It has rained for about 3 days straight here in Northern Illinois. It kinda puts a damper on ...... everything. With 72+ hours of gloomy weather, there is no better escape than to PADDLE! I have my canoe strapped to my truck all the time, and it's days like yesterday that that convenience comes in handy. There was a break in the rain and I decided to take that opportunity and hit the water. I got 2 miles in before the park closed and that was plenty of time to forget about the miserable weather.
I dropped in at the Mchenry Dam Park off River Rd. You can launch at the north or south side of the dam. This trip sent me south of the dam. On the south side, you can see the beauty of the dam. There has been a dam at this section since 1907, but I believe sections of the dam that you see now date back to the 1930's. There are a few different sections of the dam and lock system, so you can spend some time watching it. It is pretty cool to see.
Headed south from the dam, you have about 3,000 feet of No Wake. So even in heavy boating season, you have a nice distance that you can paddle and not be bothered by waves and craziness. On this trip, there was no craziness. That's because there was no one around. No one.
The water was perfect and there were barely any noises at all. I stopped and let the current take me and there was hardly even birds making noises. It was awesome.
The colors are starting to change and the boat traffic is starting to drop. This makes for a perfect time for paddlers to take over the Fox River and Chain of Lakes. Once the temps drop a little more, morning paddles are going to be breath taking with the steam coming off the calm river. I can't wait! See ya out there!!
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