Vol IX, No. 1 - Summer 2001
Contents |
In Focus |
Mapmaking |
Profile |
Historical Atlases
Mike Svob is a retired college professor. In recent years he has begun a successful second career as an outdoor writer. His real love and avocation is paddling rivers and streams. An Illini by birth, Mike retired to northeast Wisconsin and has recently moved to Arizona.
Wisconsin Trails contacted Mike and asked if he would be interested in writing a canoeing guidebook after he had retired from a 30-year career as a college teacher and administrator. He jumped at the opportunity to write for "normal" people after years of preparing scholarly tomes for a narrow circle of colleagues. Mapping Specialists got to know Mike over the past few years as the provider of maps for three canoeing guidebooks Mike authored for Wisconsin Trails. The most common remarks Mike has received on the books have to do with 1) the highly detailed trip descriptions he writes, and 2) how simple and uncluttered the maps are. Mike provides the manuscripts to MSL and credits us in turning his rough drafts into easy-to-read maps. His friendly and informative writing style has inspired many people to become "paddlers". This gives Mike a great deal of satisfaction.
Mike was introduced to canoeing more than 30 years ago during his first year of college teaching. He prefers to paddle on tiny, remote, riffly streams. "It's so relaxing that the experience is close to Zen-like," he remarks. Over the years he has owned up to 18 canoes and kayaks at one time though today he only has six. "Having moved a couple of times, storage becomes a problem," he laments. His two favorite kinds of paddling are whitewater kayaking and small-stream, flatwater canoeing.
The biggest change he has seen in recent years has been the exponential growth in the popularity of kayaks, especially touring and sea kayaks. Another is the growing number of pushing-the-envelope "hair-boaters," those who are less interested in relaxation and nature and more interested in running giant waterfalls.
One of his most harrowing experiences, other than bumping into a black bear one foggy morning on the Chippewa River, was watching a friend cheat death after becoming hung-up in a hydraulic for nearly 20 minutes on the Vermilion River in Illinois. The friend finally abandoned his boat and was swept downstream, battered and bruised. The boat was destroyed.
There are many beautiful rivers in the Upper Midwest according to Mike. But his recommendation for natural beauty is to float the Kickapoo River from Ontario to La Farge -- two days' worth of paddling in the Driftless Area of southwest Wisconsin. The experience includes sinuous stretches of river lined with spectacular bluffs and sandstone cliffs. For the most part the river is isolated and the second half of the section is not heavily paddled.
If Mike had his druthers, his ideal day of paddling would involve a trip down a quiet, twisting, riffly little river such as the Yahara in Wisconsin -- with a small group of similarly-inclined paddlers. For those not familiar with the Midwest, Mike recommends two different trips: one for the expert and the other for the novice. The Wolf National Wild and Scenic River in northeastern Wisconsin is not only famous for whitewater, but also trout. It offers peaceful stretches with attractive sandbanks, wild rice beds, and lots of eagles, beginning with Class 2 and 3 whitewater. Challenging waterfalls and gorges will test even the best paddler. For those less adventurous, he suggests a multi-day trip on the Wisconsin River from Sauk City to the Mississippi. This is a leisurely float-trip with big sandbars, beaches on which to camp or frolic, fantastic scenery including woods and rock formations. Both trips have excellent accesses and many canoe-rental companies. One trip Mike would like to take is down the Green River in Utah. It is reported to be relatively quiet through some of the most beautiful canyonland in the world.
Now that Mike lives in Arizona, he will no longer be able to walk out his back door and nudge his favorite boat into the water. Each trip will require a longer drive to the put-in point. But don't be surprised if you run into him on the Green or Colorado rivers. For someone who has spent countless hours on the water, he will find a way to ply the desert Southwest.
- Tim Carter
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