MONROE - The father-son canoe trip was planned with an Indian summer in mind last October, but the more than 430-mile trip down the Wisconsin River was shortened thanks to ice and snowfall, and they couldn't miss a birthday.
"It was the wife's birthday; we had to stop," Brad Paske said.
Paske and his son Chad Paske planned a canoe/kayak trip on the Wisconsin River starting at its headwaters in Lac Vieux Desert through the month of October but had to restart the trip this July thanks to an early snowfall.
They ended in Merrimac on Oct. 28, about 140 miles short of their destination in Dubuque. Paske said the wind was getting stronger and the nights colder as they approached Merrimac. They took the ferry across the river and decided to end the trip.
"It takes more courage to go off of your trip and bag it and go home," he said.
Paske, of Monroe, said he has always wanted to float the entirety of the Wisconsin River, and planning began a year before they dipped their toes in the water. He said he read up on as much history about the river as he could. They packed up all their food and water into Paske's canoe and Chad's kayak and set off on Oct. 1.
Paske is no stranger to marathon treks. He said when he was younger he took an old Schwinn 10-speed bike, and starting in Monroe, went through Canada and made it to Colorado. His son caught the traveling bug, too. Chad, 29, of Colorado, could not be interviewed this week because he was on a mountain climbing trip in Wyoming. Paske said his son once took a trip down the Mississippi River towards New Orleans. Paske told his son before he set out to call him if the trip went awry. Paske said Chad didn't make it very far down the Mississippi before ice set in.
"He was telling me that he had camped out for the night and started to hear this crunching sound outside his tent," he said. "The next morning he saw that most of the river was chunks of ice. I got a call the next day."
Paske never sounds dejected about having to stop the trip short of a destination. He repeatedly says the word "journey" in a long, slow drawl, as if the word itself is long and slow. He almost never calls it a trip.
"I've always wanted to do the Wisconsin River from end to end, so we started back up in July," he said.
The father-son duo packed lighter this time around, bringing two kayaks instead of Paske's canoe. They started right where they left off in Merrimac and continued towards the Mississippi River. They made it to Spring Green when they saw large storm clouds right around the time the July 16 tornadoes hit near Verona.
"We saw this big storm brewing and the clouds to the east. ... We prepared as much as you can on a sand bar," Paske said.
They strapped down all their belongings with rope to a pole in the ground. He said they didn't need head lamps in their tents for all the lightning that night. The next morning there was no damage to their equipment, besides everything being a little wet.
"Well, there was a lot of new trees in the river," he said.
Paske said they saw plenty of wildlife during their trip, including ospreys, eagles, otters, beavers and a bobcat they saw swim across the river. They also came across rapids up to a Class III; the safety code of American Whitewater scales waves from 2 feet to 5 feet high as Class III rapids.
Paske said he made a sail for the kayak out of plastic and used a piece of wood they found on the river. He would tie up his canoe to Chad's kayak and let the wind take them when they got so lucky.
"If the wind was really blowing good he'd throw me a rope and away you'd go," Paske said.
He said they met a lot of people on the river and all of them were kind. Once while they were portaging around a dam in the river, which they often had to do, a man in a truck offered to drive them out of his way below the dam.
"He was real nice; I told him we were running low on water and he said "Heck come to my house and fill up,'" Paske said.
Farther down the river they came across people on a pontoon boat who offered to tow them across a lake on a particularly windy day.
"Everyone was so nice; that couple said "You made our day,'" Paske said.
Paske said they didn't run into any trouble besides the weather, though once they did get lost in Wausau. They were turned around and ended up in a golf course. Paske said they pushed pretty hard to get miles in during October, but the July trip was much more relaxing.
"You take it for what it is," he said. "Nobody can say you have to put this many miles in; it's about the journey."
"It was the wife's birthday; we had to stop," Brad Paske said.
Paske and his son Chad Paske planned a canoe/kayak trip on the Wisconsin River starting at its headwaters in Lac Vieux Desert through the month of October but had to restart the trip this July thanks to an early snowfall.
They ended in Merrimac on Oct. 28, about 140 miles short of their destination in Dubuque. Paske said the wind was getting stronger and the nights colder as they approached Merrimac. They took the ferry across the river and decided to end the trip.
"It takes more courage to go off of your trip and bag it and go home," he said.
Paske, of Monroe, said he has always wanted to float the entirety of the Wisconsin River, and planning began a year before they dipped their toes in the water. He said he read up on as much history about the river as he could. They packed up all their food and water into Paske's canoe and Chad's kayak and set off on Oct. 1.
Paske is no stranger to marathon treks. He said when he was younger he took an old Schwinn 10-speed bike, and starting in Monroe, went through Canada and made it to Colorado. His son caught the traveling bug, too. Chad, 29, of Colorado, could not be interviewed this week because he was on a mountain climbing trip in Wyoming. Paske said his son once took a trip down the Mississippi River towards New Orleans. Paske told his son before he set out to call him if the trip went awry. Paske said Chad didn't make it very far down the Mississippi before ice set in.
"He was telling me that he had camped out for the night and started to hear this crunching sound outside his tent," he said. "The next morning he saw that most of the river was chunks of ice. I got a call the next day."
Paske never sounds dejected about having to stop the trip short of a destination. He repeatedly says the word "journey" in a long, slow drawl, as if the word itself is long and slow. He almost never calls it a trip.
"I've always wanted to do the Wisconsin River from end to end, so we started back up in July," he said.
The father-son duo packed lighter this time around, bringing two kayaks instead of Paske's canoe. They started right where they left off in Merrimac and continued towards the Mississippi River. They made it to Spring Green when they saw large storm clouds right around the time the July 16 tornadoes hit near Verona.
"We saw this big storm brewing and the clouds to the east. ... We prepared as much as you can on a sand bar," Paske said.
They strapped down all their belongings with rope to a pole in the ground. He said they didn't need head lamps in their tents for all the lightning that night. The next morning there was no damage to their equipment, besides everything being a little wet.
"Well, there was a lot of new trees in the river," he said.
Paske said they saw plenty of wildlife during their trip, including ospreys, eagles, otters, beavers and a bobcat they saw swim across the river. They also came across rapids up to a Class III; the safety code of American Whitewater scales waves from 2 feet to 5 feet high as Class III rapids.
Paske said he made a sail for the kayak out of plastic and used a piece of wood they found on the river. He would tie up his canoe to Chad's kayak and let the wind take them when they got so lucky.
"If the wind was really blowing good he'd throw me a rope and away you'd go," Paske said.
He said they met a lot of people on the river and all of them were kind. Once while they were portaging around a dam in the river, which they often had to do, a man in a truck offered to drive them out of his way below the dam.
"He was real nice; I told him we were running low on water and he said "Heck come to my house and fill up,'" Paske said.
Farther down the river they came across people on a pontoon boat who offered to tow them across a lake on a particularly windy day.
"Everyone was so nice; that couple said "You made our day,'" Paske said.
Paske said they didn't run into any trouble besides the weather, though once they did get lost in Wausau. They were turned around and ended up in a golf course. Paske said they pushed pretty hard to get miles in during October, but the July trip was much more relaxing.
"You take it for what it is," he said. "Nobody can say you have to put this many miles in; it's about the journey."