Middle River, April, 1998
Return to Main Page April 18, 1998

I've taken a few days off. I have a story to tell.

I've been checking out the Middle River between the Roseman and Holliwell bridges. (The
bridges of Madison County). The Iowa Fishing Guide says this is a typical Iowa small stream, with a muddy bottom, and lots of snags, pools and riffles. It also says there are canoe launch areas along the river. More about what I think of that commentary later.

I used the Iowa atlas to get initial locations and measure distances, then spent several days
visiting waypoints along the river. It is lovely, hilly country with lots of trees and scenic areas, not to mention those incredible covered bridges. You may recall that I called you from the van in the middle of the ford across the river...that was this river, and Pammel State Park is about half way between the 2 bridges.

So yesterday was the day. I loaded up the adventure gear, including the new kayak cart and
the GPS. It was 45 minutes to Holliwell, the downstream point, where I left the fine mountain
bike. Then, 13 miles away and 4 miles down a gravel road, was Roseman. The kayak cart
worked great. I loaded up all the gear, set the back rest, lashed the boat to the cart, and
hauled the whole thing about 500 feet to the river. The path was rough and rocky, and I
would have had lots of trouble carrying the boat, so this was a good start.

With the cat and the hat hat, ear muffs, and the shorty wet suit, I was ready to go. I had the
major turns in the river marked, and the key way points I had checked with the GPS on
Sunday. I expected a 12 mile trip, a calm river, and about a 5 hour trip. What I got was a
mean little 18 mile stretch of river, a rocky bottom, waist deep water, lots of downed trees, and about 50 small but difficult rapids. My 5 hour trip took 8 hours of hard rowing, and then there was the 13 mile bike ride back.

It was an adventure. The scenery was gorgeous, the rides down the rapids were great fun,
and the GPS let me know how close I was getting to each major waypoint. What I did not get marked were all the twists and turns which added the miles and the hours. Down the road, I may need to get a mapping GPS which gives you every bend in the river.

I did get bumped out of the boat twice. The first time, I got caught on a log and tipped off.
The second time, an overhanging branch caught me, bumped me out of the boat, and flipped the boat over. The ocean kayak is perfect in that kind of situation, because I reached over, flipped it back over, got back on, and kept right on going. All my stuff was safe and dry in the cargo area.

I did use the kayak cart to portage around the river ford at Pammel. There is a dam right next to the ford, so I popped the boat on the cart, lashed it down, and wheeled the whole works past the dam and down a grassy bank, about 250 feet. The kayak carrier lashes to the boat, and I carry it right there with me.

Everything worked as expected and got me down the river safe and sound. The river access point at Holliwell was a muddy bank that goes up about 6 feet, so I was not impressed with this section of the Iowa Fishing Guide. After experiencing the river, I know why there are not many people fishing on it.

I saw lots of wildlife, including several great blue herons and a flock of wild turkeys. On my bike ride, a little fox popped out to say hi. The hawks were magnificent up close, and even some Canadian geese.

I think once down the Middle River
was enough.

The adventures continue. More later,