FOGG in the Floodplain Forest

[Woody Jones]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading of your adventure Tom. Thanks for sharing!

[WI-Tom]

Thanks for the comment. A bit more to end the trip--first, a look at why I like to pack in two big dry bags, rather than trying to stuff little drybags into bulkhead hatches.



Easy packing! And the bags displace a LOT of water in a capsize, keeping the boat a lot more stable and making for less bailing. Just carry the bags down to the boat and shove them in place. I didn't even bother strapping them in for this rowing-only trip.

[rgthom]

Great story. I really thought you were going to make it back along that slough, what a plot twist! I also appreciate that you take the time to set up a camera on land and shoot yourself passing, a perspective we hardly see on solo trip videos (certainly never on mine...).

[WI-Tom]

Just an easy row back up to the same ramp in the morning, about 4 miles or so. I lounged around at camp, getting off to a slow start (because, why hurry?). Nice cool day, cool enough to start in a favorite wool sweater.

4.3.jpg

As far as I can tell, there's only one slough that leads to the ramp through the eastern delta--the same one I came down.



Two nights, three days, lots of time on the boat, plenty of opportunity to wander around on shore. Hardly saw any other people. Lots of eagles and beavers. Here's a look at the overall route, more or less--an out-and-back, despite my best efforts to find a loop...

sat 9.2.jpg

Maybe 10 miles in all--pathetic average speed! The slow boat to nowhere--suits me just fine.

Tom

[WI-Tom]

Great story. I really thought you were going to make it back along that slough, what a plot twist! I also appreciate that you take the time to set up a camera on land and shoot yourself passing, a perspective we hardly see on solo trip videos (certainly never on mine...).

Well, knowing that you're more likely to sell photos and/or video clips to a magazine if there's some action is a pretty good incentive...

It does seem more than a bit contrived to re-do bits of a trip just to get photos. I keep telling myself I have ambitions to make an actual film on a longer trip sometime, and this is good practice. I should probably learn something about film-making first, I suppose. It's a bit like writing--figuring out how to tell a story an audience will enjoy. It changes the game--some might say it gets in the way, or even corrupts the experience. But I'm surprised to find that I kind of like it, even if only for myself.

Tom

[WI-Tom]

Looking at the satellite images again, it's clear that I could have entered the main Chippewa River channel easily enough from the east, where I stopped at a railroad bridge because I knew it didn't lead to Buffalo Slough. That bridge is marked with a yellow circle below:

sat 9.3.jpg

Or, I could launch below the last dam on the Chippewa, a short drive from home, and make a 60-mile river trip of it next time. Very little development and plenty of camping/anchoring opportunities on that stretch of the river, I think.

But of course there are plenty of other ideas to explore... Boat comes out of storage next weekend!

Tom

[AJZimm]

Very Wind In The Willows - simply messing about in the boat. Thanks for sharing!

[sophi32]

omg...What a beautiful scenery