Red Cedar River Overview

By Nick Pritchard

The Red Cedar River meanders through western Wisconsin for approximately 85 miles from Rice Lake until it reaches the Chippewa River. The Red Cedar is a great destination for both novice and experienced paddlers as it offers beautiful scenery as you twist and turn passing sandstone bluffs, unspoiled forests, and abundant wildlife. The Red Cedar is mostly flat water, with an occasional class I mixed in, making it suitable for all paddle craft.

The northern stretches of the Red Cedar are wide and shallow with many islands while south of Menomonie the river widens further and deepens until it reaches the Chippewa River. If you are paddling south of Tainter Lake it is best to paddle in spring due to the very high algae count that exists throughout the summer and fall. However, there is sufficient water all year to paddle the Red Cedar if you choose to do so. The Red Cedar has numerous boat landings making it easy to find a good section for you to paddle.

The following are the put ins/take outs south of the dam at Menomonie.

• Riverside Park (Menomonie, WI)
• Irvington Landing 
• About 3 miles from Riverside Park
• Hwy 25 (Downsville, WI)
• About 8-9 miles from Riverside Park
• Dunnville Bottoms Boat Landing
• About 15 miles from Riverside Park

Red Cedar River - Below the dam in Menomonie

Red Cedar River - In Menomonie looking south

Red Cedar River Put Ins/Take Outs South of Colfax

View Red Cedar River in a larger map

Winding Rivers Canoeing: Emergency Procedures

By Nick Pritchard

As spring rolls around and more folks are getting outside I am starting to see one thing in the news more and more, people getting lost and/or killed in the backcountry. While each case has different circumstances than the last these situations are almost always avoidable. This makes these stories even more tragic because we know that it didn't have to end up that way. With a little preparation prior to your trip you can greatly reduce the risk you take when you enjoy the outdoors.

Outfitters and guides generally have very good emergency procedures in place, as we would expect them to. They have an obligation to their clients to reduce the risk of the activity as much as reasonably possible. Not having these procedures in place would open them to law suits and would surely put them out of business quickly.

So, if the professional outdoor industry has shown us how important these procedures are, why then do so few recreational adventurers have them in place for their own trips? There may be a variety of reasons ranging from a lack of knowledge to (I hate to say it) just being lazy. In my experience, one of the biggest reasons is that there is no clearly defined leader in the group. This leaves a big gap in the risk management system because no one wants to take the responsibility of being a leader. Maybe you and your friends are just getting into paddling and no one has any more experience than the other, who should be the leader? Maybe your group has been paddling together for years and doesn't want a leader. No matter what the case, this is easily resolved.

If you and/or your group are just starting out then you should all work on developing the emergency procedures that you will have in place for your trip. This way everyone will learn how to develop these procedures and they will all be familiar with them. If you are just starting out paddling then you should consult more experienced paddlers to help you develop a solid plan. You can also contact organizations such as the American Canoe Association for some direction.

If your group is a little bit more experienced you could have one person develop the emergency procedures and then they should provide everyone in the group a copy of those procedures. If you are paddling with the same folks regularly you can switch up who is developing the procedures so that everyone stays in good practice and the same person isn't doing it every time. It is a good idea to provide everyone with a copy of the procedures a few days prior to the trip so that if someone has suggestions the plan could be revised in time.

What should these procedures actually include? What should be covered? How extensive should they be? Well, unless this is an expedition these procedures will be pretty easy to develop. Your emergency procedures should have things like:

• List of group members and relevant experience
• Expected departure/arrival time
• Vehicle information (color, make, model, license #)
• Boat information (color, make, who's boat it is)
• Location of put in/take out
• List of campsites
• Emergency equipment that will be on the trip (flares, PLB, marine radio, GPS, etc.)
• Emergency contact numbers (Police, Hospital, SAR, NPS, someone you trust, etc.)
• Contact information for local land management agencies
• Weather forecast for the trip
• Relevant maps
• Exit plans (how will you get out if something goes wrong)
• Any information relevant to your trip

While this may seem like a relatively long list it won't take that long to put together with the help of the internet. If you do one trip fairly regularly you don't have to redo the whole thing each time either, just make sure all the information is still correct (phone #s, weather, group memebers, etc.).

You should plan on leaving a copy of your emergency procedures with a trusted friend who will call the authorities if you don't return on time and with the local land management agency. There should also be at least one set with two different people on the trip. 

With a little pre-trip planning we can reduce the risk that we take when we adventure in the backcountry. If you or your group does not do this already you should start and if you do, kudos. 

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions! 

Paddling With Groups: What Are We Doing?

By Nick Pritchard

While paddling solo gives you unrestricted freedom many of us enjoy sharing our outdoor experiences with others. The outdoors are a great time to get away from our busy lives with our friends or family but there are  some things to consider before going on a trip with other people. One thing that needs to be worked out is what the goal or purpose of the trip is. It is important that everyone has the same goals and mindset so that everyone has a successful trip.

If a few people in your group want to go on the trip to take photographs or go fishing and the rest of the group want to log as many miles as possible, it will be difficult to keep everyone happy. A simple difference like this can often create conflict within the group ruining everyones trip. Particularly if you are taking new folks on your trip you should sit down with them and determine what they are hoping to get out of the trip. If your goals do not match you may consider finding new group members. Otherwise, you could compromise that the group would take one rest day to be used for photography, or that fishing could be done once you got to camp but not during the day, etc. There are many different ways that a group can mesh to meet everyone's goals with a little compromise. If you are someone that likes to log miles  it may not be a good opportunity to take a few people who like photography, fishing, birdwatching, etc. They can show you some new skills while you are out there, which is never a bad idea.

If you decide that some of your group members do have different goals than you do, don't feel bad if you find new group members. It is better to be honest with everyone upfront before you are in the backcountry for several days and can't do anything about it. Nevertheless, don't be afraid to try something new, there is a lot that we can learn from others if we are open to it.

As always feel free to ask us any questions!