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Namekagon Encounter
- Thread starter Tryin'
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Day 7 - The End
We awoke to yet another photogenic morning. The river mist cast shadows of fall, and the moon shone high and bright, pointing the way to the takeout a mere 3.3 miles downstream.
We packed everything up, took our last campsite photo, and hit the water.
As mentioned, the St. Croix is much wider and even shallower than the Namekagon. This channel around an island is easily as wide as 90% of the Namekagon, but less than a foot deep in the "good" channel. Have I mentioned how difficult it is to skid the stems of the Encounter?
Herons, swans, and Ducks were in flight for much of the way.
And then it was over. We rounded the backside of another horseshoe bend, no different than the hundred before, and there was the takeout. It almost seemed to come as a surprise, as I suspect many trip endings do. One minute you are free, and the next you are back in the real world, with all of the associated pressures and effort.
Riverside Landing is a very nice park, with tent sites off the main area.
After a clothes change from the track cache, we loaded up and hit the highway. After our first 12-hour drive back, I require partners to bring a complete change of clothing for the return trip. Took darn near a week to get the smell out the first time.
The roads of northern Wisconsin gave way to those of north Illinois.
Back home agaaaiiiiin in Indiaaaannnna. . . (RIP Jim Nabors)
The final toll on the Encounter:
I would encourage anyone looking to test the waters of river tripping to experience the Namekagon. It's a great excursion. The water is tame, the campsites are plentiful, and bailout options abound.
Thanks for checking out the thread, and here's to your next adventure, no matter where it may be found.
We awoke to yet another photogenic morning. The river mist cast shadows of fall, and the moon shone high and bright, pointing the way to the takeout a mere 3.3 miles downstream.
We packed everything up, took our last campsite photo, and hit the water.
As mentioned, the St. Croix is much wider and even shallower than the Namekagon. This channel around an island is easily as wide as 90% of the Namekagon, but less than a foot deep in the "good" channel. Have I mentioned how difficult it is to skid the stems of the Encounter?
Herons, swans, and Ducks were in flight for much of the way.
And then it was over. We rounded the backside of another horseshoe bend, no different than the hundred before, and there was the takeout. It almost seemed to come as a surprise, as I suspect many trip endings do. One minute you are free, and the next you are back in the real world, with all of the associated pressures and effort.
Riverside Landing is a very nice park, with tent sites off the main area.
After a clothes change from the track cache, we loaded up and hit the highway. After our first 12-hour drive back, I require partners to bring a complete change of clothing for the return trip. Took darn near a week to get the smell out the first time.
The roads of northern Wisconsin gave way to those of north Illinois.
Back home agaaaiiiiin in Indiaaaannnna. . . (RIP Jim Nabors)
The final toll on the Encounter:
I would encourage anyone looking to test the waters of river tripping to experience the Namekagon. It's a great excursion. The water is tame, the campsites are plentiful, and bailout options abound.
Thanks for checking out the thread, and here's to your next adventure, no matter where it may be found.
Looks like a run I’d like to make someday, thank you for posting. I very much enjoyed following along.
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A very enjoyable TR; thanks for taking the time to post it.
"One minute you are free, and the next you are back in the real world, with all the associated pressures and effort" .. well said Tryin'—and an enjoyable trip report. Thanks for posting it.
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Thanks for sharing the trip report and great pictures!
Tryin', thanks for the trip report and the plethora of great pictures!
Everyone who loves what we all love, should do the Nam.
It's surprisingly a most excellent canoe trip by any standard.
It's surprisingly a most excellent canoe trip by any standard.
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That is so great, getting the children out, even for a few hours. They will remember it forever and maybe return to it later in life.Great for a family trip. Plenty of takeouts depending on the tolerance of children. My grandchildren are addicted to devices, so 2 hours was their limit before becoming annoying. We ended up doing 3.
Sorry about the unmentionables.
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Nice trip report and great photos too! I love that your sons are enjoying their trip.
Regarding the problem with the Trangia alcohol stove, I don't recall what it is, but there is an optimal distance between the alcohol stove flame and the bottom of the pot. It looks like you are using a Firebox Stove, and if so, I think the stove is supposed to fit between the Firebox "fire sticks" rather than sitting on top of them. I think you also need to raise the metal Firebox "firesticks" so the Trangia is closer to the pot and perhaps close off the little flap to keep out the breeze. Try contacting Steve the owner of the Firebox Stove and sending him a photo for his evaluation of your setup and his suggestions at info@fireboxstove.com. Good luck.
Thank you for the kind words and advice regarding the Trangia.
I used several height and ventilation setting during the trip, depending on conditions. Closed ventilation and/or closer proximity generally resulted in massive fireballs after seven or so minutes of burn time. The fuel in the stove will superheat and flash unless you keep the stove body under a certain temperature. For longer "cooks", this required a low height setting and plenty of air. The simmer ring was mostly worthless in alleviating this condition.
The Trangia performed best in close proximity to the pot, in open air/outside the Firebox. However, any wind wreaked absolute havoc on that setup.
It was nice and quiet though. Which was super great for coffee at dawn.
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