Sponsored by IPC - Illinois Paddling Council

Name: -- Lee Butler

Date: -- Sunday Oct 30, 2005

Weather: -- partly cloudy, windy mostly at our backs, 63 degrees, spitting rain at end of paddle

Body of water: -- Pecatonica River, Winnebago County

Water Temperature: -- 46 degrees

Location: -- Sumner Park Pecatonica ILL to Pec Forest Preserve(lunch stop, 5.5 mile) onto Trask Bridge Forest Preserve (12 mile)

Leader: -- Lee Butler

Co-Leader: -- Sigrid Pilgrim

Water level: medium

Time on water: -- 1 hour 30 min on first leg , average speed = 3.7 MPH

Length of trip: -- 5.5 miles on first leg, 6.5 miles on second leg = total of 12 miles

Number of craft: -- 17 , 4 kayaks and 13 canoes

Number of people: -- 27

Water rating: -- advanced

Put-in directions-first leg: -- Sumner Park, Pecatonica ILL

Takeout directions: -- Pecatonica Forest Preserve

Put-in directions-second leg: -- Pecatonica Forest Preserve

Takeout directions: -- Trask Bridge Forest Preserve

Difficulty of carshift: -- easy

Time for carshift: -- 20 minutes

Names of carshifters: -- Lee Butler, Joe Ginger, Joe Kowsky

Special contacts: campgrounds, permission, names, addresses, phone numbers

 None, Winnebago County Forest Preserve

Report: Scenery, wildlife, side-trips, obstacles, points of interest, lunch stop details;

We started our paddling trip at 11am. We stopped 5.5 miles downstream at Pec Forest Preserve for lunch at 12:30. More paddling stories and ideas were exchanged during lunch. After lunch, some of the paddlers loaded up and went home. Some of the vehicles were shuttled down to the 12 Mile take-out to continue the paddle. The second leg of this 6.5 mile paddle started at 1:50pm. We took-out at Trask Bridge at 3:30pm. The raindrops were very, very light. We stood around at the Trask Bridge Parking Lot talking about what else? Paddling. Paddling is a very quiet sport. Conversations and stories were exchanged during the paddling trip on the river. I think this social time, while getting outdoor exercise, is the real attraction.