the big one and go to sleep listening to John Denver. Other than dealing with the raccoon rifling through your stuff in the middle of the night you sleep pretty well.