By Mary Fairchild Although it is possible to ride storm surf, tidal bores, and swell, what provides us with ‘the finest waves to ride’ is swell arriving on a suitable beach. Nigel Foster (1) During the first week of April, I was fortunate to be a part of Gini Callahan’s first sea kayak surf camp…
Category: Paddle
Water Trails Reveal Rich Archaeological History in the Midwest
By Mary Fairchild Maquoketa River Trail; 6/15/14. In June my two daughters joined me for a river clean-up and local archaeology paddle on the Maquoketa River with Iowa archaeologist Elizabeth Reetz. There are two forks of the Maquoketa River that meander through Jackson County for about 50 miles and meet up just north of the…
Mirror, Mirror, on the Water: A Tranquil Paddle at Mirror Lake State Park
By Mary Fairchild Chelsea Boots appreciates the serenity of Mirror Lake as she quietly discovers the oak/pine forest reflection before her for the first time. …there is rarely a wind-stirred ripple on the water’s still surface— Mirror Lake is a narrow river-like waterway between tall cliff-sided gorges that is about 4 miles long. An impoundment of Sauk County’s Dell…
Kayaking the Apostle Islands: Kennedys, Native Americans, Religion, and Myth
By Mary Fairchild Paddling around Eagle Island, 2009; the island is protected by Critical Species Natural Area. Last fall, on September 24th, Chequamegon Bay JFK Day marked Kennedy’s visit to the Apostle Islands area thirty years ago (Sept. 24, 1963). Chequamegon was applied to the region by traders and missionaries which derives from a Chippewa(Ojibwe) word, shagwaumikong, meaning soft beaver dam….
Surfing My First Hole at Piers Gorge
By Mary Fairchild Sara Hartman, Ron Laird, Mary Fairchild, Alex Reily, Walter Afable, and Ryan Rushton; Terminal Surfer; July 26, 2013; 1800 CFS. Picture courtesy: Kat Kulchinski. Intentional hole and wave surfing are the bulk of what river runners call play. It means stopping at a river feature and exploring what it has to offer….
SUP on the Mississippi: Locks, Lilies, and…. Surf
By Mary Fairchild Mudd Lake just north of Dubuque 8/6/13; Big River SUPtours; SUP the Mag. It is strange how little has been written about the Upper Mississippi. …Along the Upper Mississippi every hour brings something new. There are crowds of odd islands, bluffs, prairies, hills, woods and villages–everything one could desire to amuse the children….