Kayaking on the Eau Claire River

Recent rain has raised the water level from where it was in early August, when I last ran this stretch of the river. That time I scraped the bottom quite a bit, but at least I never had to get out and drag the kayak. This time it was pretty smooth paddling, and the swift current made these class I rapids fun, without forcing me to put on my helmet and lifejacket and worry about spilling my beer!

This part of the river has many boulder gardens. The boulders are smooth and made of granite. Some are lurking just beneath the surface and are invisible if the current is too mild to give them away. They will certainly test the suspension on your kayak!

But they also provide some nice places to stop and just hang out...

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