It's Not About Paddling: It's About Paddlers
A Story of the 2001 Hoofer Paddlers Reunion
by Tom O'Keefe
photos by Tom and Nate (click to view larger versions)
video by Tom, Dan, and Elise (requires free Quicktime player)

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Flying towards Madison, Wisconsin and paralleling the Mississippi River I looked out on the rain-swollen river below me. It had been another good season for midwestern whitewater, but the spring snowmelt had ended and now all that water was working its way to the Gulf. My paddling friends in the Pacific Northwest--land of year-around whitewater--questioned my motivations for returning to what many consider a wasteland of whitewater paddling. The truth is some of the best creek runs in the country cut through the bedrock along the Lake Superior shoreline and hills of northern Wisconsin, providing some of the most enjoyable ledge-drop runs I have ever paddled (our guide to those rivers). Now, however, with the short spring season coming to an end I was returning to my paddling roots with the University of Wisconsin's Hoofer Outing Club along with over 150 other paddlers from across the country.

The Hoofer Outing Club has been the nucleus for midwest whitewater boaters for years. By the 60's the club's boat shop was the place to find expertise and the hottest new molds from Europe. By the early 70's the club had emerged as one of the hubs for whitewater boating in the U.S. and using Wisconsin as a base, the club's members competed against the Minnesota paddlers for first descents throughout the region, traveled to the west for runs in Idaho where Walt Blackadar was encouraging the nation's paddlers to visit, and made their way to the Southeast where the Ocoee was many years from becoming the site of commercial rafting or seeing lines of boaters at Hell Hole.

Those of us returning to this reunion spanned many generations of paddlers. Some of us are at the prime of our paddling careers and get out nearly every weekend--we left our favorite runs in the Sierras, Cascades, and Rockies at the peak of snowmelt to return to Wisconsin. Others had not been in a boat for more than a quarter of a century. What we all shared in common was a passion for the sport that anyone who has ever been a serious whitewater paddler can immediately relate to.

Unlike a high-school class reunion, where one might find themselves vainly searching for some faint thread of commonality, we were all immediately one big paddling family. Nearly all of us had learned on the same rivers. Those of us who have more recently paddled the region's steep creeks could hear from those who did the first descents and those pioneers could then hear our first-hand accounts of adventures on those same runs.

The reunion was to take place at Goodman County Park, a small park with 15 individual campsites, a group site for 40 people, and a large log cabin shelter that is available for group rental. It would be a bit of a stretch to find space for more than 150 people and still keep the park staff happy, but the event had grown beyond anyone's expectations and there were few options for turning back now. Harry House, a member of the club since 1975 and my C2 partner, was responsible for planting the seed for this reunion.

Harry and I were the first arrivals on Thursday evening. Through the evening and the next day a constant wave of paddlers arrived. We took over the park on Friday morning by filling out cards for all the remaining campsites (a group of fisherman had snagged two of the sites--Harry captures their reaction, video 0.6 MB). At this point Keith, the park ranger, started to catch on that something big was happening, and he was rather reluctant to let us have the whole park. Harry practiced some careful diplomacy and eventually won Keith over.

Harry and I left with a small group to paddle the Roaring Rapids section of the Peshtigo River on Friday morning. The Peshtigo is an excellent class III run in Wisconsin that has water during spring snowmelt and after a good rainstorm (run description). Levels were low--those who can afford to be more selective might have called it too low to run--but we were eager to get on the water. Harry and I had a good run in the C2 except for a mishap at 5-foot falls (Elise with a good run, video 1.1 MB). We flipped at the base of the falls and our heads bounced across the rocks before we managed to get set up for a successful roll. It was a good feeling knowing that we had trust in each other and stayed in the boat, but it was obvious we were a little rusty after not paddling together in four years.

After completing the run we went back to camp to see that our small party had grown considerably in size. Cars continued to roll in through the evening (video 0.6 MB) and by Saturday morning nearly everyone was present (Rick and Jethro, video 0.3 MB). Ranger Keith was noticeably distressed with the number of people as our party vastly exceeded his expectations for the weekend by several fold. Once again Harry practiced some careful diplomacy and we were all set. We were headed for the Pike River, which is a popular class II beginner run where many of the people in the group had learned to paddle (run description).

As I stood at the put-in on the banks of the Pike River I watched the parade of boats pass by (video 1.2 MB). I don't think there will ever be such a diverse collection of whitewater boats on one river. One could see some of the classic designs from the early 60's along with this year's hottest playboats. It was quite literally a museum of whitewater history. I watched as Al Button, former national C1 downriver champion, strapped in and set off downstream with the efficient stroke that made him famous (video 1.6 MB); Eric Olsen showed off a classic C2 end-hole boat in beautiful condition (video 1.2 MB); "Fearless" Fred Young, known for leading several first descents down the creek runs of the Lake Superior shore, took a new paddling partner down in his OC-2 with tire inner tubes as float bags (video 0.9 MB); and Mike Giddings, son of former AWA president Cal Giddings, cartwheeled his new Necky Zip trying to find anything to make the class II run a little more exciting.

Having completed the first run of the day, the group split up with those looking for some more action heading for the Menominee and others heading for the Peshtigo.

Many remembered the Menominee as a polluted river with raw sewage entering the river. The Menominee has been one of the real success stories benefiting from the Clean Water Act. Paddlers have also benefited from the FERC dam relicensing process which has formerly recognized whitewater recreation on this incredible resource. Although short, the Pier's Gorge section of the Menominee provides one of the few big-water experiences in Northern Wisconsin (run description). With the river squeezed within the walls of the bedrock gorge the run often feels bigger than the the 2500 cfs levels that are typical at this time of year. In this 1/4 mile section many midwest paddlers get their first taste of what some of the more powerful Western rivers have to offer.

After a short warm-up paddle the river drops 10' at river-wide Missicot Falls (class IV). Most scouted the drop as it can be a little tricky to find the line from the very regular horizon line that appears from upstream. As bowman in the C2 I was in charge of finding the line that would commit us as a team through the drop. Harry and I had run this drop four years earlier with incredible grace but with few spectators. The most common line involves finding a narrow tongue that carries you past hydraulics to your left and right, and then a quick eddy out to the left. An out-of-control run keeps you on the wave train which then slams into Volkswagon Rock a very short distance downstream. The hole below that and more hydraulics can lead to more trouble and further distribution of gear and bodies in the event of a failed run.

As Harry stated, "Watching C2 is kind of like stock car racing. They come to see the carnage. Everyone knows that a bad run can turn into quite a yard sale and provide plenty of material for a good campfire story." Today with approximately 15 of our closest paddling friends, the pressure was on. We were feeling good and paddling well as a team, but memories of our less than stellar performance on the Peshtigo's considerably easier 5' Falls a few days earlier were still fresh in our mind.

Harry and I peeled out into the current and without hesitation worked our way towards the drop. Slowing down at the lip, we made a couple small correction strokes and we were on line (video 2.1 MB). It's one of those drops that feels like class II when you're on your line and after sliding down the smoothest water of the tongue and with the exact angle we wanted to exit off the wave train we peeled out high in the eddy on the left and enjoyed that incredible feeling of two paddlers working as a unit with the river. Soon we were all gathered in the eddy and ready for the next stop downstream.

A few short strokes down on river right a good ender spot forms where a shelf from a bedbrock island extends out into the current. Although we didn't have the water power or depth to stand the boat up on end we did get some nice pop-ups and even ended up doing a perfectly-timed roll after one pop-up ended with a flip (video 1.4 MB).

The rest of the group played the ledge for a few more minutes and then continued on down to two large holes known as the Twin Sisters. Harry and I just crashed through them (video 1.1 MB), while some made it a point to avoid them, and others stopped for front surfs that included mystery moves (video 1.1 MB). Just downstream is an impressive hole otherwise known as Terminal Surf. Having been tagged a few years earlier on the Ocoee's Double Suck, Harry and I decided to accept the challenge and take this one head on. We drove the paddles hard and launched over the lip and into the hole with so much momentum that it seemed like we were crashing through a two foot wave. It was nice knowing that we could summon the power when needed.

On Saturday evening everyone gathered for dinner, more paddling tales, and a slide show featuring photos from the 60's and 70's. Eric Olsen's guitar could be heard long into the evening hours. The group began dispersing early Sunday morning. Some were eager to get on the road and start the long journey home, but others began the discussion of what to boat (video 0.8 MB). Those who had not yet made it on to the Peshtigo or Menominee went to those runs. Harry and I joined some of the current club members for a run on the Red River. The Red is another beginner run and the site of my first river trip (run description). We surfed every little ripple and before I knew it the weekend was over (Helge and Megi hand surf K2, video 0.8 MB). While there may be future reunions, it's hard to imagine one with as many people coming from across the country with as many different boats. It was truly one of the most unique paddling trips I have ever been a part of.

Photo Albums (to order prints from Printroom.com)
I ordered prints for myself using this service and was very happy with the results.

  1. Goodman Park photos
  2. Pike River photos
  3. Menominee photos
  4. Red River photos

Donations

To the Hoofer Whitewater Program

Donation Benefits: Full tax benefits as allowed by law, for donating to a 501(c)(3) organization

Cash/Check Donations: Payable to: MUBA - Hoofers Outing Club

send to:
Hoofers Outing Club
Outdoor Programs Office
800 Langdon St.
Madison, WI 53706
Office: (608) 262-1630
Fax: (608) 262-0156

Gear Donations:
First you should:

Hoofers will then:

Further Information:
Contact: Wisconsin Hoofers at 608-262-1630 and ask to talk to the Hoofer Advisors (Mark Gillen and Steve Schroeder)
Email: hoofer-donations@studentorg.wisc.edu
On the web: www.hoofers.org/donations/

To Marinette County Parks

If you would like to make a donation to Marinette County Parks in thanks for allowing us to overrun Goodman Park, you can send a check to the following:

Marinette County Parks
c/o Dave Hipwell - Parks Administrator
1926 Hall Avenue
Marinette WI 54143

Be sure to indicate the donation is being made in the name of the Hoofer Paddler Reunion group.