Ron Meador spent the last week with a group of 75 paddling down the mighty Namekagon river in Wisconsin.
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A rare wood turtle, whose bright colors and distinctive markings stood on the riverbank.
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The author at rest in an eddy.
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75 paddlers in canoes and kayaks started a 92-mile journey down the Namekagon River in northwestern Wisconsin.
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Even on a gray and chilly day, the beauty of the river took my breath away.
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Here and there we found wood anemones as well.
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The river’s edge delighted us with what seemed like at least 100 shades of green.
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More verdant beauty along the river.
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Group paddles are a great way to see the river, but sometimes you have to find solitude in eddies and side channels.
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Nancy Christel, of the Wisconsin DNR, took some heavy grilling from a few in our group who would prefer we not kill animals for their furs, and gave a good defense of the idea that furbearers are a natural resource and their furs a natural product, and also of the notion that regulated trapping and hunting may promote healthier populations.
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I saw miles and miles of skunk cabbage.
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A few days of cold temperatures had many of us searching for any available dry layers before setting out again on the river.
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After a string of wet, windy and chilly days, Wednesday’s sunset announced the arrival of fair weather.
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The author, a novice in negotiating rapids, shot his kayak over a dam and became an instant convert to whitewater paddling.
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Jeff Butler of the National Park Service demonstrated the Japanese fly-fishing technique called tenkara.
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Thursday morning’s rising temperatures lifted mist from the Namekagon.
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Mike Bartz and the hand-built, cedar-strip-and-canvas canoe he brought to his duties paddling sweep.
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Marsh marigolds, an early-spring bloomer, were abundant along the entire 92-mile route.
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Painted turtles were everywhere the sun was shining, and preferred to put up with us rather than plunge back into 50-degree water.
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I’ve seen bigger snapping turtles, but never 8 feet in the air.
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A bald eagle watched our boats approach, then left his perch to turn lazy circles overhead.
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Canoes are the traditional boat for the Namekagon, but this group preferred kayaks by a wide margin.
